Ring of Fire map

The head of a Canadian mining company says criticism of a promotional video featuring two women in bikini tops and shorts extolling the virtues of the so-called Ring of Fire is “a bit over the top.”

The video from KWG Resources (TSXV:KWG), titled “5 Interesting ‘Ring of Fire’ Facts,” has been criticized by some editorials in mining and northern Ontario publications as “archaic and humiliating” and not “socially progressive.”

In the video, one of the women, Theresa Longo, stands on a dock and notes that comparisons have been made between Alberta’s oilsands and northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire _ a mining area about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., that holds one of the world’s richest chromite deposits as well as nickel, copper and platinum.

A second woman identified as Ashley sits on a lakeside swing and says that First Nations are “interested in sharing in the resources.”

The video is part of a Mining Minute series on KWG Resources’ YouTube channel and is in contrast to the two dozen other videos that mostly feature Longo talking to CEO Frank Smeenk in an office setting.

Smeenk says all junior companies trying to raise capital for exploration want to get attention and adds he sees no harm in this video, which he says was conceived by the women themselves while they were on vacation at a cottage.

Filed under: Local News