http://www.smallcappower.com/articles/mike-white-expert-interview.html

SmallCapPower.com: Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” showed a lot of promise a few years ago. But these days lawyers for First Nations groups are serving junior exploration companies with eviction notices. IBK is heavily vested in the Ring of Fire. Is the play dead?

Mike White: Is the play dead? The truth couldn’t be further from that. It’s nowhere close to being dead. We absolutely believe that this will be Canada’s next large mining camp. It’ll be another Sudbury and employ a lot of people. It will put a lot of money in the pockets of the stakeholders - the local communities, the exploration and mining companies, the service providers and governments, both provincial and federal. It’s frustrating to be where we’re at right now. Stakeholders move at different paces and, obviously, there are sensitivities that need to be worked through with the First Nations and the companies active there but I think that with time all will be worked out.

SmallCapPower.com: What are some of your equity positions in the Ring of Fire?

Mike White: We have positions in a number of the companies operating in the Ring of Fire but we’re strong supporters of Noront Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:NOT) in terms of the equity that we hold and the relationships that we have with Noront CEO Wes Hanson and his board. Another one is Bold Ventures Inc. (TSX.V:BOL). Bold is run by the former management team of Noront and, the discovers of the Ring of Fire, including Richard Nemis, John Harvey and David Graham. John and his team have identified many high- priority targets being drilled there. We also have a good relationship with MacDonald Mines’ CEO Kirk McKinnon and follow the work that he’s doing with HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) in terms of drilling projects and properties in the Ring of Fire. And there is James Bay Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:JBL). IBK was behind the James Bay IPO in 2008. James Bay holds a tremendous amount of property in the ring , much of it next door to MacDonald Mines.

SmallCapPower.com: Are these mostly base metals plays?

Mike White: Yes, these companies are seeking either VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits or MMS (magmatic massive sulphide) deposits. The MMS deposits contain, nickel, copper, platinum group elements, while the VMS deposits contain is copper, zinc, lead and some precious metals. The largest base metal deposits discovered to date are the high- grade chromite deposits owned by Noront and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF). Cliffs has estimated it will spend $5.1 billion on the development of a chromite mine and smelter in Northern Ontario. Those are the metals that have been found in the largest quantities so far but the belief is that there are many other large metals deposits waiting to be discovered.

SmallCapPower.com: Are you more partial to Canadian plays than those in other jurisdictions?

Mike White: I suppose I am partial to what’s close to home but we are opportunistic. We will look at projects around the world. We have some jurisdictions that we don’t go to. But if a jurisdiction has a good mining code, the rule of law and a track record of being mining friendly, then we’ll certainly look at projects there.

SmallCapPower.com: What are some other stories you want to talk about?

Mike White: One is Eagle Hill Exploration , which has the Windfall Lake gold property in Quebec. Eagle Hill just released a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate of about 1.36 million ounces (Moz) gold (538,000 oz indicated; 822,000 oz. inferred) at around nine grams per tonne. That’s very high grade and Eagle Hill is discovering ounces at a cost of $10/oz, which is incredibly low. Management believes it’s on its way to a 2 Moz gold deposit.

SmallCapPower.com: Does Eagle Hill have enough cash to stay afloat until it gets there?

Mike White: Yes, it has the means and Eagle Hill is conducting the last half of a 25,000-metre drill program. Once it has finished that, the data will be compiled and the company will work with (geological consulting firm) SRK to increase the resource. Just to put it in perspective, less than a year ago, Eagle Hill came out with a resource of 700,000 oz gold. In less than a year, it has managed to almost double its resource while improving the grade. And in this business, that’s very difficult to do. Eagle Hill is trading at US$23/oz in the ground. The global average right now is US$36/oz. That’s an example of how low the valuations in this industry have come. Historically, the average is closer to US$50/oz; in 2007, it was up over US$70/oz. So as this company continues to pull ounces into the resource categories, it will at some point be re-rated by the market.