I wouldn't read too much into what a third party says Mac said. Newspapers have a habit of embellishing statements to sell papers. However, Mac has said statements along this line and I'm sure of that. Why wouldn't he? I'm a shareholder of both Noront and Freewest. I can't lose with this offer, but I expect Mac to bargain hard. Not nessessarily for me, but for himself. I doubt he owns any Noront, but he might be smarter than I give him credit for. So I think this is a bargaining ploy. Good for him.

I still hope that all the players in the Ring of Fire see that they are all in this together. To fight amonst each other would be bad for all. The greatest value for everyone is together, not separately.

I may not share the view many have that the crew at Noront are as bad as some make out. However, they are not angels either. Robert McKewan ( Forgive my spelling, sir ) was one of the dissedents. I respect him. I also believe that Wes is a good man. Before he came on board I'll bet he cut the deal to give himself a wide berth from the couple of bad apples. I applaud this move by Noront to consolidate the area. But good luck to FWR, too.

Now consider this. If Mac does agree to a deal very close to what is proposed, I'll bet that all those singing his praises will call him a turncoat very quickly. Never fall in love with your stocks. There is no room for emotions in the markets. Mac knows this too.