After reporting some of the most exciting drill results in Canada in decades, everyone is anxious to see what Noront Resources Ltd. will come up with next from its Double Eagle property at McFauld's Lake in Northern Ontario.

Unfortunately, they're going to have to wait a little longer because of "material failures" in a Toronto laboratory where Noront has sent 19 batches of core samples (about 760 individual samples). Not one of them has returned results that meet quality control standards. The lab will re-run the work orders.

"Our technical advisors assure us that this particular quality control issue does not relate to any assay results that have been previously released, and furthermore the delays in achieving acceptable results from the laboratory have no bearing on the actual results that will be forthcoming," chief executive Richard Nemis said in a statement.

All the same, the delay clearly frustrated investors and Noront shares took a tumble Friday.