Ring of Fire Push Pits Critical Minerals Against Carbon Peatlands, Indigenous Rights
May 25, 2026Reading time: 9 minutes
Kylie Brezden - Stephen Lewis Climate Journalism Fellow
Camp site within the Ring of Fire, 2025/Trevor Hesselink as supplied by Wildlands League
In northern Ontario, hundreds of kilometres from the nearest highway, a vast stretch of peatlands and boreal forest is being positioned as central to Canada’s economic future.
Beneath the dense peatlands of the
James Bay Lowlands lies the Ring of Fire,
a 5,000-square-kilometre section of mineral-rich geological formation in the
McFaulds greenstone belt, mapped as a crescent of nickel, chromite, copper, platinum, and titanium deposits that could be
used in cell phones, computers, medical devices, and electric vehicles. Above those underground treasures, the world’s largest
intact peatland ecosystem stores vast amounts of carbon and
supports Indigenous communities that have lived there for generations.
The push to develop the region has brought these realities into tension. The
Ontario government has framed the Ring of Fire as essential to Canada’s economic growth, citing projections of C$22 billion in economic output over 30 years and 70,000 jobs tied to development in the region. However, scientists, Indigenous leaders, and policy experts say the environmental, social, and economic implications of disturbing the region remain deeply uncertain.
How We Got Here
The Ring of Fire region has been in discussion for nearly two decades.
Interest in the region took off in 2007 when Noront Resources, now owned by
Wyloo Minerals, announced the
Eagle’s Nest discovery of nickel, copper, and platinum near McFaulds Lake. These were followed by chromite discoveries in areas known as
Black Thor and Blackbird, and vanadium-titanium deposits in areas known as Thunderbird. The discoveries triggered an urgency and quickly turned into some of Canada’s most talked-about mining prospects.
By the early 2010s, the region was widely promoted as a transformative economic opportunity, with early estimates placing its value in the billions of dollars. Those figures were
later questioned because they failed to account for the costs of extraction or
project feasibility.
Activities stalled with high infrastructure costs, volatile commodity markets, and unresolved questions around access and consultations hampering development for more than a decade.
Cliffs Natural Resources, an Ohio-based mining company, invested heavily in the region before abandoning the endeavour and
selling its chromite assets at a loss,
citing mounting costs and logistical challenges.
At the same time, tensions surfaced on the ground. In 2010, members of nearby First Nations communities blockaded access to exploration sites, citing a lack of consultation and concerns about environmental impacts, as
documented by Ginoogaming First Nation.
Today, momentum has returned.
Ontario has announced plans to accelerate development timelines, positioning the region as critical to securing domestic mineral supply chains. But many of the same questions remain: not just whether the minerals can be feasibly extracted here at enormous infrastructure costs, but whether the plan to do so aligns with Canada’s climate commitments and its obligations to Indigenous peoples.
A Place Few Get to Visit
For most Ontarians, the Ring of Fire exists more as a concept than a place. For others, it is known as the
Breathing Lands, where the land
supports [pdf] hundreds of plant, mammal, and fish species.
More than
90% of Ontario’s population lives in the south, while the north accounts for most of its land mass. The Ring of Fire sits roughly 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, without permanent road access and disconnected from the provincial power grid.
The region lies within Treaty 9 territory and is home to one of the largest Indigenous populations in Ontario. Approximately 30,000 Indigenous people, including 34 First Nations, live in the broader area,
according to a planning report co-written by First Nations partners and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada that establishes the terms of reference for assessing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of development in the region.
“This area is one which First Nations people have always relied on, cared for, and known by their own names,” the report states.
This region is not simply a remote resource deposit but a living land that all Ontarians are connected to.
What Sits Above the Minerals
The minerals beneath the ground are only part of the story.
The Hudson Bay Lowlands host one of the largest
peatland complexes in the world. These
peatlands form over hundreds to thousands of years, as waterlogged conditions slow the decomposition of plant material, allowing carbon to accumulate and remain stored.
“Peatlands are one of the most important carbon stores on the planet,” Adam Kirkwood, a peatland conservation scientist with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, told The Energy Mix. “Globally, they hold roughly twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined.”
Scientists say the concern is not limited to the environmental impacts of mining itself. Roads, transmission lines, and other infrastructure required to support development could also disrupt these waterlogged systems, potentially increasing carbon releases and wildfire risks. Peatlands in the Ring of Fire store approximately 550 million tonnes of carbon, equivalent to two billion tonnes of
carbon dioxide if fully decomposed, Kirkwood added.
Local First Nations
say [pdf] the peatlands and wetlands in the region are closely tied to their traditional knowledge, food systems, and cultural practices.
“People in northern communities still rely on the land and local animals for food security, especially when boil water advisories can last for years and the cost of basic goods in remote stores is so high,” Ramon Kataquapit, founder of the
Okiniwak Indigenous Youth Movement, told The Mix in an interview.
Framed as key to Canada’s low-carbon transition, mineral extraction in the Ring of Fire carries its own climate costs: “This isn’t just a local issue,” said Anna Baggio, conservation director at the Wildlands League. “It has broader climate and economic implications, especially when you consider the role of peatlands as a major carbon sink.”
Why Here, Why Now?
The renewed push for development is tied to growing demand for critical minerals. But whether the Ring of Fire is necessary to meet that demand remains an open question. The United States
Geological Survey [pdf] stated in February 2026 that known global chromite resources in the ground are “sufficient to meet conceivable demand for centuries.”
“There are real questions about whether the Ring of Fire is necessary for the clean energy transition, especially when similar minerals are available in other parts of Ontario with existing infrastructure,” said Janet Sumner, executive director of the Wildlands League.
Ontario [pdf] already has mines and advanced projects in regions near Sudbury and Timmins, where infrastructure is established.
“The question isn’t just about accessing critical minerals,” Sumner told The Mix. “It’s whether doing it here creates greater environmental and community risks than the alternatives.”
There are also uncertainties around the economic case.
“We still don’t have a current full feasibility study for the project, so there are significant unknowns around how viable these deposits actually are,” said Jamie Kneen, national program co-lead at MiningWatch Canada.
Mining companies typically conduct feasibility studies to assess whether a project is economically and technically viable enough to attract investment and move forward. While previous studies were completed on some Ring of Fire deposits more than a decade ago, Kneen said, “they are now outdated.”
Who Decides the Path Forward?
Beyond economics and environmental risk, developing the Ring of Fire is also a question of governance.
Two Indigenous communities,
Marten Falls and
Webequie First Nations,
support the construction of
roads in the region, citing the need for improved community access, reduced isolation, and economic opportunities associated with development. At the same time, concerns remain around consultation, environmental impacts, and Indigenous jurisdiction.
Related Story:
As Canada Warms, First Nations Lose Vital Ice RoadsFourteen First Nations in Ontario have
brought forth a constitutional challenge against Ontario’s
Bill 5, which allows the province to designate “special economic zones,” where certain laws and regulatory requirements could be streamlined or set aside to accelerate development. Ontario Premier Doug Ford
said last June that he would make the Ring of Fire a special economic zone “as quickly as possible.” The court challenge also targets the federal government’s Bill C-5, which is designed to fast-track major projects deemed to be in the national interest.
According to Kate Kempton, senior counsel at Woodward & Company LLP and
counsel for the First Nations involved in the challenge, both laws allow cabinet or ministers to make decisions without regard for existing laws, potentially bypassing environmental assessments and human rights protections, and cutting off meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities.
“If environmental assessment and other process requirements are not applied, there’s a huge risk that impacts to ecosystems and communities won’t be understood before decisions are made,” she said.
“How can governments fast-track development while weakening the protections and treaty obligations meant to safeguard our communities and future generations?” Kataquapit added.
For many First Nations in the region, the issue is not only whether development proceeds, but whether they have a meaningful role in shaping how it happens.
Next Steps
Wyloo has continued developing the Eagle’s Nest project, while discussions around transportation and infrastructure corridors
remain ongoing. In March 2026, Ontario
announced an accelerated plan to complete roads to the Ring of Fire five years ahead of schedule, signalling increasing political momentum behind development in the region.
Large-scale mining projects would typically require environmental assessments, infrastructure approvals, consultation and engagement processes, and updated feasibility studies assessing economic and technical viability. Uncertainty remains over whether—and to what extent—Ontario’s Bill 5 and the federal Bill C-5 could accelerate approvals for major projects, a prospect that concerns Kneen.
“There hasn’t been enough discussion about the full environmental, social, and community impacts of development in this region,” he said.
For now, the push to open up the Ring of Fire continues, the province pressing ahead with its roads, legislation, and development plans.
Ontario ministries and several First Nations communities contacted for this story did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
This story is part of The Energy Mix’s partnership with the Small Change Fund.
Kylie Brezden
Stephen Lewis Fellow
Kylie Brezden is a freelance climate and environment writer focused on climate adaptation and how infrastructure, policy, and systems shape responses to climate risk in Canada. She holds a master’s degree in climate change and has experience across the public and private sectors.
