Much to the surprise of officials in the Northern Ontario town of Monaro, offshore energy giant Oceana Energy has decided to opt out of the lithium development project for James Bay.
The news of Oceana’s decision came as a shock to members of the community who had hoped that the project would bring much needed jobs and economic prosperity to the area.
The project had been set to include the creation of a lithium processing plant and a mine south of the town of Monaro. In addition to the superstructure for the plant that would have been built by Oceana, local companies had hoped to benefit from subcontracting opportunities, and the employment of local workers.
The decision to back out of the project appears to have been made due to the high costs associated with the project which Oceana felt were unfeasible at this point in time.
While the news was a disappointment to members of the Monaro community and the local businesses that were expecting to benefit from the project, it was not completely unexpected given the challenges that the project encountered in the past.
In addition to cost considerations, environmental activists who were opposed to the project had raised their objections to the project, causing delays in the approvals process.
Despite the setback, the project still has the potential to go forward if another company decides to take on the challenge. But for now, the disappointment of the project’s failure hangs heavily over Monaro and the surrounding area.
