MPP Reads Statement at Queen's Park Regarding Ferrochrome Plant

**OFFICE OF GILLES BISSON NEWS RELEASE**

After yesterdays announcement that Sault Ste. Marie was chosen as the new location for the Ferrochrome plant Timmins MPP Gilles Bisson read this statement at Queen’s Park.

“I rise today to tell the House that Noront, a mining company in Ontario, has made a site selection for their Ferrochrome Facility and they chose the community of Sault Ste Marie. This process originally started with four communities: Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie, and Timmins. It then went down to two: Timmins and Sault Ste Marie. Now they have made this particular decision.

I don’t think this particular file is over and I just want to read comments that were made by our Mayor of the City of Timmins, Mr. Pirie: “We’re still in the game.  They’ll need a partner with far deeper pockets and Glencore would be an example of a partner like that, although there’s others. So it gives us time to continue to affect the decision”

We all know that building this first chromite mine is probably a better part of 8-10 year away so a lot things are going to happen between now and the actual construction of the mine. First we need a road, so we need an agreement with First Nations because they have to be able to benefit from any agreement that comes from development on their lands, then they have to build a Nickel mine, then once the Nickel mine is built they’re going to go to the chromite pit. So it’s going to take some time before we’re there, it’s going to take somebody with a lot of money to build a ferrochrome facility because you’re talking about upwards of $1 billion dollars. Timmins will continue what it does — we will work hard in order to do what’s right for Noront or whoever builds that particular facility, and what’s good for Ontario. Timmins will continue to push along with our Mayor, our federal Member of Parliament, Economic Development Corporation, our Chamber and myself to affect this decision so that the processing facility eventually does come to the city of Timmins.”