This issue has been "BEAT TO DEATH". First, walk a mile in another's shoes... IF POSSIBLE, stop and think if you had sold your Noront and bought Freewest when the BOD was taken over, like many appear to have from Noront. Walk in those shoes. Freewest believes that they can go it alone and that they have the support of Cliffs and it's all over but the final permits for them. Can anyone here prove otherwise??? NO. Nobody knows what Cliffs has in mind, because they haven't tipped their hand. Smart, those Cliffs fellas (and gals, sorry girls).

OK, Freewest holders, try to imagine, if you weren't in the proxy fight yourselves, getting eaten up by a bunch of Hedge funds and displacing your CEO and offering themselves tons of options at ridiculous (my opinion, not anyone else's) low prices based on what... a hedge fund threatening to turf the share price to 20 cents if they don't get their way. So you see why Mr. Nemis stepped down, for the benefit of the shareholders. Now, go through that, get a "BUNCH" of drilling done, NI 43-101's and see the value that the Eagle's nest WILL bring, and in "short order", like in very high ROI (return on investment). 2+ % nickel will fetch a handsome return, whether you agree or not, that's just a fact. The only fact remains is how and when this will be a "GO". Are we going to sit around and do all our own drilling and wait and see for another year or maybe "3" before anyone decides to start this project up??? Do you really think your investment is going to go up "before" we have a big enough "resource" confirmed??? Think long and hard.

Here it is. Think on it. Think long and hard. Noront WILL have enough ore to become a viable entity to mine in the future. How long for this future??? With only 5 or 6 drills going, I'd guess 1-3 years. Freewest WILL have enough ore to become a viable entity to mine in the future. How long for this future??? Do you really think that just because someone states that 1 - 200 meter spacing is good enough for a NI43-101 that a financial institution or a major will accept that??? Think long and hard. The answer is NOT!!! IF you want to start this mining project up or get a buy in or out by a major, you need the "appropriate" documentation to show what you have, not what YOU think they want to see. Especially if you are going to mine this yourself!!! You need that NI43-101 compliance document (and that means X number of meter spacings with X amount of holes drilled at X angles) before you will get your loan to begin. So.....

It really doesn't matter who has this or who has that. Nothing is proven, except for Eagle 1a, period. Until you get it proven, you won't get your financing and you won't get a major buying you out "for what YOU" want. Sure, a major will buy you out for what "they" think you are worth, but I guarantee that you won't like that offer even more than you won't like Noront's offer for Freewest.

Finally, this is turning out to be a "blinking game"!!! Who will blink first, I wonder? Do you think Cliffs will tell Freewest to "blink"? Do you think Noront will "blink" first? Here it is in a nutshell. It makes absolutely NO sense to think that these companies will go it alone. IF this is your thinking, you may as well shut off your computer and come back in around 2015 when it has been all drilled out (the current drilling areas, that is) and only then if the companies can quit fighting and agree to come together and either join or agree to share costs for infrastructure. I would 'almost' bet all my shares that Freewest/Cliffs won't build the infrastructure "just for their chromite and let Noront use the infrastructure for free (because it is on Crown Land and they have no choice) and I would make that same 'hypothetical' bet that Noront will not build that infrastructure without amalgamation of the companies who own the "key" properties in the ROF so that they in turn could use Noront's infrastructure for "free" either... SO,

It's a blinking game right now. Something has to give in order to get this ball rolling and your and my share price appreciation to anywhere we want it to get... whatever that may be. Either we play the amalgamation game or we get some documents signed between the 2 companies or more that any and all infrastructure will be shared. Now, which do YOU think will be easier in the long run??? Don't forget, this is BIG money we are talking about here, not just another little PP for either. Would you like your ROI this year, or are you happy with waiting another 3 years plus? That is the question (and 3 years is hypothetical so don't bother saying,"why not 2 years or 30 months") that Noront is trying to address. Like it or not, it is a start to getting a ROI sooner than later. I did not say it was a good offer, I am just saying that it is a step! I really don't care about the offer. What I do care about it getting the best ROI with the least dilution (meaning the fewest years that the management/BOD has to give themselves 10% of the total outstanding shares and dilute my holdings to peanuts).

Now, I have to go back to work so everyone can chew on this for a while and quit with the Freewest/Noront fighting for awhile. IF there isn't anything to discuss, why not just give it a rest for a while. News will come and then you can come out and discuss any NEW results/releases for a while, as long as you don't beat any NEW news to death!!!

God Bless all Noront/Freewest shareholders.

Herb