Ontario Prospector Association Hold Successful Event In Thunder Bay
by Scott A. Sumner
The mining exploration business is booming in Northwestern Ontario and the annual trade show style event held recently at the Valhalla Inn with over 550 registered reflected this very fact. “ The organization is basically a lobby group for exploration companies and prospectors which works with the government to try and make it easier on the different issues and legislation.” said Gerry Clarke Executive Director, Ontario Prospectors Association, based in Thunder Bay. Clarke is a geologist who runs a consulting company and also is a prospector. His job with the Ontario Prospector Association takes about 70 to 90% of his time.
The Prospectors Association of Canada recently ran a huge event in Toronto with 27,000 people registered and is the biggest in the world. The estimated investment in exploration and development in Ontario is about $950 million this year, the highest ever. In N W Ontario between $250 to $300 million of that amount will be spent.
“ I think we will see new mines here. The Ring of Fire is moving along and projects in Atikokan, Rainy River, Dryden and Marathon are moving along rapidly as well. We are seeing site work already happening. This is the best it has ever been. If commodities prices are fairly high it will be good,” Said Clarke. “ The event has been a huge success. The local group took over the event and has been growing ever since. It stimulates the field and gets the people of NW Ontario to see what an economic driver we are. Thunder Bay in the last 5 to 8 years has grown in the mining area. There are 20 junior companies located here and they employ 20 to 30 people each. You have the Musslewhite mine ran out of Thunder Bay and a lot of the employees live in Thunder Bay. It is about 1000 jobs here in total. They are high paying jobs also.”
An exciting mining project happening here is the Bending Lake Iron Group project located near Atikokan. “ My grandfather and grandmother were working in the 30”s on the property we are developing today. I was working on the property with my grandparents at age 12. My grand
mother kept it up after my grandfather died but then lost all the claims. It is our ancestral trapping site as well so we have been on it for over 7 generations. I have trapped on the area, my father who is 82 years old still runs a tourist business there,” said Henry Wetelainen, President and CEO, age 63, of Bending Lake Iron Group. “ Noranda put the claims up for sale after getting them from another mining company. Noranda looked at the area for a while and then put the land up for sale and I bought it in 2003. It is like 3 generations.”
“ We want to build an open pit mine with an iron concentrate out of that and turn it into a merchant pig iron with another process to add value to it. We may take it one step further to produce a semi finished product that can get to an electric arc furnace, which are located throughout the US. North America imports 7 to 8 million tons per year. Our goal it to produce 1.2 million tons annually for 35 years and have a mine life that will last 60 to 70 years there,” said
Henry. “ We have offer term sheets for about $750 million to $850 million of funding and are close to our total requirement of $1 billion.”
The mine operation would use six 680-ton trucks from Caterpillar. The mining fleet will have a value of about $50 million. During construction 700 men will be employed which will last for about two years. After that it will go down to a work force of 120 at the mine and 220 at the industrial site.
“ Our preferred location is Atikokan for the industrial site. We finally got an MOU or a road map signed with Ontario government. We are looking to everything at Bending Lake,” said Henry. “ There are iron ore mines in the Minnesota but we have none in Canada. That tells
you something. My plan was to put together guys that want to build a mine, not to just put together a stock play or promote a stock and then sell out. Our goal is to become the lowest cost producer of iron ore in North America, including Silver Bay. Our cost going in is about
$200 a ton. Right now the product sells for $550 iron units a ton. We can be profitable at $400.”
The start of construction should be in 2013 according to Henry. “ We are going to get it done and will take the company public when we want to. We have developed a team of people here who are in it for the long haul to build a mine.” says Henry.
