The chromite situation is that there is a fairly small market for it compared to the common metals.
Freewest example:
There is enough ore there to supply the north American market for 70 to 100 years, but to do so the infrastructure costs would have to be amortized for decades. Interest rates are very low now but it is almost a given that they will be much higher soon. They were 10% just over a decade ago and three decades ago they were 20%. No one in their right mind would risk such.

To be able to sell their story Cliffs raised their production level estimate to double north America's needs.
That means producing for 35 -50 years. That still may not be enough and it would mean supplying as an example most of Europe's need for chromite. But there is the other side - such supply would affect price, diminishing returns.

Making my point:
Eagle's metals do not have such a limitation of delivery quantities affecting metal price. Well nickel could, but to a much lesser extent than it would be with chromite.
So my point is that to pay for the necessary infrastructures in the Ring and have a pay back in reasonable time, Noront's already known metals are needed.

Hence I concur that we ARE under a magnifying lens and not just from Cliffs.

The fact that our neighbours are appreciating in sp with little improvement in assets while us doubling to trippling (mostly Eagle) ours and our sp actually going down in that time means that something is afoot. I think the sellability of our metals has a lot to do with it because they are needed for the road, rail and power lines to make the region viable in shortedt time.

Cheers.