D12, Franz, I have no heartache with discussion on this forum, and I consider it the true strength of this board. Both of you contribute in your own ways, often with different views on the same subject. Neither of you harm the investor, as long as the investor reads and understands the message you are both leaving on the forum.

I can see how someone could perceive D12's 3 March post as hype - but it could only be perceived as such using hindsight. At the time, the price of gold was breaking records, the news of Bear Sterns was still two weeks in the future, and the world thought that the US just might pull out of the problems.

At the time, BNN and others, including Hodson, Genuity and Sprott were talking openly and excitedly about the Ring of Fire. The PDAC was ongoing in Toronto, and there was a helluva lot of excitement generated by the cores on display in the hotel lobby. EVERYONE was speaking highly of Noront.

But there is a huge difference between speaking highly of a stock and pumping/hyping it. The difference is that pumping/hyping is skewing of the facts, or the introduction of outright fiction. Speaking highly is based on statements of fact. This is what D12 is known for.

The message from D12 remains accurate. What occurred that took the wind out of the sails was the world market fear that saw most of the junior stocks sold off, taking profits off the table to make up for losses in the senior markets.

There has not been a single reason presented for the stock to have fallen on its own. Every NR should have added value to the stock, as they all increased a) the land interest of NOT with other companies through jv partnerships; b) deliniated deposits through drilling results; or c) showed that Noront is proceding with its vision of change with hiring of experienced professionals.

The one exception was the post of the assay result delays caused by problems outside of NOT's control. But even this should have been seen positively, as it demonstrated that the QC program in place is effective.

Yes, the market is looking for high grade nickel finds. We have shown them, but they are not as high as DE1. Does this really matter? No, I don't believe so. The whole package of the ROF is about 0.5% revealed. This area is enormous and remote - it will take time to fully explore. Despite comments of Noront going ahead and mining on its own, this will not happen overnight. The road access needs to be made, permits have to be attained and contracts drawn up. Still, this could all take place by the winter season open.

To sum up:

• Yes, we are grossly undervalued. 43-101 showing about $2.1 billion in one deposit so far.
• E2 and Blackbird still not fully delineated.
• Windfall still being worked on, and we expect to hit the juicy stuff this fall.
• JV's still not being drilled, as they are yet to have geophysics completed. Bold Ventures has called for a deeper penetrating geo program to see how deep their anomalies run.
• Probe and Fancamp are (or soon will be) drilling their important anomalies around Eagle 1. Probe assays for Victory test drills could be out any day.
  
• SPQ/KWG/UC have presented a 43-101 for about a million tons. It all adds up for establishing the market's skewed requirement for megatons of ore to meet economic viability.

These are bargain basement prices. The ore is still in the ground and is non-perishable. When the market settles and wakes up, the players in the game will see an incredible run up in SP. But it may take some time for this to happen. If you don't have the patience, you are likely going to face incredible frustration.

According to Michael White, Vice President of IBK Capital, “Noront’s Eagle One deposit is a world class nickel-copper-platinum-palladium discovery. Results to date are very encouraging and warrant substantial follow-up by Noront and others in this area now dubbed the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is three times the size of the Sudbury Basin and will require considerable funding for exploration going forward. The combined budgets of companies exploring on the ring already total $60 million for 2008 and we believe $250 million will be spent on exploration over the next five years. We are delighted to be involved with this world class discovery and pleased to provide investment banking services to strong management teams committed to the area. To date we have raised over $50 million dollars for companies active on the Ring of Fire.”(source)