Before I rant about cliffs announcement, i'd like to point out that this is why I hold Noront only in the ROF, no KWG, no CLF, nothing else. This doesn't change anything for Noront, if anything, they just became the "big money" and "leader" in the ring. I think this actually strengthens NOT's position to a large degree. The government is going to play damage control and will give NOT whatever they need to move the project forward.

But before everyone blames cliffs for everything, we should really think about it. Here's my dumbed down annoyed perception of what has driven cliffs to this point. And for the record, I can see why they're frustrated (and no, that doesn't mean I like cliffs):

Cliffs: "hey government we are willing to put a massive amount of money into your economy, are you interested?"

Gov: "yep, we'll think about it, we'll get back to you"

Cliffs: "ummmmmm, we haven't heard fack all from you. You do realize this will help your province to a degree that you haven't seen in 100 years, right?"

Gov: "whoops, lol, haha, we totally haven't bothered getting off our a$$es lately. Don't worry, we'll think about it. Yes, we understand how important this is to our economy but we're in the middle of a popularity contest."

Cliffs: "There's a little company called KWG and FNs who are threatening to disrupt this project, you're clearly going to do something so we can all move forward, right?"

Gov: "yep, we heard about KWG and the FNs, don't worry, we'll move things forward 'quickly' with an easement decision with regards to KWG and as for the FN's we're going to take a proactive approach and do nothing. Did I mention that we're in a popularity contest? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know we're paid to MAKE decisions for the betterment of the province, but we can't right now because we're too consumed with winning the popularity contest".

Cliffs: "ummmmmm, still no easement, still no funding, still nothing from you guys. We have to be honest, if it continues like this we are going to have to suspend this project."

Gov: "whoa, hold your horses, don't suspend anything, we'll get off our a$$es now. Do you happen to know anyone in ontario that could help with our popularity contest? We're really concerned about the ring of fire, but we really want to win this thing before we do fack all for the ROF."

Cliffs: "plain and simple, we're pissed off, get off your a$$es and make a decision for crying out loud or we're going to pull the plug. We're not bluffing here, can you just get something done please?"

Gov: "settle down, we'll get to it when we get to it. We're in the midst of a major popularity contest and it's really neat. We feel like we're in highschool again and it's exciting. Can't wait to win this thing so we can get to work. Don't worry, 'its just around the corner'."

Cliffs: "ok, enoughs enough, we're done".

Gov: "woooooohoooooooo, we won, we're awesome. Cliffs, you ready to play ball? We are!"

Cliffs: "go fack yourself"

Gov: "damn, I wonder why they're so mad? Did they not hear that we won the popularity contest? Sheesh. I know we've been promising that we'll move forward with the ROF since 1652 B.C. but still, there's no need to be upset. This is the way it works in Ontario."

Anyways, I could go on and on all day with this crap. I apologize for the obvious annoyed tone, but that is basically how I see what has happened here. I am not a fan of cliffs or the way the states do business, but if we don't see our own governments role in these events, we're blind. They allowed FN's and KWG to slow this project to a halt. It's time to actually make decisions, not talk about them. It's time to, dare I say this, strap on a set and control the province.

This is why we're at .29 cents. No one can make a decision. Oh well, I think in the end cliffs may have just done Noront a HUGE favor. The province won't take this lightly, they've been spewing the ring of fire for months and months hard. They're going to have to come to bat now, and who's the only one left standing? NOT. I'm buying more. Good luck.

djje