Alan Coutts's Noront Resources Ltd. (NOT) climbed eight cents to 60 cents on 647,000 shares. The company is planning to expand its Eagle's Nest exploration camp in Northern Ontario by adding the bigger camp next door. It used to belong to Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF: $16.34 (U.S.)), which pulled out of the Ring of Fire last fall, when it placed its McFauld's Lake project on hold indefinitely. It blamed stalled talks with the Ontario government. Noront and Cliffs plan to negotiate a price once the snow melts. With Cliffs out of the picture, Noront has since taken its place as the nearest-to-mining company in the Ring of Fire, and the repositioning has helped Noront's stock up from 15 cents last December. Last month, the company made a big fuss over a deal signed by Premier Kathleen Wynne and nine Northern Indian bands. They are calling it a framework. In exchange for the bands' support with development, the government promised them access to gridline transmission and a transportation corridor (road or train), as well as community spending and revenue sharing. The framework was accompanied by much celebration, but already the Indians are unsatisfied. This month a Neskatanga chief told the Wawatay News: "The framework is only a first step. We need to put some meat on it."