Balancing act: Aboriginal consultant is key Ring of Fire point man.

• Author: Faye, Donna
• Position: MINING

After nearly a year in his role as Ring of Fire senior director for Webequie First Nation, Michael Fox says he is encouraged by the progress of the emerging mineral development project.

It has been more than two years since the Ontario government announced it would be opening up the large chromite deposit in the James Bay lowlands to development.

"The lesson that I've learned is that there is always going to be politics," he said.

You have to deal with the politics, then the process, and then the project.

Fox's job is not an easy task. He is responsible for consulting with the community closest to the discovery areas in the Ring of Fire with respect to the potential opportunities its members stand to gain.

Webequie First Nation is a remote, fly-in community of 600, situated 540 km north of Thunder Bay. It is west of where Cliffs Natural Resources wants to build a mine at its Black Thor chromite deposit, the largest of its kind in the world.

With a 2015 production startup date, hundreds of construction, mining and transportation jobs will be created.

"It's really about unbundling those opportunities to identify which ones are worth pursuing and whether or not we can pursue them on our own and, if not, then who to partner with," said Fox.

He's also assisting in the environmental assessment process, planning, community support and processes, enterprise creation, partnership development and establishing memorandums of understanding (MOU) between the community, the exploration companies and government.

"I offer strategic advice to the chief and council, technical presentations and analysis around the layered complexities with the Ring of Fire," said Fox.

The concepts related to mining; such as environmental assessments, land-use planning and mine design, are new to the people of Webequie. In some cases, they have to create new linguistic terms. Part of Fox's role is to make sure members understand the concepts and remain informed about the process.

Although Fox is positive about the project overall, he is certainly facing hurdles along the way.

In June, Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse expressed his disappointment when Noront Resources, a Ring of Fire exploration company, stopped providing the necessary resources to continue negotiations to reach an MOU.

But Fox is not likely to let this set him back.

After being appointed senior director in August 2011, Chief Wabasse praised Fox for his strategic thinking, business acumen, and...