The Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich crescent-shaped geographical region in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 5,000 square kilometres in size with most discoveries of chromite, nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc, and palladium found in a 20 kilometre strip of land.
Potential development of mining sites, particularly "Eagle's Nest" (copper-nickel) and "Black Thor" (chromite), have been controversial in both Federal and Provincial politics since the Ring of Fire was discovered in 2007. Australian-based company Wyloo Metals is the current owner of "Eagle's Nest" and plans to construct a mine on the site in 2027, with production planned to begin in 2030. It is believed to contain more than 15.7 million tonnes of high-grade nickel with "significant" amounts of copper and platinum group metals. Ontario-based exploration company Juno Corp. is the largest private claimholder of the Ring of Fire. As of January 2025, Juno Corp. has laid claim to 4,600 square kilometres of land, including an area known as the Vespa Complex. Juno formed in 2019 with the goal of "systematically making discoveries" in the Ring of Fire and is responsible for expanding mining developments past the original "Ring" into outlying areas.
The crescent-shaped Ring of Fire is named after a song popularized by Johnny Cash.
Geography The James Bay Lowlands is a region of the greater Hudson Bay Lowlands, which together form the second-largest undisturbed peatland in the world. Because of the natural high saturation of these wetlands, it is particularly sensitive to environmental pollutants such as toxic tailings and waste rock. The portion of peatland that covers the Ring of Fire is estimated to contain 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon.
The Ring of Fire itself is located in Ontario's Far North region which contains the world's largest area of boreal forest free from large-scale human disturbance. A portion of the site crosses the Attawapiskat River, which has a drainage area of 50, 200 kilometers, and flows into James Bay through Attawapiskat First Nation.
The closest permanent settlements in the region are the nine communities that compose the Matawa First Nations and are represented by the Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) Tribal Council. The Council was established in 1988 and serves a combined population of over 10,000 people. The Ring of Fire is located on territory covered by Treaty 9, also known as The James Bay Treaty. For many First Nations living in the area, the traditional name for the Ring of Fire is Kawana 'bi 'kag.
In June 2025, citizens of Neskantaga and Attawapiskat First Nations began a permanent settlement on the shore of the Attawapiskat River approximately 70 kilometers north of Neskantaga. The intention of the new village is threefold: to act as a base for those proving First Nations residence of the area since at least the 1870s, to provide an opportunity to return "back to the old ways," and to be ready to block the bridge and road into the Ring of Fire on the Northern Road Link when construction is projected to reach the site in 2040. According to local journalist Jon Thompson, "the most powerful" archaeological evidence is implied by the imposing eight-foot cross that looms over the river, two kilometres from the proposed bridge. As of September 2025, it is not confirmed whether the person whose remains are buried beneath the cross belonged to Neskantaga First Nations or to Marten Falls First Nations.
First Nations and the Ring of Fire There are numerous Treaty 9 First Nations communities surrounding the proposed mines including First Nations in both Matawa and Mushkegowuk Council territories. The Mushkegowuk Council (based in Moose Factory, Ontario) represents eight Cree First Nations and the Matawa Council (based in Thunder Bay, Ontario) represents nine First Nations communities whose populations are composed of Ojibwe, Cree, and Oji-Cree peoples. Among the eight Matawa First Nations, four have long term drinking water advisories - Eabametoong First Nation (issued August 8, 2001), Marten Falls First Nation (issued July 18, 2005), Neskantaga First Nation (issued February 1, 1995), and Nibinamak First Nation (issued February 5, 2013). Neskantaga First Nation's boil water advisory is the longest in Canadian history.
In June 2025, the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada passed legislation that allowed both provincial and federal leadership to override environmental protections and Indigenous rights in favour of economic development. As a result, previous commitments to First Nations regarding the Ring of Fire may not be honoured. While Premier Doug Ford had previously stated that the Ring of Fire would be the first "special economic zone" declared under Bill 5, as of September 2025 this has not been announced.
On July 14, 2025, the Mushkegowuk Council of Chiefs passed a resolution designating the Ring of Fire as "protected homeland on which development, and any projects or activities in support of development, cannot be undertaken without first acquiring the free, prior and informed consent."
Past Agreements In 2012, Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines struck a deal with Cliffs Natural Resources, an American steel company (now known as Cleveland-Cliffs) that had acquired significant chromite deposits in the Ring of Fire, including Black Thor, Black Label, and a portion of Big Daddy and had ambitious plans for rapid development of these deposits. A 2012 CBC article said that the proposed Cliffs mine would be located at the headwaters of the Attawapiskat River, across from Neskantaga First Nation. As of 2012, the three First Nations most profoundly impacted by Noront Resources' Eagle's Nest Project and Cliffs Natural Resources were Marten Falls First Nation, Webequie First Nation and Neskantaga First Nation. Others on the edge of the Ring of Fire include Constance Lake First Nation (Chief Roger Wesley), Nibinamik First Nation, Aroland First Nation, Long Lake 58 First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation, Eabametoong First Nation, Mishkeegogamang First Nation, and Constance Lake First Nation. They are represented by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). NAN is a political territorial organization that represents the 50 First Nations that are part of the Treaty No. 9 area in Northern Ontario. At the provincial level, the community, tribal council and political territorial organization participate in a province-wide coordinating body, the Chiefs of Ontario. The Assembly of First Nations represents the community along with other First Nations organizations and councils as well as over 600 First Nations across Canada. Attawapiskat First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation and Fort Albany First Nation are on the outer ring. Discovery of diamonds by Victor Mine on Attawapiskat First Nation traditional land, was one of the catalysts to further exploration resulting in the discovery of chromite.
In May 2011, Matawa Chiefs and their communities called for a Joint Environmental Assessment (EA) Review Panel.First Nations have a constitutional right to be consulted and accommodated by provincial and the federal governments. The federal government has a focus on streamlining review processes through 2012 changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to avoid a repeat of the lengthy Northern Gateway Pipeline Project Joint Review Panel which had a broad mandate under both the National Energy Board Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to "consider whether the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and if it is in the public interest". The review process included multiple opportunities for the public and Aboriginal groups to provide input NEB. On October 13, 2011, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) proceeded with a Comprehensive Study Environmental Assessment that favoured the mining industry without First Nations participation. On October 20, 2011, Matawa First Nations removed its support for the Ring of Fire development unless the federal government agreed to a joint review panel Environmental Assessment process that would allow First Nations communities in the area to have a voice in the assessment.
On June 12, 2012, Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse and Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci signed an agreement that "commits Ontario to providing social, community and economic development supports for Webequie to help facilitate the community's involvement in the Ring of Fire". They would "work together on regional environmental monitoring and regional infrastructure planning".
On January 20, 2025, fifteen First Nation partnersAroland First Nation, Attawapiskat First Nation, Constance Lake First Nation, Eabametoong First Nation, Fort Albany First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Long Lake 58 First Nation, Marten Falls First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation, Moose Cree First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation, Nibinamik First Nation, Webequie First Nation, and Weenusk First Nationand the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) reached a 'Milestone' deal regarding mining in the Ring of Fire area. While the deal did not finalize mining projects, it did establish terms for conducting assessments on First Nations territory.
History of Development 2003 - 2006 In 2003, Noront Resources began using two frozen lakes—Koper Lake, located about north of Marten Falls, and McFaulds Lake—as landing strips without consulting Martens Falls and Webequie First Nations. The Mining ActIn 2009 the Government of Ontario introduced an Act to Amend the Mining Act to update the 1873 Ontario Mining Act, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDM&F). Mining interests are allowed access to most of the land in Ontario, including private property and "mining projects are exempt from full environmental assessments and are under no obligation to clean up a mining site after the mine has closed". The 2009 amendments "failed to address the exemption permitted for mining from the environmental assessment process or protect Ontarians from being on the hook to pay for cleanup costs".Ontario Nature only allows exploration activities, not the construction of permanent structures. In a 2010 interview with Wawatay News, Marten Falls First Nations Chief Eli Moonias explained that Noront Resources had not gained permits to construct landing strips on the string bog or roads to the nearby airstrip and refused to build and maintain the infrastructure needed to prevent further damages to the wetlands environment. Moonias described that between 2003 to 2010, Noront Resources had "done outrageous acts" including sinking machines in the wetlands and using a helicopter to break ice with a log. He expressed environmental concerns over "sewage, grey-water, oil spills and road clearing" that had occurred during this seven-year period.
In September 2003, Freewest Resources Canada, began exploring "Black Thor" using airborne geophysics and ground geophysics.
2007 - 2009 On 28 August 2007, Noront Resources announced the discovery of a "large find" of "high grade deposit" of platinum, palladium, nickel, and copper northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Its underground mine project is named the Eagle's Nest Project.According to Gregory Reynolds' 28 July 2008 post on the Republic of Mining, Noront Resources Ltd had drilled two holes in the ground, with one having copper sulfide mineralization and the other hole with similar results. A few months later, Noront announced that it had found nickel, copper, platinum, and palladium a few meters below the surface. To reduce heavy truck traffic, Noront shared plans to build a buried -long slurry pipeline, using new technology safety features, from the site to Webequie Junction.