By Cameron French

TORONTO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A rich initial nickel-copper find in Canada's remote James Bay region has drawn a flock of exploration companies and could soon lure major players.

Shares of Noront Resources Ltd. (NOT.V: Quote, Profile, Research) are up 14-fold since the company announced drill results in late August showing high-grade nickel and copper mineralization at its Double Eagle Project in Northern Ontario, about 900 km (560 miles) from 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, Ontario, and at Voisey's Bay, the giant property in Eastern Canada that's now owned by Brazil's CVRD (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research).

"The assay results we've drilled so far are spectacular," chief executive Richard Nemis told Reuters.

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

"You you don't need many more than 5 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 (197,000 acres) in the area.

Canaccord Adams analyst Wendell Zerb called the 5.9 percent 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.

"I think it's pretty early to be making those comparisons (to Voisey's Bay)."

POTENTIAL TO GROW

Jean-Francois 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 (MNI3: Quote, Profile, Research) was at $31,800 a tonne on Wednesday, while copper (MCU3: Quote, Profile, Research) was at $7,978 a tonne.

Noront's drill results have also boosted shares of other explorers with claims, while companies and prospectors are racing to stake land in the area.

"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.

A spokesman for Xstrata, (XTA.S: Quote, Profile, Research), which became a top nickel producer with its acquisition of Sudbury-focused Falconbridge last year, declined to comment. CVRD, which bought Inco last year, did not return calls.

Noront shares were down 21 Canadian cents at C$5.68 on the TSX Venture Exchange on Wednesday afternoon, but still up from 40 Canadian cents each before the initial results were released in late August. The company now has a market capitalization of around C$500 million.

Shares of Macdonald Mines (BMK.V: Quote, Profile, Research) KWG Resources (KWG.V: Quote, Profile, Research), Spider Resources (SPQ.V: Quote, Profile, Research), which are active in the region, have all more than doubled in just over a month.

($1=$0.98 Canadian)