"We know there are countless exploration companies up there looking for diamonds and nickel and copper and PGMs, platinum group (metals), and none of those projects could ever justify the infrastructure that we're talking about,"

Oh rea......lly! And how does he come to make that presumption....I smell smoke. Pretty arrogant. Maybe he means that they'll take it all over so that no one would ever get the chance to justify it.

"Cliffs is in discussion with several ministries of the Government of Ontario about building an all-weather road from the Ring of Fire to Nakina more than 300 kilometres away where it would meet up with CN Rail."

Seems to me we've been discussing this for years and members of the NOT board actually got the officials awakened to what was going on.

"Boor said the Cliffs project at Black Thor "can be a catalyst to get the right infrastructure in place, then there's more development up there and more jobs than what we talked about."

Cliffs project? Well if it wasn't for some pretty dubious sells of Canadian companies it would .....should be Canadians doing this.

"Boor said he is not being critical of the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty, but "I think the government needs to look at this as provincial infrastructure to be competitive in that mining district."

Yes boss, we'll do anything for you. Thank you for coming here and showing us Canucks how to do it right.

"His company is working to locate a "transportation corridor and a ferrochrome processing facility where this is going to be such a long-term development for us, that we want it to be somewhere where we can operate in the up cycles and the down cycles."

Well take it where you can get it because the minerals aren't going anywhere. But what you mean is that you want it so cheap that you'll make money no matter what. Well you're off to a good start with penny candy SPQ, FWR and by the looks of it ....KWG.

"Boor said the perception is that industry "is just out to keep the money and, of course, that's part of our job, to maximize our returns."

You don't say!

"But it is in Ontario's interest "that the jobs are secured for the long haul," he said."

Aw, you pressed my buttons...now I'm getting all warm and fuzzy. The Feds will like this manipulation. So it wouldn't have happened I guess if the Canucks tried to do it themselves. Cheers to the NOT BOD for aiming for just that.

"When his company moves to further develop the Black Thor and two other sites it owns or partially owns, the employment will be "multigenerational. It's a long time."

Talks cheap. It's interesting how they like to keep using that phrase "that it owns". Are you sensing that colonial character of these people?

"Frank Smeenk is president of KWG Resources Inc., which owns about 30% of the Big Daddy, one of three main deposits in the Ring of Fire. The remaining 70% is owned by Cliffs.Smeenk says every dollar of new "foreign capital investment might ripple out to $15 to $25 of economic activity ..."

Wow, sounds like Frank knows which side his bread is buttered on. Sounds like a done deal here.

"Therefore, the $2 billion to $3 billion that may ultimately be invested in this new enterprise can be expected to add markedly to the size of Ontario's economy."

Politicians will love that one. That ought to sell'em.....er buy 'em.

"Developing these Canadian chromite deposits, said Smeenk, "will change the world of chrome extraction, production and consumption, and bring additional prosperity to Canada and Ontario -first by bringing some to the First Nations up there. More mines will also be found in those areas."

It's been a while since there was talk about just how temperamental the Cr market could be, in that not a lot of tonnage is actually produced worldwide in relation to the amount that could easilly be mined in the ROF. Thus, there could be something of a flood on the market, a reduction in value and likewise in a Cr companies sp. So where would all of this great economic progress wind up? Shutdowns? Layoffs? Has CLF discussed with gov't the precarious nature of the Cr market? Is CLF thinking very long term?.......unusual for western business. Do they have goals which don't particularly consider the lives of those they impact in their goals? Is there something else they have in mind? Would CLF be interested in this area if there wasn't gold, ium's, Cu, Ni, Cr, .... you name it? I don't think so....and I think it important to use some lateral thinking when dealing with people who don't have Ontario or Canada at the top of their priority......that is, after money. They make promises there is no way to enforce, for hungry politicians looking to succeed in the next election. I believe some of the politicians honestly want to make positive changes but I likewise don't think they can separate the need for getting elected from the issue of making judicious decisions. Will they act in haste to meet election deadlines and make decisions that negatively impact others while giving CLF a sweet deal? We'll see folks. At the least it'll be interesting.

The above is simply my opinion.