Ring of Fire volcanic eruptions of the last 11,700 years occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics: the movement and collisions of lithospheric plates, especially subduction in the northern portion. The southern portion is more complex, with a number of smaller tectonic plates in collision with the Pacific plate from the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Bougainville, Tonga, and New Zealand. The presence of a belt of volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean was observed in the 19th century. "They [the Japanese Islands] are in the line of that immense circle of
Ring of Fire (Northern Ontario) transportation corridor and processing facility in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire that would lead to a new generation of prosperity in the north, with thousands of jobs and new infrastructure". Natural Resources minister Michael Gravelle announced that the smelter would be in Sudbury, Ontario. On 26 April 2013, Tony Clement called the Ring of Fire the oil sands of Ontario. On 13 June 2013, Cliffs announced it would put its $3.3-billion project on hold pending results of negotiations between First Nations and Queen's Park. Clement said that the Ring of Fire would bring "about a hundred years of mining activity