Hi Stratopod,
You are right in your post.
Earlier this year (Sept. 2009) Noront hired a South African chromite expert -- South Africa is the world's largest chromite producer -- to help Noront assess its deposits. He said there was only one thing wrong with Noront's chromite -- that his company didn't own it.
When you go to the Noront website and look under the technical committee tab you will see the person listed there and his name is Stewart Mcquade.:
Stewart Mcquade
Independent Advisor (Chromite Specialist)
Stewart McQuade has 10 years experience in the exploration industry relating to mineral resource exploration and evaluation. He is a registered Professional Geologist in South Africa, and a recognized competent person for signing off of on Chromite Resources and Reserves.
Stewart graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University with a BSc. (Hons) in Geology Geography Environmental Management, and worked as a student bursar for BHPBilliton and then later Samancor Chrome. Stewart is no longer an employee of Samancor Chrome and runs his own geological consultancy.
Stewart specializes in chrome, and has worked on various chromite deposits around the world and oversees projects worldwide, from grass roots exploration to mining feasibility studies.
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Here is the link for last years conference:
http://www.metalbulletin.com/EventDetails/0/3357/Event.html?LS=IndMin
You will notice Baosteel is listed as an attendee.
When you look at the link of this years conference in Sept. 2011 it states:
Join an international delegation of senior executives in the world’s most important chromite producing region. Meet buyers, sellers, traders and many others at Industrial Minerals Chromite Conference 2011.
Baosteel is not at this year's conference. Neither is Noront. Noront found a buyer for their product and Baosteel found a secure supply of goods through Noront. (Buyer happy, Seller happy). Goal achieved.
Noront and Baosteel are also members of ICDA
Here is a link:
http://www.icdachromium.com/publications-directory-company.php
It could be that the attendees of the upcoming Chromite conference (Cliffs and Probe)are looking to meet buyers of their goods just as Noront has secured with the Baosteel deal. With the list of attendees it looks like a good meeting place.
