Talks continue on Ring of Fire development

Noront Resources Ltd. continues to work with the provincial and federal governments and First Nations to advance development in the Ring of Fire mining camp and establish a joint infrastructure plan for the region.

Although progress is being made, the company said this week that discussions between the province and the Matawa Tribal Council at the Regional Framework Table are taking longer than anticipated and have the potential to delay the provincial government’s stated goal of having shovels in the ground by 2018.

The timing for development of the company’s Eagle’s Nest Mine is tied to the delivery of an all-season access road into the area, the company said.

To help these discussions proceed, Noront is focusing its attention on three communities with traditional land use in the area: Marten Falls, Webequie and Neskantaga First Nations.

Dialogue and negotiations with Webequie and Marten Falls are progressing well, the company said, with both these communities recently sending delegations of senior community members to view site activities.

Beginning this month Noront will also meet with leaders of the Neskantaga First Nation. These meetings will be facilitated by an experienced and respected mediator with the goal of identifying a mutually agreeable path forward for the company’s current and proposed exploration and development activities.

“We believe that having a common view toward resource development and effective partnerships in place with Marten Falls, Webequie and Neskantaga First Nations are the keys to the timely and successful development of the Ring of Fire,” Noront Resources CEO Alan Coutts said in a news release.

Meanwhile, Noront intends to continue exploration of its extensive mining claims in the Ring of Fire in 2017.

The company’s exploration program is focused on the nickel-copper-platinum-palladium deposits along strike from Eagle’s Nest where the potential of new mineral and metal discoveries “remains substantial.” Only about 45 per cent of the prospective area has been tested by drilling and/or geophysical surveys to date. The company will also conduct a focused drill core re-logging program to advance its McFaulds copper-zinc property, coupled with high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys.

Noront will also advance its gold targeting initiatives with a full-scale compilation and review program to test its belief that the Ring of Fire may possess many of the right ingredients to host a significant gold deposit. This has been overlooked in past exploration efforts due in part to the success of base-metal exploration campaigns, the company said. Past drilling near the Eagle’s Nest deposit has intersected several narrow high-grade gold-bearing structures including up to 18.3 grams of gold per tonne of rock over 1.5 metres.

Noront Resources is focused on the development of its high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit and the chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor, and Big Daddy, all of which are located in the James Bay Lowlands.