"The answer is simple. It wasn't worth much to anyone other than Noront."

Wellll, maybe it was worth quite a lot to the natives just around the Ring and of course to KWG.

KWG with their share price so low probably could not find the necessary backers to buy. I'm sure KWG is thankfull (Not) to all those who dumped KWG shares and caused it pr problems.

Natives on the other hand could have and should have but the problem is that if you own it then some they you have to build the mine with some infrastructures around it and of course run it. Maybe they could have found the 20 million to buy the assets but then where would the remaining $s come from to finish the job.

Perhaps they did not think far enough into the future for the possibilities nor was there enough cohesion between the native communities to make it possible.

Too many IFs and maybees.