Greater Sudbury finalizes bid for Noront ferrochrome smelter

If the City of Greater Sudbury has its way, Noront will choose Sudbury to build its ferrochrome smelter to process chromite from the Ring of Fire mining project.

The city says it and the development corporation, with support of the Wahnapitae First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, will officially deliver a bid on Friday to host the facility.

"We have the talent, we have a strategic location, we have a strong industrial base and we have a demonstrated commitment to environmental sustainability," mayor Brian Bigger said in a release.

"This is the winning combination that we will put before Noront."

In 2012, Cliffs Natural Resources had selected the former Moose Mountain site north of Capreol to build a smelter. The next year, the company indefinitely suspended its involvement in the Ring of Fire project. Noront eventually got acquisition of the mining claims in the area.

The city says Noront has new site selection criteria for the proposed smelter, addingthe Moose Mountain sitewas no longer seen as the best location.

"With permission from Vale Canada Limited, the former Inco Coniston smelter site has been identified as the optimal location for Noront," the city stated.

"This site is zonedappropriately and is situated strategically from a logistics and services perspective."

The city says construction of the smelter is proposed to start within the next five to ten years and cost $1 billion.

About 350 permanent jobs and 150 indirect jobs would be created.

Several other cities in northern Ontario, including Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, are also bidding to have the smelter built in their community.