Vancouver - It may have been copper and nickel rich massive sulphides that catalyzed the recent exploration rush in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario but of late it is chromite exploration in the area that’s getting attention.

In recent days Noront Resources (NOT-T) and a joint venture between Freewest Resources (FWR-V), KWG Resources (KWG-V), and Spider Resources (SPQ-V) have announced chromite drill results. Along with another chromite property owned by Freewest alone, the chromite discoveries lie along a 14-km long northeast-southwest structural trend and all sit within the same peridotite body. While all of the properties still require much more drilling, results to date indicate that they together form one of the most significant chromite discoveries ever made in North America.

The joint venture’s Big Daddy chromite project sits 5 km northeast of Noront’s Blackbrid chromite discoveries and 4 km southwest of Freewest’s Black Thor chromite property.

Starting, then, at the northeast end of the corridor, Noront just released results from 20 drill holes, several of which returned widespread chromite mineralization. Hole 74 cut 36.2 metres grading 39.33% Cr2O3, 26.9% chromium, and 12.22% iron starting 640 metres downhole. Hole 64 returned 43.84% Cr2O3, 29.98% chromium, and 15.02% iron over 17 metres, from 510 metres depth. A 24-metre intercept from 502 metres down hole 61 graded 35.56% Cr2O3, 24.33% chromium, and 12% iron. And a 10.2-metre section of hole 59 returned 36.6% Cr2O3, 25% chromium, and 17.3% iron from 273 metres depth.

The layered chromite zones at Blackbird comprise massive chromite of varying thickness layered within the peridotite sill. The chromitite layers dip steeply to the west, paralleling the contact between the peridotite sill and the adjacent granodiorite.

Noront’s work at Blackbird has traced the layered chromitite body along 1,000 metres strike and to 500 metres vertical depth, with wide but variable core widths. The body remains open to depth and along strike in both directions.

Following a holiday break Noront’s exploration team is back at the main base camp near the Eagle One project; chromitite exploration at Blackbird is one of the foci of the upcoming season. Noront is also planning to fly an airborne gravity survey.

In November and December Noront raised $18.9 million in flow-through financing. The company’s share price is currently sitting near $1.13 and has a 52-week trading range of 43.5¢ to $7.42. Noront has 154 million shares outstanding.

At the Freewest-KWG-Spider joint venture project, Big Daddy, the 2008 drilling program returned similarly encouraging results. Hole 22 cut 34.8 metres grading 42.08% Cr2O3, 28.79% chromium, and 15.92% iron from 264 metres depth. Hole 23 hit 42 metres grading 34.96% Cr2O3, 23.92% chromium, and 13.95% iron from 334 metres below surface. Hole 15 hit two intercepts: 92.8 metres grading 12.2% Cr2O3, 8.3% chromium, and 10.6% iron from 81 metres depth followed by 12.1 metres averaging 32.2% Cr2O3, 22% chromium, and 18.6% iron. And hole 18 returned 24.89% Cr2O3, 17% chromium, and 13.02% iron over 70.5 metres, starting 67 metres downhole.

With the final results from the 19-hole program now in the partners say they have traced the mineralized zone along 400 metres strike. Like the mineralization at Noront’s Blackbird, the chromitite body at Big Daddy is a layered body that dips steeply to the northwest. The deposit remains open in all directions.

For 2009 the Big Daddy partners have planned to complete ground geophysical surveys, relogging of historical core, infill sampling, and a technical report on the property. The group would also like to complete more diamond drilling but the JV committee has not yet approved those plans.

Freewest is trading at 23¢, Spider at 4.5¢, and KWG at 3.5¢. Spider and KWG recently completed their earn-in requirements at Big Daddy – each spent $1.5 million on exploration – and as such each has earned 25% of the project.

And, finally, Freewest is also exploring the nearby Black Thor chromite zone. Its results there fall in line with those reported above, such as 110 metres grading 21.4% Cr2O3 from 226 metres down hole 3 and 92.4 metres grading 21.3% Cr2O3 from 386 metres down hole 5.

Freewest has traced the chromite zone at Black Thor over an intermittent 1,700-metre strike length, with an average true width of 60 metres. It remains open in all directions. The company plans to probe the zone and its extensions with two drill rigs in 2009