PDAC: Ring of Fire roads due by 2030, Ford says

Ontario plans to start building all-season roads to the hyped Ring of Fire critical metals hotspot in June for a late 2030 opening target, though it’s not clear that local mines would open any sooner.

The plan for the 451 km of roads and associated infrastructure, estimated several years ago to cost at least $2 billion, speeds up the timeline by as much as five years. The province has been playing up the Ring of Fire’s potential in government advertising over the past year although the remote region has few advanced projects and little if any infrastructure.

“Let’s even accelerate it more,” Premier Doug Ford told reporters on Monday at the PDAC conference, as two hecklers asking about the Grassy Narrows First Nation tried to interrupt his speech, before security hustled them away. “The quicker we do it, the more opportunities that come, and more economic development for our friends in the First Nations and everyone else in the province. Seizing this opportunity would not be possible without our Indigenous partners.”

Monday’s announcement includes economic partnerships with the Marten Falls (MFFN) and Webequie First Nations (WFN) worth $2.5 million and equity opportunities for an airstrip and aggregate businesses.  

Roads gain momentum

While Ford didn’t directly address the cost, Ontario is urging the federal government matches or exceeds the province’s $1-billion investment in Ring of Fire infrastructure and help speed up permits for roads in the region, it said in a separate news release.

“We haven’t had an official signing yet, but I’m very, very confident that they’re going to be there with us hopefully sooner than later, hopefully over the next month or so,” Ford said.

The new timeline and agreements come just over three months after MFFN and Ontario signed a $39.5-million infrastructure development deal that includes the construction of an all-season road linking the Ring of Fire region community with the provincial network. That agreement re-affirmed the province and MFFN’s backing for the proposed Northern Road Link (NRL) that would connect southern roads with the Ring of Fire in the north.

Marten Falls is about 140 km southeast of the Ring of Fire while Webequie is about 70 km west of the proposed mines area. A road from the Webequie community would run east towards the Ring of Fire and connect with the NRL, which is meant to join with the Marten Falls Community Access Road (MFCAR).

The Ring of Fire, about 540 km north of Thunder Bay, holds vast reserves of chromite, nickel and copper, for which several companies have been exploring, but only Wyloo Metals’ Eagle’s Nest project is considered advanced and the remote swampy region lacks roads and power links. Wyloo is owned by Australian tycoon and former Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) CEO Andrew Forrest.

Road timelines

Under the new timelines, construction of the Webequie Supply Road is to start in June and be open to traffic by November 2030, four years ahead of schedule, while the MFCAR is targeted to start construction this August and open by November 2031, four years ahead of schedule. The NRL build is scheduled to start in the spring of 2028 and open by November 2031, five years ahead of schedule.

The deal signed with the WFN and MFFN includes equity opportunities through the infrastructure-focused Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program; $2.5 million to support economic activity in the regional mining sector and a First Nations-led employment readiness survey. In addition, Ontario is to work with First Nations to identify skills training so community members can access emerging jobs.

“[The agreement comprises] community infrastructure, environment, the economy –

areas where we need to move forward and improve the quality of life for our communities,” MFN Chief Bruce Achneepineskum said. “Our people can’t wait. Eighty per cent of our people are on Ontario Works [social assistance]. That’s unacceptable.”

Mine timelines uncertain

Asked by The Northern Miner how the accelerated road timeline would impact schedules for constructing mines in the Ring of Fire, Ontario Mines Minister Stephen Lecce said “the gamechanger of the deal” is the infrastructure advancement, though he said he can’t speak for companies or investors in the Ring of Fire.

“We have a plan to build the roads ahead of schedule,” he said. “We have a plan that has already reduced the permit timelines for large-scale investors within the Ring of Fire and across Ontario. No longer is this a pipe dream. This is literally the infrastructure, the vision that’s coming to life as we speak.”

The agreements on Monday and from November follow a similar one Ontario signed in January 2025 with the Aroland First Nation that sets aside about $93 million for a new transmission line and community infrastructure. Aroland, located at what is known as the “gateway” to the Ring of Fire, is 60 km north of Geraldton on Highway 584/643.

Marten Falls, Webequie and Aroland are the only First Nations that have signed formal agreements on infrastructure related to the Ring of Fire. About a dozen other First Nations have reached partnership agreements on assessments with the federal government for the Ring of Fire, while several other First Nations are firmly opposed to developing mines in the region.