But in some ways, it has never deserved the hype it receives, from being described as a \u201ctrillion dollar project<\/a>\u201d and \u201cthe next oilsands<\/a>,\u201d or heralded<\/a> as \u201cthe most significant mineral development in Canada in more than a century.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That can be problematic when it sucks up scarce political attention and public resources. There are other, more prolific mineral basins in Canada that better suit the designation of \u201cnation-building\u201d or \u201ccritical\u201d, but seem to fall under the radar.<\/p>\n In the context of seeking to double our non-U.S. exports<\/a> (from $300 billion to $600 billion), and in light of the federal government\u2019s intention to commit billions of dollars to enabling infrastructure for that purpose, it\u2019s essential that we understand where Canada\u2019s mineral wealth comes from and prioritize accordingly.<\/p>\n The Ring of Fire is a non-producing but promising mineral jurisdiction in northern Ontario. First and foremost, it is a world-class deposit of chromite. Chromite is used primarily to turn steel into stainless steel, and is useful for its resistance to rust, shiny appearance, and very high melting point.<\/p>\n Chromite is not particularly scarce, and the commodity price is not particularly strong right now. While it is essential, for example, in the aerospace sector, chromite is suffering none of the same supply challenges of more prominent critical minerals as rare earth elements, germanium, and gallium, all of which China has a near monopoly on and has put export restrictions on. In that sense, the Ring of Fire is not critical to national security.<\/p>\n The Ring of Fire, which also has meaningful deposits of copper, nickel, platinum, and titanium, seems to have gained prominence as part of Ontario\u2019s efforts to develop a vertically integrated EV battery supply chain. A few years ago, there was significant political concern that a shortage of battery metals would be a significant bottleneck in the energy transition, and the Ring of Fire was a solution.<\/p>\n That has not elapsed. But at any rate, Ontario already has a mature, producing, and prolific mining jurisdiction for many battery metals: the Sudbury Basin.<\/p>\n The Sudbury Basin is a geological unicorn: an impact structure produced by a meteorite blast 1.8 billion years ago that left behind rich deposits of nickel, as well as copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium. It has spawned dozens of mines and produces high-purity, Class 1 nickel suitable for batteries. It is arguably Canada\u2019s most important base metals mining jurisdiction.<\/p>\n But in terms of economic activity, even it pales in comparison to the Abitibi Gold Belt. The Abitibi straddles northeast Ontario and northwest Quebec and hosts Canada\u2019s richest gold mines, amongst the highest producing in the world.<\/p>\n If Ontario\u2019s economic news seems bleak these days, its gold rush has acted as a pretty good counterweight. In the wake of excessive Western deficit spending and Trump tariff turmoil, gold has soared as a safe haven asset. It keeps breaking price records and is now reliably over $4000\/ounce.<\/p>\n Ontario is Canada\u2019s largest gold producer, and Canada is the world\u2019s fourth-largest producer, having increased output by 31 percent in the past 10 years. Half of Ontario\u2019s mines\u201418 out of 36\u2014are for gold. The vast majority of these precious ounces comes from the Abitibi. Over half of Ontario\u2019s mineral value<\/a> comes from gold. In 2024, this amounted to a market value of $7 billion, and it will surely be higher this year. By comparison, copper added about $1.6 billion, nickel about $1 billion, and platinum group metals just under $800 million.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Government of Ontario estimates<\/a> that the Ring of Fire will generate $22 billion over 30 years for the Ontario economy, or an average of $730 million a year.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hub_Quiz_Aug2025_banner_1400x356_v2c.jpg\")
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