I'm tired of sitting in conference all day long listening to presentations about technology. Still two more days to go. Good lord! Fortunately I got hold of THE BIG SCORE from library over the weekend so that I can have some fun at night.

Just reading at chapter 7 - Amazing Grade and thought of Noront. Here's the excerpt from page 111-117 to share with you.

...

"Am I really seeing this?"

Verbiski nodded slowly.

"I can't take it. I've got to leave here," Sparkes gasped.

The geologist gently lowered the core back onto the rack and the two men stepped out of the shack and locked the door. Sparkes could barely think. As he and Verbiski headed toward the cook tent, Sparkes whispered:"This camp is going to go mad."

What Sparkes and Verbiski had just seen was 104.3 meters of gleaming brassy core, all of it massive sulphides, twice the depth of massive drilled at No. 2 in October. In a few weeks they would learn that core from No. 7 averaged nickel grades of nearly 4 percent, a huge leap from the average 2.96 percent at No. 2. No wonder the Okuatsiaks had struggled with the boxes. Sulphide minerals are already extremely heavy, and the rich ore from No. 7 probably added 20 kilograms to each box. Sparkes had never heard about such massive sulphide in his life. But it wasn't the quantity that overwhelmed him; it was the size of the pentlandite crystals that held the nickel. Geologists had marvelled at the fingernail-sized crystals of pentlandite from hole No. 2. But these crystals were something different. They were as big as Ping Pong balls.

...

"Chris, I've never seen anything like this in my life," Sparkes warbled over the satellite phone. "We hit 104 meters of massive sulphides. I've never seen pentlandite this big before. It's outrageous. You don't drill anything like this in a lifetime."

...

"Holy fuck," Verbiski whispered into the phone.

...

Three weeks after the Diamond Fields tour returned to Vancouver, the company could boast irrefutable proof of the sinificance of its discovery. On February 6, the company issued a press release announcing that the core from holes No.7 and 8 contained the richest and thickest intersections of massive sulphides ever yanked from the earth. More than 104 meters of massive ore had been pulled from hole No. 7 sssaying neally 4 percent nickel, almost twice the nickel content tested in hold No. 2. Another 111 meters was drilled from No. 8, about 75 meters to the south. Assays on these cores showed 3.71 percent nickel. There was no disputing it now. Diamond Fields was sitting on an amazing motherlode.

...

The first four drill tests from October had indicated only 1 million tonnes of ore was buried at Voisey's Bay. After holes No. 7 and 8, company geologists offered preliminary estimates that the deposit could hold as much as 25 million tonnes. No other nickel mine in history had ever proven such valuable reserves after only eight drill holes.

...

Noront significant hole #5 (from NR):

- Hole NOT-07-05 encounters massive chalcopyrite (copper sulphide), pyrrhotite (iron +/- nickel sulphide) and pentlandite (nickel sulphide) over 65.4 meters

- Hole NOT-07-05, observed to be the most significant hole to date, was positioned 50 meters to the northeast of Holes NOT-07-01 and 02 and was drilled vertically at the peak of a magnetic anomaly to ascertain the magnetic body's more precise location. After 6 meters of overburden and one meter of limestone, peridotite with interstitial chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite was encountered to a core depth of 47.4 meters. Between 47.4 and 112.6 meters massive chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite was observed. Then from 112.6 to 123.3 meters peridotite with interstitial chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite was observed. Between 123.3 and 124.4 meters, another massive section of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite was observed. The hole then remained in peridotite until 127.4 meters core length, then entered granodiorite until the end of the hole at 143.4 meters.

- Hole NOT-07-05 final assay results include; 68.3 meters averaging 5.9% nickel, 3.1% copper, 2.87 g/t platinum, 9.78 g/t palladium, 0.61 g/t gold and 8.5 g/t silver;

- 3 meter section of hole averaged 8.7% nickel, 10.9% copper, 40.79 g/t platinum, 14.57 g/t palladium, 9.39 g/t gold and 8.7 g/t silver

I'm no geologist. But how come Diamond Fields could claim 25 million tonnes after 8 holes, Noront still struggling with 5 million tonnes after dozens of holes with PGE deposits? Diamond Fields market cap was about 300 million at that time. With nickel price 8 times (approxmately) higher than 13 years ago, NOT cap seems fair settling at 600 million. That's why it's not moving much at this point? Am I missing anything here?

It's not doubt but some thoughts after reading the chapter 7.

LONG on NOT.

PS. Sold half INI today. Anyone has any opinion on it? Hope you grabbed some last week.