Notster;
My guess would be PRB. NOT is in thick with them already. From May of this year. At times it is hard to keep track of who is in bed with who!!
Probe Mines enters into JV with Noront Resources
2009-05-27
The Directors of Probe Mines Limited announced that a JV agreement has been signed between the Company and Noront Resources Limited, comprising 87 claim units located in the Ring of Fire area of McFauld's Lake, Northern Ontario. The claim units, comprising 4 individual blocks of Probe's claims, fall along the interpreted ultramafic horizon in the area of the Eagle One nickel copper discovery.
The JV does not include claims belonging to the Company's Tamarack or Victory properties and excludes recently staked claims immediately north of the discovery area. The terms of the agreement will see the immediate formation of a 50-50 JV between Probe and Noront, under which Probe will act as operator for the first two years and alternate operatorship every 2 years thereafter, as long as equal ownership is maintained. If one company acquires more than 50% of the JV, full operatorship will be transferred to the larger property interest. A technical committee will be formed comprising members from both companies to approve exploration programs.
Probe had an option on certain claims held by Noront in this area in 2006 and the option was terminated by Probe in 2007 before the discovery of the Eagle One deposit by Noront. Both Probe and Noront expressed concerns about each of their respective property holdings in this area and their rights pursuant to the historical option agreement. The JV is viewed as the most practical arrangement to address and resolve all of these historical concerns. In addition, Probe believes the JV will benefit the Company and therefore shareholders, by providing for mutual data exchange and access to Noront's significant experience and resources in the McFauld's Lake area, as well as reducing costs associated with evaluating the economic potential of these claims. To date, only 10 of the 87 claims have been subjected to drilling and, as first operator, Probe will consider commencing exploration at the earliest opportunity.
Mr David Palmer president and CEO of Probe said that "We are looking forward to working with Noront to advance these properties and bring added value to our shareholders. The potential for World-class deposits of nickel-copper and chromite have reaffirmed our belief that the area is one of Canada's most important exploration plays and has the potential to become Canada's newest mining camp. Noront has continually led the field in discoveries and, with their commitment to the area; we are pleased to have Noront as a partner."