Ring Of Fire Chromite Deposits



Big Daddy 16x20x1.5", acrylics on wood panel

The Ring of Fire is the name given to a massive planned chromite mining and smelting development project in the mineral-rich James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 400 kilometres  northeast of Thunder Bay. The Ring of Fire was named when the first significant mineral finds were made in the region, by Richard Nemis, after Johnny Cash's famous country and western ballad. Nemis, the founder and president of Noront Resources, was a lifelong fan of the singer. By the fall of 2011, the Ring of Fire was considered "one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario".  Various chromite-rich deposits have been identified including Eagle’s Nest, Blackbird, Big Daddy and Black Thor. (Sources: Wikipedia, Noront Resources website)




Black Thor 18x24x1.5", acrylics on wood panel

The Big Daddy chromite deposit is located 5 km northeast of Eagle’s Nest and is a joint venture between Noront (70%) and Canada Chrome Mining Corporation (30%). Discovered by Spider Resources in 2008, the deposit is known to have the highest-grade accumulations of chromite ore in the region.


The Black Thor chromite deposit was discovered by Freewest Resources in the fall of 2008 while testing a gravity anomaly. Further drilling in 2009 revealed another parallel chromite horizon 150 km to the northwest now known as Black Label.



Eagle's Nest 8x10x1", acrylics on wood panel

The Eagle’s Nest Mine, Noront’s first proposed mine, is a high-grade nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) deposit. The mine is expected to reach commercial production in 2018 with an anticipated mine life of 11 years with the potential for 9 additional years.



Blackbird 8x10x1", acrylics on wood panel

The Blackbird chromite deposit was discovered in 2008. It offers significant potential due to its size, location (less than 1 km from Eagle’s Nest) and grades.





Oil Tank Car Transformed into a Fur Trade Pipeline

There is nothing new under the sun in Canada's resource industry. Introducing the Canadian oil tanker car transformed into a fur trade pipeline. This painting depicts an oil tanker car (circa 2014), carrying inside the fur trade products (beaver pelts) and its traditional pipeline (the canoe). The oil dripping from the oil tanker car is used to highlight that this is an oil tanker car. Using a Woodland art style to depict the beaver, canoe and tank car alludes to the ongoing close involvement of Canada's Indigenous peoples in the evolution of our natural resources over time.

Digital painting 24x30 inches at 100 dpi. by John Ernsting.

The City Of Riverbank, Circa 2070 - Ring Of Fire Mining Area

History (totally fictional)

The City of Riverbank was established as a planned community for the mining industry in 2015 after the discovery of nickel and copper in the area some years earlier. This property is part of the Ring Of Fire mining camp in northern Ontario's James Bay lowlands area, a camp discovered around 2008, and famous for its Chromite and other base metals finds. After bringing together the mining companies, First Nations (sharing the same lands), and the provincial and federal partners, an agreement was reached on a strategy on infrastructure, electricity prices and resource sharing/employment opportunities in relation to the First Nations and other people sharing that area. 

Since the Ring Of Fire area is a very boggy and swampy terrain it took some years to build a transportation infrastructure consisting of a railway and road connecting the Riverbank Mine, other mining properties and small town scattered through the area. The new road and railway system proved to be a great economic stimulus for the First Nations towns in that area and spurred on further mineral exploration activities. Modern exploration and development practices such as social responsibility to the people living and working in that area, environmental stewardship and a healthy and safe environment contributed to the success of the Riverbank Mine (e3 – PDAC 2013).

By the late 2020s, the town of Riverbank population had grown to about 1200. The population has varied with several boom-and-bust cycles from the 2020s to the 2060s. Riverbank was incorporated as a city in 2055. In the years since, the city looked elsewhere for its economic survival, promoting itself as retirement town and tourist destination (not unlike the story of Elliott Lake). Since the 2060s mineral exploration activities have taken off again. Health issues ,because of past mining activities, have been of some concern but because of past successfully completed comprehensive mine closures major issues have been avoided. The City of Riverbank appears to have a bright future.

This digital painting should in no way be used to guide your real estate or retirement planning.

Riverbank Property - Ring Of Fire Mining Area

The Riverbank property is located in northern Ontario, approximately 350 km north of Geraldton, Ontario. This exploration-stage property is believed to be underlain in part by rocks that potentially could host nickel-copper mineralization. ( National Instrument 43-101Technical Report prepared for Zara Resources Inc. Jan 14, 2013, public document, available on the internet)

This digital painting is a collage, loosely based on the gravity anomaly map for the Riverbank property, a magnificent rock outcrop from the Sudbury area, interwoven with two turtles (symbolizing the earth in aboriginal culture), and diamond drill bits sampling the various potential ore mineral zones. No mineral grades available at this time.

This digital painting should in no way be used to guide future exploration and development programs for this property. Other hard copy variations (9x12 and 18x24 inches, acrylics on canvas) carry the same disclaimer.