I have been reading “Mining Markets”, an add in to the Northern Miner. There are some excellent articles on the ROF.

One article; “The Ring of Fire Becoming the Ball of Fire” is an interesting read so I thought I would pull out a few excerpts for those of you who do not read this excellent Mag.

…..in late May, Noront announced that it had discovered a thick layer of massive chromitite (rock composed largely of the mineral chromite) lying about 30-50 metres beneath the Eagle 2 copper-nickel deposit. The steeply dipping layer, now called “Blackbird” One to differentiate it from the “Eagle” nickel-copper deposits, was traced by drilling from near-surface to depths of up to 400 metres at widths of up to 69 metres. One intersection returned 50 meters averaging 39% Cr2o3.

The find is significant because not only are the grades comparable to those being mined in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, which holds about 70% of the world’s total chrome reserves, but the widths appear to be thicker. In the Bushveld, the majority of deposits lie in two main layers, 0.6 to 1.3 metres thick. At Blackbird One, the seams vary from a few centimeters to more than 20 metres in true thickness.

Overall, the Bushveld Complex contains more than a billion tones of reserves grading 42-45% Cr.

The only known Canadian chromite deposits are the Bird River Sill deposits in Manitoba, which mainly occur within a 3-metre layer and are too low-grade (21% Cr) to be considered economic…….

Then it goes on to state: An important consideration when evaluating chromite deposits is the ratio of chrome to iron. Ideally, the chrome,-to-iron ratio should be at least 1.5 to produce ferrochrome. At Blackbird One, chrome-to-iron ratios average 1.7 compared to 1.9 in Bushveld and 1.4 at Bird River.

Suppliers including Vancouver-based Matrix Helicopter Solutions, which is building several camps in the Ring, don’t set up shop and cultivate relationships with mining companies if there isn’t a critical mass and something of consequence there.

But as more juniors flock to the area and more drills turn, the potential for conflict with First Nations Groups in the area is growing. There are five native communities in the area --- Webequi, Marten Falls, Lansdowne House, Attawapiskat and Kasabonica --- and some confusion about how far the influence of each community extends.

So far, the companies involved have agreed to minimize airborne surveys and other flying operations during First Nations’ wild game harvests in the spring and fall, and provide ongoing consultation. These efforts have gone a long way to smooth relations between the two groups.

“We have worked very well with the companies and there has been a close dialogue with a number of them to address our concerns and issues with respect to traditional pursuits by our members,” says Chief Scott Jacob of the Webiqui First Nation. “We will play a major role (in the development of the camp) because we are strategically situated in the play and we are already exploring some potential opportunities.

…But if economic deposits start to become a reality, major companies such as Vale Inco or Xtrata may decide at some stage of the play to step in and buy out the successful explorers.

“We’ll continue to be able to finance at higher prices, and eventually a major mining company will come in and buy majority interests in these juniors,” says White, without missing a beat. “The infrastructure of the major companies is Sudbury and Timmins needs this kind of feed so you have a market already in place.”

Don