Toronto miner still jumping into Ring of Fire

Toronto-based Noront Resources Ltd. still plans to jump into the world-class Ring of Fire, despite a U.S. firm’s decision to abandon its massive mine project in the Northern Ontario region.

“We’re the most advanced project in the area,” Noront chief executive Alan Coutts said in an interview Thursday.

Despite a brutal downturn in the metals market that has rocked the mining industry this year, the exploration firm is on track to develop its $700 million Eagle’s Nest deposit of high-grade nickel, copper, platinum and palladium, he said.

And Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.’s decision this week to abandon its nearby chromite development has no impact on the plans the Toronto miner has for its coveted base metals property a few kilometers away, he said.

“Our projections have not been dependent on the development plans of other mining companies,” said Coutts after flying back to Noront’s Yonge St. office from the site.

He said the move emphasizes for investors in the junior mining stock that the Eagle’s Nest property is poised to become the first mine to open in the highly regarded Ring, which has been touted as the next Sudbury or Voisey’s Bay mining camp.

Coutts, who took the helm of Noront last month after five years with nickel giant Xstrata in Australia, said his scheduled meetings with the area’s First Nations communities this week were timely given the surprising news that Cliffs had suspended work on its $3 billion project.

“It’s not good when individual participants drop out,” he said, noting it has created some confusion and concerns about the future of the minerals-rich area for local residents of the James Bay lowlands.

“I’ve been thrown in the deep end with this,” jokes the new CEO of the stock that trades on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Since discovering two “world class” deposits in 2007 in the Ring, which is located more than 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Noront has spent $200 million on early development work on Eagle’s Nest and has no intention of turning tail now, he said.

The junior miner says it’s on track to deliver its draft environmental assessment of the proposed mine by the end of the year.

Noront aims to break ground on construction in late 2015 with production around 2018 — which Coutts says is ample time for a rebound in the cyclical mining industry. Demand is expected to outstrip supply for nickel, which is used to make stainless steel, in the second half of the decade, he said.

Coutts said he sees a silver lining from Cliffs dropping out, noting the move underscores the need for the provincial government to make more timely decisions around permitting and infrastructure so that further investment and job creation are not lost in future.

“As we near completion of our environmental assessment process, clarity regarding the timing and financing of this infrastructure will become paramount,” he noted.

He estimates Eagle’s Nest could have a 10- to 20-year mine life. Noront has no plans at this point to develop its nearby Blackbird chromite deposit.

http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/11/21/toronto_miner_still_jumping_into_ring_of_fire.html