Ring of Fire, Virginia Heffernan
Ring of Fire, Virginia Heffernan
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Ring of Fire
High-Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness

Author: Virginia Heffernan

Narrator: Nikki Zakocs

Unabridged: 7 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/14/2023


Synopsis

A valuable discovery under the world's second-largest temperate wetland and in the traditional lands of the Cree and Ojibway casts light on the growing conflict among resource development, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous rights

When prospectors discovered a gigantic crescent of metal deposits under the James Bay Lowlands of northern Canada in 2007, the find touched off a mining rush, lured a major American company to spend fortunes in the remote swamp, and forced politicians to confront their legal duty to consult Indigenous Peoples about development on their traditional territories. But the multibillion-dollar Ring of Fire was all but abandoned when stakeholders failed to reach a consensus on how to develop the cache despite years of negotiations and hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. Now plans for an all-weather road to connect the region to the highway network are reigniting the fireworks.

In this colorful tale, Virginia Heffernan draws on her bush and newsroom experiences to illustrate the complexities of resource development at a time when Indigenous rights are becoming enshrined globally. The Ring of Fire presents an opportunity for Canada to leave behind centuries of plunder and set the global standard for responsible development of minerals critical to the green energy revolution.

About Virginia Heffernan

Virginia Heffernan is a former geoscientist with an Master of Science from the University of Toronto's School of the Environment and an MFA from the University of King's College. Her articles appear in publications such as CIM Magazine, Explore, and the Globe and Mail. She lives in Toronto.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nancy on January 07, 2023

Living near Buffalo, NY and Metro Detroit my idea of the Canadian province of Ontario is formed by Toronto and Windsor and the land between them. As a girl, I vacationed with a friend on the Georgian Bay, visited Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, and looked across the Straits of Mackinaw toward......more

Goodreads review by Missy on March 10, 2023

Just finished it and all I can say is - read it! I highly recommend it. I thought the subject might be a bit dry but turned out to be the opposite. It was so fascinating. I learned so much about northern Ontario. Ms Heffernan does an wonderful job explaining the issues surrounding mining in the ring......more

Goodreads review by Cathy on July 23, 2023

Ring of Fire is a rich Canadian literary exploration of Ontario's 2007 Ring of Fire mineral discovery. Virginia Heffernan mines the complexity of this lowlands greenbelt of nickel, copper, platinum, chromium, gold and zinc, valued at tens of billions of dollars, with her refined tools of geological......more

Goodreads review by Justin on November 24, 2023

This book presents a cohesive narrative for readers to understand the various nuances of Canada and Ontario’s complex relationship with the natural ores and minerals, along with the people groups living on top of those natural resources. I found this quite useful to increase my knowledge of each nar......more

Goodreads review by Edward on December 22, 2024

Very informative, well written and entertaining book. I do know something about the area and the issue and I found this book really filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. With her insider knowledge of the players and her geology background she adds a unique and helpful perspective. She paints a co......more