‘Milestone’ deal reached with 15 First Nations on Ring of Fire mining development – Ricochet Media

January 20 2025

Members of Land Defence Alliance insistent on including ‘free, prior, and informed consent’ in agreement

Canada will announce today that it has reached a “milestone” agreement with 15 First Nations over the terms of reference for an environmental assessment process in the proposed Ring of Fire mining development.

The agreement, finalized by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, establishes the terms under which the regional assessment will be conducted, a required environmental study that applies to all new resource developments and expansions. That process analyses the potential economic and environmental effects of proposed industrial activity or expansion of existing resource-extractive projects. According to Canada, the regional assessment process has been underway since February 2020.

The Ring of Fire is a mineral deposit spanning 5,000 square kilometres in the James Bay lowlands, located 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. It’s believed to be among the largest such bodies in Canada. Local First Nations refer to the area as Kawana’bi’kag.

Read More: https://ricochet.media/indigenous/milestone-deal-reached-with-15-first-nations-on-ring-of-fire-mining-development/