Check out the action on Duluth Minerals after their news. I guess there are others besides the Chinese to consider when looking at the field of possible majors. For the less patient here, read on and get a feel for the timeframe when they talk about "moving quickly" on the banking and pre-feasiblity studies. As recommended by Micon, does a possible year and that +4 million bucks to drill some more look so bad now? IMHO

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jUdkvYvugs2ZwqezUMut3rD_wrfA

By John Valorzi (CP) – 1 day ago

TORONTO — Shares of Duluth Metals Ltd. (TSX:DM) soared more than 40 per cent Thursday after the Toronto junior mineral developer signed a joint venture deal with Chilean copper producer Antofagasta plc (LSE:ANTO.GB) to develop a large copper-nickel project in northeastern Minnesota.

The company's stock jumped $1 to trade at $3.14 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a gain of nearly 47 per cent in trading of 3.7 million shares of the junior miner.

Before markets opened, Duluth announced the joint venture with Antofagasta that will help finance and push ahead the Nokomis project in Minnesota. The area contains copper, nickel and platinum group specialty minerals and is said to rival the deposits in the Sudbury Basin in northern Ontario and Voisey's Bay in Labrador among the world's largest nickel and copper zones.

'The agreement announced today with Antofagasta is an outstanding partnership for an outstanding deposit," said Christopher Dundas, Chairman of Duluth.

'This is a significant step forward for Duluth. This joint venture provides three key benefits that will act as catalysts to the development and construction of Nokomis. First, it delivers near and longer-term project development financing that we expect will be sufficient to bring the project to production."

Duluth said the project will cost US$1.3 billion to develop and Antofagasta is commiting to arrange project financing for the large capital cost requirements.

Under the deal, Duluth will contribute the Nokomis project and about 2,000 hectares of land in the Duluth mining complex for a 60 per cent stake in the joint venture. Antofagasta will pay US130 million for its initial 40 per cent interest can buy another 25 per cent of Nokomis.

In addition, Antofagasta has agreed to provide Duluth with up to US $30 million in additional funding to cover project spending and is investing US$11.6 million into Duluth for a small minority stake in the Canadian company.

The combination of the initial funding commitment, private placement and incremental funding from Antofagasta ensures that up to US$227 million available to advance the project.

"Nokomis is an excellent deposit and we are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Duluth," said Marcelo Awad, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals SA. "This is a large deposit that has the potential to become one of the world's premier low-cost copper-nickel producers."

Henry Sandri, president and CEO of Duluth, said Thursday's deal not only adds financial muscle to the joint venture but also brings mine operating expertise from a major global miner.

"Antofagasta is one of the world's premier major copper producers with an excellent pedigree and track record of success on this type of project," Sandri said.

"Antofagasta possesses proven expertise in planning, building and operating large-scale mining complexes and will apply its in-house capability to develop Nokomis. We believe this partnership is the mechanism required to unlock the tremendous value residing in the Nokomis deposit."

Duluth said development of the Nokomis project will move quickly and expects pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies to be completed within 36 months.

As to the private financing, Duluth said it will sell six million shares of the company, or about seven per cent of its stock, to Antofagasta at C$2 a share.

"The private placement provides immediate liquidity, on very attractive terms to Duluth," said Dundas. "This funding will allow Duluth to accelerate on all fronts."

Located in northeast Minnesota, Nokomis is an underground, copper-nickel sulphide deposit. In size, the total mineral resource is comparable to the Sudbury Basin and Voisey's Bay, among the world's largest copper-nickel-PGM mining regions.

When operating, Nokomis could produce up to 40,000 tonnes of ore per day, based on an initial 22-year mine life.

Antofagasta is one of the world's largest copper producers, with most of its assets in Chile and annual production of more than 478,000 tonnes of copper each year.

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.