A rich initial nickel-copper find in Ontario's James Bay region has drawn a flock of exploration companies and could soon lure major players.

Shares of Noront Resources Ltd. are up sharply since the company announced drill results in late August showing high-grade nickel and copper mineralization at its Double Eagle project, about 900 kilometres north of Toronto.

Now, other explorers are staking claims, and Noront's chief executive says he has been in talks with major players eager to get in on an area he says has geological similarities to the big nickel strikes at Sudbury and at Voisey's Bay, the giant property in Labrador that's now owned by Brazil's CVRD .

"The assay results we've drilled so far are spectacular," chief executive Richard Nemis said in an interview.

Drill results released in late September revealed the richest hole yet, with average mineralization of 5.9 per cent nickel and 3.1 per cent copper over 68 metres.

"You don't need many more than five million tonnes at that kind of grade to make one hell of a deposit," said Nemis, estimating that Noront and its partners have staked nearly 80,000 hectares in the area.

Canaccord Adams analyst Wendell Zerb called the 5.9 per cent nickel mineralization "exceptional," but noted it was only one drill hole, and with results from only a few holes so far, said it was too early to gauge the shape or size of the ore body.

"Yes, it could be the next big find, there's no doubt about it. But that word `could' is what really comes into play here," he said in an interview.

Jean-François Tardif, a fund manager at Sprott Asset Management, which is a top shareholder in Noront, said results so far have uncovered a resource worth at least $2 billion to $3 billion, given current prices.

"And they have the potential to get bigger," he said.

Nickel was at $31,800 (U.S.) a tonne yesterday, while copper was at $7,978 a tonne.

Noront's drill results have also boosted shares of other explorers with claims, while companies and prospectors race to stake land.

"Since the reporting of the first intersection we've seen a significant uptake of the number of claims being recorded, and that's continuing," said Mark Ireland, a regional manager at the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

Nemis said he has brought another drill on site and plans to drill through the winter, hoping to build a resource he can then hand off to a larger operator.

"Canadian majors, I've got European, I've got a lot of people interested, a lot of people calling, a lot of people kicking tires," he said.

Shares of Noront, Macdonald Mines Exploration Ltd., KWG Resources Inc. and Spider Resources Inc., which are active in the region, have all more than doubled in just over a month.------------------------------...

Maybe somebody should call the news service and tell them UC owns 55% of spq/kwg . John Buck I hear you have the time lol

drill it and they will come

griz