Noront already has confidentiality agreements with major mining companies (though which companies we do not know.) These companies already know more about McFaulds and Double Eagle than we do.

I would speculate that said agreements include clauses about ownership levels and takeover bids and ensure some level of protection for Noront.

Noront also has some very large shareholders (management, Sprott, IBK, Lassonde) who are definitely NOT interested in selling prematurely.

Even if a major decides to take an unfriendly run at Noront, I suspect there would be a bidding war.