***MB FERRO-ALLOYS CONF: Ring of Fire is thrice the size of Sudbury

November 09, 2009

The Ring of Fire, an emerging multi-metals district located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, Canada, could be more than three times the size of the Sudbury complex in Ontario, Noront Resources, the dominant land holder at the Ring of Fire, said.

Wes Hanson, president and ceo of Noront, told delegates at MB’s 25th Ferro-alloys Conference in Monte Carlo that Noront has evolved from an exploration company into a development company after discovering deposits of nickel, copper, chrome, vanadium, titanium, zinc, iron, gold, silver and PGMs at the site.

"I’ve seen some of the world’s great mineral camps, but nowhere else can such a variety of minerals be seen in so small a space," Hanson said.

"It was all blind discoveries, done through geophysics followed by diamond drilling," he added.

Noront, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, will initially focus on the Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, and PGMs deposit, with almost 3 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resources at around 2% nickel and 3% copper.

The company will also look to develop the Blackbird chromite deposit, which is Canada’s first primary chromite resource, from which the company will look to produce ferro-chrome, Hanson told MB on the sidelines of the conference.

Noront has hired consultants from South Africa to help it in this goal.

The company requires a further $12-15 million to fund the remaining exploration work, after raising $25 million through a private share placement in August.

Noront has also hired SNC Lavalin to examine infrastructure alternatives at the site, which lies in marshlands and low-lying swamps.

"It will be challenging to develop, as access is only by helicopter or plane: the nearest road is 300 km to the south," Hanson said.

It will be between five and seven years before Noront becomes a substantial producer of the metals, Hanson told MB, but it is already looking to take a firmer hold of the complex after making an unsolicited bid for fellow explorer Freewest Resources, which controls three chromite deposits within the Ring of Fire.

Noront has offered 0.25 of its own shares for every Freewest share, which would give Freewest’s shareholders a 26% stake in Noront, should the deal go through.

The offer was made on October 13, and expires on November 18, Hanson said.

"We want to consolidate the camp, and are trying to tie up the deposits in the Ring of Fire," he added.

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