The bids are in.
Last month, North Bay City Council backed a bid from Timmins to build the Noront smelter due to the economic spinoff for Ontario Northland. It was a hot topic of conversation as North Bay residents wondered why the city had not put forward a proposal of its own, and supported the Timmins bid instead. Mayor Al McDonald has said that North Bay is not ideally suited for such a project, especially for environmental reasons. McDonald says that North Bay was not approached as a candidate.
Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay are also said to be in the running for the plant that will eventually refine chromite ore mined from the Ring of Fire. Once Noront picks the successful bidder, the smelter would take five to 10 years to build and create 500 direct and indirect jobs.
Noront expects to announce the successful bidder in three to four months.
