Page 90 In 2020 Canadian T radeEx the company that produces the Big Event Canadian Mining Expo in T immins Ontario one of the larg est mining trade shows in Canada will host another Big Event called the CENCAN EXPO in Thunder Bay Ontario CENCAN EXPO will showcase northweste rn On tario and Manitoba s mining min ing services and supply sector forestry and construction indus tries all under one roof at one time September 910 at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition Grounds to the world Northwestern Ontario is 526417 km in size and is roughly the size of France 547030 sq km It s extends north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay Manitoba forms its western boundary About 250000 people live in Northwest ern Ontario Thunder Bay a city of more than 120000 people serves as the re gional hub for Northwestern On tario The eastern bounda ry rests north of Sault Ste Marie around W awa Ontario Northwestern Ontario consists of the districts of Kenora Rainy Riv er and Thunder Bay In addition to Thunder Bay other major com munities include Kenora Dryden Fort Frances Sioux Lookout Greenstone up to Hearst Red Lake Marathon and Atikokan There are over 50 First Nations Thunder Bay Ontario at the western end of Lake Superior is where East meets W est communities in Northweste rn On tario and Thunder Bay serves as the head ofce of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation NAN which repre sents all First Nations in Northern Ontario who signed T reaty 9 Thunder Bay also referred to as the Lakehead is strategically lo cated and well connected with transportation network that moves products and people consisting of the main east west T ransCanada Highway Highway 1 1 and High way 17 and Highway 61 extend ing 32 miles south to the US Both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacifc Railway s pass through Thunder Bay Thunder Bay s airport is the third busiest in Ontario Its port is the deepest on the Canad ian side of the Great Lakes From the Port of Thunder Bay grain and potash from the prairies is shipped to ports in Can ada and the United States and to destinations around the world Ontario Power Generation s Northwestern Operations include one operating biomass and 1 1 hy droelectric stations T ogether they provide about 900 megawatts MW of power which accounts for 86 of the electricity used in the Northwest A transmission line expansion is currently underway by Hydro One spurred in part by several new mining projects being developed in the region The 230 Kilovolt KV W aasigan T ransmis sion line will extend from Thunder Bay Atikokan and westward to Kenora and the Manitoba border Although Thunder Bay has a di versifed economy with health services education and technol ogybased businesses resource industries such as mining and for estry contribute signifcantly to the regional economy In Ontario the mining industry creates about 26000 direct and 50000 indire ct jobs and is the thirdlargest private sector em ployer of Indigenous people in the province According to the Thunder Bay Community Economic Develop ment Commission Northwestern Ontario Mines produced approxi mately 900000 ounces of gold and 234000 ounces of palladium in 2017 The Ontario Mining Association reports there are nine operating mines in Northwestern Ontario eight of them are gold mines Clus tered around the W awa area are Alamos Gold s Island Gold Mine which has produced over 500000 oz of gold in its 12 years of opera tions The W esdome Gold Mine s Eagle River and Mishi Mines are nearby with the Eagle River Mine producing 1050000 ounces of gold in its 23 years of operations Moving north Harte Gold s Sugar Zone mine is Ontario s newest gold mine having begun full scale production in January 2019 Esti mates from February 2019 show an Indicated Mineral Resource of 4243000 tonnes grading 812 gt for 1108000 ounces contained gold and an Inferred Mineral Re source of 2954000 tonnes grad ing 588 gt for 558000 ounces contained gold W estward 80 km from Sugar Zone is the prolifc the Williams Mine operated by American Bar rick in Hemlo Ontario near Mara thon Ontario The mine has been operating for 30 years and has produced more than 21 million ounces of gold By Frank Giorno Thunder Bay host City Central Canadas Expo Page 88