The Fire Ring in the northwest of Ontario has become a key figure in the battle to control critical minerals, which experts say is the heart of the threats of US president Donald Trump to Annexar Canada.
While a remote peat swamp of Ontario may not be the scenario that first comes to mind by imagining the geopolitical conflict, critical minerals under it are essential for renewable energy and digital technology.
The fire ring of northern Ontario is a Mineral Moon Mineral Deposit That has been look like a critical source for the flourishing Battery industry of Ontario electric vehicles.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, is now looking at the rich mineral deposits in Canada, since the United States cannot produce enough, said Elizabeth Steyn, a law assistant professor at the University of Calgary.
The Fire Ring contains minerals that include nickel, chromium, paladium and platinum, said Steyn, who teaches a course on critical minerals, regulatory and geopolitical frameworks. These minerals are very attractive to the US.
“They are important in terms not only of the energy transition, but also of the digital transition and also national security,” Steyn said.
As the commercial war between Canada and the United States is heated, Trump’s choice of what rate shows how much the United States in Canadian critical minerals depends, he said.
“While tariffs are in 25 percent, energy is being evaluated in 10 percent and energy materials include critical minerals. Now that tells us a story, because if they really did not need them, they would also have been arguing arguing 25 percent,” said Steyn.
The growing ‘race’ for resources
The journalist Vince Beiser has fallen in the critical mineral career in his new book, “Power Metal: the race for the resources that will shape the future.” Echoing former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Beiser Trump’s threat to Annexar Canada is motivated by his desire for critical minerals.
“Canada is loaded with these critical metals that will be absolutely crucial for the next 20, 50, 100 years of human development,” said Beiser.
But these coveted minerals are, until now, only a promise of the potential of the Fire Ring. The area of 5,000 square kilometers is a remote and swampy turbound about 500 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay. Without a connection with the provincial road network, it is only accessible by Ice Road in winter or plane in the remaining months.
“It is a long way between knowing that there are underground metals and carrying them above the ground and the market,” said Beiser.
The duty to consult
The potential development has faced a setback from some first nations, which have previously said that they have not been properly consulted and see it as a potential threat to its traditional life forms.
There are also a series of Open cases against the Ontario government on the duty to consult in the mining sector of northern Ontario, as well as a Legal Action on the Province’s online Claim Program and its regulatory processes.
The local opposition to mining will probably hinder development, Steyn said.
“I think that the greatest challenge is not so much a legal challenge, it is the fact that they face a significant community with the proposed development and until they have bought the surrounding communities, I do not see those projects onwards,” he said.
Another first anishinaabe nation in Quebec He had a recent and preceding victory in the Federal Court that could raise the bar for consultation obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Law of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip).
Even if you are going to appeal, this case “changes the regulatory landscape,” Steyn said.
“Everyone has been waiting to hear what happens exactly with Undrip, and I think a possible developer would play it very risky if they do not consult that depth.”
