Noront Resources Ltd. (NOT) added one-half cent to 26.5 cents on 73,000 shares. The company has $6.5-million in working capital, 231 million shares outstanding and a special relationship with the North Pole. This year, the company raised $12,000 for its Ring of Fire Christmas fund. It will use the money buying presents for children of the Marten Falls First Nation and the Webequie First Nation, the two bands closest to the company's McFauld's Lake project in Northern Ontario. Former president Wes Hanson created the Christmas event six years ago, first dressing up as Santa in 2009. He hoped the event would better the company's relationship with the Indians, but that first Christmas did not stop the Marten Falls from blockading Noront's property for the 2010 winter drill season (January through March). Fewer members showed up to blockade in 2011, following Christmas No. 2, and for the past three years Noront has been blockade free. The bands, however, have come to expect Noront's Christmas generosity.

NORONT

Noront Christmas

Dressing up as Santa now falls to Glenn Nolan, Noront's vice-president of aboriginal affairs, because in early 2013 Mr. Hanson resigned and relocated to the Dominican Republic. Now, he is the chief operating officer of Andrew Cheatle's Unigold Inc. (UGD: $0.02), which has been having a slow year. The company raised $5-million in 2013; it has $2-million remaining after drilling and other exploration.