T-Bay pitches mining at Denver infrastructure conference

Mining is set to boom in northwestern Ontario in a big, big way.

John Mason, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission's mining services project manager, will be making a pitch to American and international companies and investors this fall that there's $80 billion worth of upcoming development work to be had in the region.

Mining-related infrastructure needs in northwestern Ontario will be one of the featured projects at the annual North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum in Denver, Colo., Oct. 16-18.

The region is considered among the top 100 infrastructure producing projects on the continent.

Mason and Steve Demmings, the commission's CEO, will be lauding the mineral-rich region's 1.2 million ounces of annual gold production at Red Lake, as well as 13 prospective deposits that will likely become mines within five years.

The infrastructure requirements for these massive projects involve an estimated 573.5 megawatts of power, 750 km of transmission lines, 640 km of roads, and an anticipated labour force of 3,551 professionals and tradespeople.

“Certainly the infrastructure focus will be the thing we'll be hitting on,” said Mason, who presented at the last year's show in Washington D.C.

“We'll touch on the Ring of Fire project, but we'll talk about the major exploration projects on the cusp of production in the 2013 to 2017 window,” starting with Rubicon Minerals' Phoenix Gold project in Red Lake, slated to start production late next year.

“We want to illustrate that this is fertile ground.”

The annual event attracts Wall Street financiers, global engineering and software firms, developers, lawyers and deep-pocketed entrepreneurs looking for investment opportunities.

“It's an interesting mix of heavy hitters and high profile individuals with a number of countries represented,” said Mason.

Since last year's show, Mason had several conversations with Silicon Valley software firms entering the mining sector for the first time.

He expects his other contacts made in the construction and engineering field to appear in Thunder Bay this September at the Prosperity Northwest economic development summit.

At the Denver event, the goal is to brand northwestern Ontario as a mining district with world-class gold deposits and, hopefully, whet some appetites that the region has a welcoming climate to outside investment and offers many opportunities for supply chain business.

Opening the door for new companies to establish branch offices in Thunder Bay would be a bonus, but Mason said the main priority is create some outside awareness of the mining projects and strengthen existing business alliances with northwest miners like Premier Gold and Stillwater Mining which operate on both sides of the border.

Thunder Bay is increasingly looking to position itself as a mining industry supply and service hub.

The city and nearby Fort William First Nation are putting together a mining readiness strategy and have selected SNC Lavelin and Thunder Bay's Edward Hoshizaki Development Consulting to carry out it.

The consultants will be examining how the communities can maximum the mining-related spinoffs in areas of transportation, energy, workforce planning, industrial land use, business development and housing supply.

Lakehead University's business department has been commissioned to carry out a socio-economic study on the mining industry's impact on the region. That report is due out this September.