Hi Everyone,

I thought I would chime in here as this is starting to be a conversation that is worth having. At this point the native communities are almost complete their evaluation of what the best East-West route will be. For the most part their preference share most of the route in common with what Noront has proposed in their EA.

It looks as though Noront will be transferring their EA to the province so the process can be continued as a provincial initiative. Noront's work is comprehensive to it will allow the province everthing it needs to spearhead the initiative.

There should be consensus within the next month or two on what the route will be.

There has also been some questions regarding drilling. Drilling is starting and will continue for the coming months. One of the targets is not subject to any challenges due to thawing. One target is however, and considering the winter has not been particularly cold, Noront is under a time crunch here. Drilling is possible at this site if the ground thaws, as anything is possible with money but the drilling may be cut short on that target depending on the rate of the thaw.

IMO management was successful in raising enough money for a good drilling campaign.

Regarding the budget, there was no question that the ROF would not be specifically named. The fed's will most likely be contributing $$'s by connecting the native communities to the East-West corridor. The corridor has not even yet been decided. Negotiations have not yet been concluded with the province as of yet. It would be counterproductive to the provincial negotiations for the Federal Goverment to throw another element by promising money at this time.

The province and Matawa should know that if they want some Fed before it's allocated elsewhere, they need to finish up.

As Coutts has said the Federal Government is eager to participate but IMO the Fed's need assurances that an agreement has been made before commiting.

After the province has concluded their agreements with the Matawa, then it will be Noront's turn to work on IBA's for the Nickel operations with the 4 communitied in the immediate area. Some groundwork has already been laid, so I don't see that being a lengthly process.

I forsee the next 2-6 months being an exciting time for NOT longs. Whether you like drill results or are looking some progress on Eagle's Nest there will be something for all.