I thought that title might get your attention…

Well fellow frustrated Notsters, its been a while since I have posted something of substance, and maybe this ain’t either, but BK’s latest efforts and MISFIT1’s return have motivated me to try and contribute something of potential value or interest other than just doing such trivial things as taking aim on posts that are misleading or inaccurate, or nitpicking about semantics. BK, M1, Canseco, Franz, and others, myself included, are part of the old NOT gang that were here this time last year facing a very the same problem with NOT that we are facing now, albeit under much different circumstances, and that is the issue of promotion. Some of you may now be scratching your heads and wondering what on God’s Earth am I talking about, and well, I am about to explain.

It was about this time last year that Canseco and I both attended NOT’s Shareholder Rights Plan meeting at a downtown hotel, where we voiced our concerns directly to Mr. Nemis about the fact that NOT’s Windfall story, despite all its potential and spectacular results, was not generating the sustained market interest and attention that we on the old Shouse forum felt was warranted, and as a result, the share price was in a downtrend on low volume as the so-called strong hands kept their grip on their shares amid waning buying interest and a resulting declining market cap (sound familiar?). In fact, we on the forum found it hard to believe that everybody on the planet did not grasp the significance of Windfall and many of us assumed, with the results of the famous “Hole 100”, that NOT had to be household named amongst those beloved ‘Bay Streeters’ and the investing community at large. However as time went on, collectively we realized and concluded, that this was not the case and NOT was still a relatively unknown ‘commodity’, no pun intended, amongst the institutions and sophisticated investing public – I actually had explain to my ex-broker at Canaccord who Noront was! Can you believe it? Should have kept my mouth shut I guess because the greasy buggers are now shorting it every chance they get…

Anyway, it was actually members of the old Shouse forum who were responsible and instrumental in getting Noront to sign-up with Agoracom, as it was clear that Mr. Nemis did not want an in-house IR person. However, after a barrage of questions from both me and Canseco, Mr. Nemis did admit at the SHRP meeting that he could no longer the IR alone as things were becoming too big for him to handle (this was before DE1 even existed!), and based on this feedback, others on the forum introduced NOT to Agoracom and pushed for a deal. In retrospect, the actual real benefit of Agoracom’s relationship with NOT is debatable, but we regarded the signing of an agreement between the two as a small victory in the battle to awaken Management to the necessity of expanding IR operations.

Fast forward to today, and believe it or not, we are facing much the same problem – a lack of proper promotion. Management is stretched so thin as the company transforms from obscure junior to a mid-tier mineral explorer, at the centre of the most significant base metal discovery in Canada since Voisey’s Bay, that, as was done the past, IR is not given any priority as the technical people focus on the technical stuff and the others get done what they can, of what they prefer to do, while other things on their long “to do” lists, such as IR, remain unattended to, when in fact it ought to be top priority. The truth is that nobody, including Mr. Nemis, is willing to devote the FULL-TIME effort to promoting the story of McFauld’s Lake to institutions around the world in the way that Robert Friedland assertively and voraciously sold the VB story. Friedland, whatever your opinion of him, was masterful at promoting the VB story globally and bringing it the attention of investors around the world, thereby ensuring a healthy supply of buyers (what we are currently lacking) eager to get into the next big thing. Yes, Mr. Nemis does pick up the phone to talk to us, and speaks at the occasional Richmond Club event, but speaking to us is not the best use of his time, and the odd RC performance is not even close to what is necessary to properly promote our Mc Fauld’s Lake story.

What good is all of the hard work and the great drill results if they are not correctly marketed and there are no buyers anxious to get a piece of the action? That success is in vain, and until quite recently, NOT’s Management have miscalculated in that they thought or expected that the results alone would do the selling and carry the market cap to higher levels. You will recall Mr. Nemis’s now infamous words about the next financing at $10. Clearly this strategy is not, and has not, worked, as positive press releases continue to go unrewarded by the market… That is when they are not too technical or complicated that market does not even grasp the significance of what is the NRs. Solid and very positive Ni assays got buried in the last NRs amongst beaucoup de technical mumble jumble and discussions of Chromium, when in fact those results should have been highlighted. This was a tactical error on NOT’s part, and we are still paying for that.

Now, before you get all hot under the collar and think that I am bashing Mr. Nemis, I am not. I ‘love’ the old man as much as any investor could given that he is a person of great honesty and integrity, and a champion of the retail investor. He is a rare breed indeed, and is one of the reasons I remain invested in NOT… And of course also the high grade gold, copper, nickel, rhodium, chrome, platinum, palladium, etc. Our successes to date are attributable largely to him, and the problems NOT currently faces are not due to any incompetence by anyone at Noront. Noront is changing rapidly, for the better, but change is not always easy to manage, and it’s often easy in retrospect to say that X. Y, or Z should have been done. I will always be grateful and indebted to Mr. Nemis for all he has done for NOT shareholders.

However, that said, it seems, with the addition of new recruits in NOT's executive/management, that changes are a foot as the old guard at NOT realize they no longer can do everything themselves and that they need help. There is too much work to be done, and they need more highly qualified bodies to effectuate the operations of the company in a manner that will maximize shareholder value.

The truth is, is that nobody currently employed at Noront, including Mr. Nemis, is suited and prepared to undertake the sophisticated (no more Johnny Cash music at company AGMs, even though I am huge Cash fan), assertive, and technically proficient promotion of Noront’s operations that now needs to be done EVERY business day of the year. This requires a full-time effort by a polished and charismatic geologist/MBA/CFA type who can sell the Noront story and shares to institutions and sophisticated/accredited investors around the world and maintain constant and regular dialogue with them, while convincing and reminding them that they are participants in the biggest new mining discovery play, in the most mining friendly jurisdiction in the world.

We need a Robert Friedland personality, without the toxicity, and this person needs to become the new CEO of a Noront, listed in the TSX, and stripped of all other properties, including Windfall, while Mr. Nemis remains President of Noront, and President and CEO of new company holding everything else (Windfall, Burnt Hill, Mexcio, China, etc.) but the Mc Fauld’s Lake properties, and we need this done now… Its not personal, just business.

The current share price should and ought to be $7 to 8, not $3 to 4, and given everything that has developed at the DE project at Mc Fauld’s Lake since the discovery hole, it is preposterous that we are even at these levels. There is something very big and exciting at Mc Fauld’s Lake, and its about high time that this value is reflected in the market cap of the largest landholder, and discoverer of some of the most significant Cu-Ni, PGE mineralization ever to be drilled… Lassonde knows it, McKewan knows it, Sprott know it, Pinetree know it, IBK know it, we know it, but the rest of the world clearly does not.

The reality is, because of the company’s spectacular success, largely due to the savvy of our current President and CEO, that…. we need a new CEO to share the responsibility of leading the company with Mr. Nemis as President, and fill the ‘massive’ marketing void that currently exists within Noront’s management.

Regards,

B.