Ring of Fire mineral zone to get high-speed internet

The sparsely populated, but mineralrich, Ring of Fire zone in northwestern Ontario will be getting highspeed internet at a cost of $67.1 million to taxpayers.

Funding for the project, which involves the installation of 880 kilometres of new fibre-optic cable, is being announced Friday in Thunder Bay by the federal and provincial governments in hopes of spurring the mining of an estimated $60 billion in chromite, gold and other deposits in the region.

“In today’s economy, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury; it is essential,” said Navdeep Bains, federal minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Up to $37.1 million has been earmarked by the federal government and $30 million by Queen’s Park. The contractor is Rapid Lynx Telecommunications.

The investment follows Ontario’s decision in August to move ahead with an all-season road into the proposed Noront Resources mining project in the Ring of Fire zone after years of delays and negotiations with First Nations. That road is expected to provide a much-needed economic boost to the area about 575 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay and connect remote communities to other highways.

Federal officials said the high-speed internet will serve 610 households at five remote First Nations communities, including Fort Hope and Webequie, along with 36 businesses and institutions. That averages out to almost $104,000 per location.

The Ontario government pledged $1 billion to develop the Ring of Fire three years ago and has been press- ing Ottawa to match that amount to help build road access and electricity transmission corridors into the area.

Ontario has touted the Ring of Fire as one of Canada’s next great mining zones, with massive deposits of chromium, a key ingredient in stainless steel, and other minerals, which could provide thousands of mining and processing jobs for generations in the economically depressed area.

Bains touted the internet funding as “yet another demonstration of our government’s commitment to the economic development of northern Ontario.”