Mapping The Ring of Fire
Northern Ontario, Canada
The Ring of Fire is set to be the most significant resource infrastructural project in Canada, second only to Alberta’s oil sands. Situated in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, this 5,000-square-kilometer crescent shape deposit of chromite, nickel and other platinum group metals is thought to be worth as much as $50-billion. It will require massive investment in infrastructure and housing to make the mining project operational. As a result, the area’s economy and ecology will drastically change in the coming years.
This research project aims to study and document the existing biophysical and socio-cultural milieu of the Ring of Fire, with interest in the communities of the Matawa First Nations, isolated in Northern Ontario, which will be affected by the future development. The decisions made on how to develop the mining potential of the Ring of Fire will drastically affect these communities and the local, regional landscape.
