This is the 2nd bashing article co-written by Niall McGee, a mining reporter at the Globe.

 "In 2016, he won a National Newspaper Award (NNA) in business alongside veteran reporter Jacquie McNish for an investigative series into alleged insider trading at online gambling company Amaya Inc."

I guess Niall didn't learn much from Veteran reporter Jacquie McNish who wrote "THE BIG SCORE", the Diamond Fields Voisey Bay Story.

In THE BIG SCORE, Jacquie NcNish wrote about stuff like....there was this file called, "the Holy sh*t file." Friedland showed the file ONLY to the Institutional supporters he needed.

Since all levels of Gov't has been frothing over the ROF for over a decade....what file have they been shown?

and look at this recent thesis done in 2019

https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/7369dc8a-2f43-4313-80c8-0b70b6d0787d/etd_pdf/aa87be6fc33fd839dbc5646c421d6b7f/laudadio-3dgeologicalmodelingofthedoubleeagleblack.pdf

Acknowledgements A big thank you to my supervisors, Ernst Schetselaar and Jim Mungall, for their careful guidance, support and encouragement, and for allowing me this incredible opportunity.

Thank you to Michel Houlé for his time, guidance and many discussions as well as Michael Hillier for his help with SURFE.

I would also like to thank Natural Resources Canada’s Targeted Geoscience Initiative Program for provided funding and support for this research.

I am grateful to Noront Resources Ltd. (Alan Coutts, Ryan Weston, Matt Downey, Stephen Flewelling, Matt Deller, Geoff Heggie, Cory Exell, Rob Lyght, Tristan Megan and Roydon Spence) for providing access to properties, geological information and for very informative discussions throughout project development.

This research activity would not have reached fruition without their knowledge and strong support. Moe Lavigne from KWG is also thanked for providing access to properties, diamond drill cores, geological information and for ongoing support and discussions. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my family and friends. This work would not have been possible without your ongoing supporting and encouragement

another link, look at the acknowledgements, all the study done

https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/7369dc8a-2f43-4313-80c8-0b70b6d0787d/etd_pdf/aa87be6fc33fd839dbc5646c421d6b7f/laudadio-3dgeologicalmodelingofthedoubleeagleblack.pdf

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There has been many gov't sponsored studies of the ROF. The Gov't knows what is there along with Noront's largest shareholders.

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The smearing was also done by the Globe  to Diamond Fields(Voisey Bay) up until Teck Resouces moved in with a 10% buy in.

I think the Dog in the video game would be the Best at explaining what is happening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DQrGvGH7d4

This dog is never wrong. No matter how fast the 3 cups are shuffled, the treat's location is clearly seen by the dog because the dog is very motivated and has unbelievable concentration.

So be the dog.

The 3 cups are : north south Road, East west Road, North South Rail.

The Globe story is focusing on... is this economic? All levels of Gov't Believe it is. And the massively expensive road..bridges.....

Cliffs bought Freewest for a reason and appears to have had specific customers for the chrome lined up...and compound that now with what is happening in South Africa. If folks wanted it back then from Cliffs...they surely want it more ..now.

And RCF keeps taking shares..for a reason.

And the expensive route...and those bridges..screams the Globe????

The media,  has readers  focused on only one cup (north South Road).

But there are 3 cups to watch, not just one. 

The Globe writes:

"The engineering challenge alone to build access roads and bridges connecting the swampy, boggy region of Ontario to the provincial highway network, some 300 kilometres south, is considered immense."

If you think back to August 2017 you'll remember Wynne's Road announcement and also  the announcement of high speed internet to the ROF.....and you'll remember the anticipated start time for the Watay project.

And then....Roads get delayed, high speed internet gets delayed, Watay electrical transmission project  ...gets ...delayed

But ..recently....

The highspeed  internet project states:" Construction is anticipated to begin this winter."

And so is the Watay project phase 2....."Potential construction start in Late 2019"

and then 2 more clues..

Clue #1

note the :"piggyback on pending hydro grid construction" and use existing logistics and supply networks,

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/far-north-ring-of-fire/communities-push-for-east-west-ring-of-fire-road-1307589

......The plan was to build the east-west route first, as a supply road into the Ring, while also connecting remote communities to the west and south of the mineral claims.

That route would roughly follow the winter road network and would be a less expensive endeavour than to the north-south corridor, which would involve major engineering work to cross a number of large river systems.

“The east-west road route would optimize existing road alignments, piggyback on pending hydro grid construction and use existing logistics and supply networks," said Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance in a statement.

"We anticipate this route would lessen the environmental impacts (including wetland and peatlands) and avoid expensive, problematic large-scale water crossings.”

Clue#2 from House of Commons

https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/INDU/Reports/RP9711342/indurp11/indurp11-e.pdf

"Mr. Ruimy (The Chair): Just to follow along the lines of where Mr. Eglinski was going, do you know if they are pre-wiring when they're doing infrastructure, building roads, and those sorts of things?  Are they building it into the actual infrastructure?

Mr. Pierre Collins: When they do a road?

The Chair: When they're building a new road.

Mr. Pierre Collins: No.

The Chair: They're not doing that?

Mr. Pierre Collins: No. They open the street three times, one year at a time, just to make sure they bother everybody.

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You have to love the sarcastic comment above. And imagine the cost to go back to the north a second or 3rd time?

 since the environment is of such importance today..will the East west road  piggyback  the Watay project   under construction winter 2020,  or will we just make sure to bother the Natives ...again...including the wildlife when we decide to build a road?

Watay project is First nation Led.

high speed Internet project is First Nation Led

East west Road , in my opinion will be ...First Nation Led. This route has been in the Noront EA for years.

The Globe has readers so focused elsewhere ...is it economic .?

Well Cliffs sure thought it was. So much so that when they bought Freewest Resources they boasted on ABC Eyewitness news and stated., This Canadian acquisition will allow us to increase our revenues by 50% once the mine is open.

and I am happy I posted the IBK-Chromite link with a cut and paste because IBK has removed it!

Notice below?..gone...

http://www.ibkcapital.com/capital-market-highlights/base-metals-sector/chromium/

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My Agoracom link below with the IBK info:

My suggestion is to re- read the whole thing.  It will remind you again not to focus on the smelter as the start of chromite revenue. And this comment  below...from Cliffs ...is hilarious:

"The company’s objective is to become the sole North American chromite and ferrochrome producer and exporter"

I guess the "BIG GUNS" invested in Noront..didn't care too much for the "sole " word.  Hence, Cliffs...poof...out of the ROF.

https://agoracom.com/ir/Noront/forums/discussion/topics/698861-chromite/messages/2173050

Below is a presentation by Cliffs in 2013 at the International Ferroalloys Congress in Kazakhstan

http://www.pyrometallurgy.co.za/InfaconXIII/0073-Cramer.pdf

The project will be producing BOTH chromite concentrate and high carbon ferrochrome for sale to international markets

The project is based on an open pit mine producing about 4 million tons of ore per year, 

The facility is designed to produce 560 OOO tons of High Carbon Ferrocbrome (HCFeCr) per year utilising ore only from the captive mine. This will make the Cliffs FPF one of the largest ferrocbrome facilities in the world.

From the IBK presentation:

http://www.ibkcapital.com/capital-market-highlights/base-metals-sector/chromium/

Cliffs has scheduled production to begin in 2016, consisting of four interrelated components. An open pit mine is anticipated to produce roughly 3.7 million tonnes of crude chromite ore annually, with a projected mine life of 30 years.  After preliminary processing at the mine site, 2.3 million tonnes of concentrated ore will be transported south.  In Sudbury, the proposed Capreol smelter is projected to produce 560,000 tonnes of high carbon ferrochrome annually. 

As a huge portion of the world’s chromite ore is produced in South Africa, it would appear that Cliffs is taking advantage of producing ferrochrome in a geopolitically safe region such as Ontario, with an abundance of reasonably priced power. 

Cliffs Natural Resources, a NYSE-listed iron-ore and coal mining company, has been executing a strategy over the last several years to achieve scale in its mining operations with a focus on serving the world’s largest steel markets.

The company’s objective is to become the sole North American chromite and ferrochrome producer and exporter. Cliff’s completed two transactions in 2010 to solidify its chromite position in the Ring of Fire. The first was the C$250 million acquisition of Freewest Resources for its Black Thor and Black Label chromium projects. The second was the acquisition of Spider Resources for its Big Daddy chromite project for C$130 million.

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(5)In the Noront May, 2017 Sault presentation we see the below...

Produce a Ferrochrome product for sale into the US market • Stage 1: Moderate-sized Mine/Smelter development concurrent with Eagle’s Nest (200-280 KT/year of Ferrochrome) – Utilizing the Blackbird Mine Resource – Modest penetration of US market, no scale impact on overall market – Utilizing proximity advantage to US Stainless Steel producers •

Stage 2: Major-scale Mine/Smelter development when the market warrants – Utilizing the Black Thor and/or Big Daddy Resource – Sales into Europe and Asia as well as NA – Stage 2 expansion to 560 KT/year Ferrochrome 

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When you look at these 5 points carefully you will note the following:

-Cliffs “intention”  was to be “the sole North American chromite and ferrochrome producer and exporter.”

Wow, did that dream ever change. Seems Noront has taken Cliffs place.

But …here is where it gets very interesting….

Cliffs planned on smelting 560,000 tonnes of HIGH carbon…..Ferrochrome annually in Sudbury.

If you look at the Noront Sault Ste Marie presentation….you will see the SAME amount under Stage 2.

But……

But, Cliffs said …..they wanted to mine a total of 4 million tonnes annually.

When you look carefully at the IBK PDF….

…..it states something very very interesting here…

An open pit mine is anticipated to produce roughly 3.7 million tonnes of crude chromite ore annually, with a projected mine life of 30 years.  After preliminary processing at the mine site, 2.3 million tonnes of concentrated ore will be transported south. 

So let’s add this up ..and we’ll use the IBK 3.7 million tonnes of crude chromite ore per year.

Cliffs planned on  the following:

560,000 tonnes brought to a smelter for making high carbon ferrochrome

2,300,000 tonnes of concentrated ore to the SOUTH (USA)

What is fascinating here is this 2.3 million tonnes of concentrated ore to the south ….When Cliffs made that comment…can we assume they had an interested party in the USA?

How can you make that statement and just pull 2.3 million for the SOUTH out of thin air without having had a deal of sorts.

What I find very interesting is the NORONT Sault Ste marie presentation….They mention only the chromite for the smelter in their presentation….and mention the same amount for phase 2 as Cliffs originally had planned.

If you go into Noront’s 2017 corporate presentation  it’s mentioned ONLY the chromite headed for the smelter to make high carbon ferrochrome and the presentation states:

“There is no margin in selling ore; a conversion to a value added product is needed”

So…..what exactly is transpiring here…

Cliffs NEVER stated plans to sell lumpy ore… Their plan for the 2.3 million tonnes not headed for the smelter was to process it! ..From their presentation 2013..

Let’s think about this for a minute.

Cliffs clearly had a customer or customers in the USA that wanted 2.3 million tonnes of processed concentrate

Now that Cliffs is out of the picture as far as the ROF is concerned…….and the sole supplier they planned on being has be replaced by Noront…..what happened to this section????

Why is this not mentioned by Noront? Why mention ONLY the high carbon ferrochrome for smelting….what about the rest…the processed concentrate that was to be sent south by Cliffs.

I keep going back to Noront’s presentation where they state:

“There is no margin in selling ore; a conversion to a value added product is needed”

So, my question is ….who will convert it or process it for …..Noront? 

In the case of Cliffs they had planned a concentrator operation.

But, this 2.3 million tonnes of concentrate that Cliffs planned on selling to the south was to do what with?

This kind of ore is mainly for making stainless steel.

So, Cliffs idea was …sell 2.3 million tonnes of  this “concentrated ore” to the SOUTH….for stainless steel making ….by …folks in the USA….

But….why not make a lot of it here……In Canada…..

…..And Algoma in  Sault Ste Marie has the closest port to the ROF……and has been stated as the BEST SPOT TO MAKE STAINLESS STEEL…

If that is the case….why would you not process the concentrate there?

It would be the perfect place. Process it there and use it to make stainless in the Sault and sell the remaining processed ore to the ….south…

I believe once Algoma is …..finalized....the chromite feasibility will …surface.                                

I believe the best place to process the chromite into concentrate is the Sault…since the port is the closet to the ROF..this concentrate would then be used to make stainless at Algoma and any extra concentrate would be sent….SOUTH.

As far as making the HIGH carbon ferrochrome….which requires the smelter, the best place for this is Timmins…for many many reasons.