ROFrocks,

For someone who just opened an account a week ago, and came onto this board with guns blazing, critical of Noront, you're not going to get a lot of sympathy here. It looks like you're either a paid basher, or worse, an uninformed fool.

I suggest that if you want a positive reception on this board, you ask some intelligent questions.

I will answer one of your questions, and one only. You asked, "why won't Noront step up and back this route(no $ needed just pay for use) seems like a no brainer."

First, you're confusing "support" for the route with the surface appearances of being involved in a court case against KWG. Remember that it was not Noront who started the court case. It was Cliffs. Noront merely inherited the case when taking the claims over from Cliffs. Why are they continuing with the case? Because it about more than KWG vs Cliffs: it's about clarifying points of law with respect to Ontario Mining. It is in the best interests of all mining companies to have questions resolved about what can and what can not happen within the province. There may have been some pressure from the province and/or MNDM to continue with this case to resolve the issues at hand. The ultimate "winner" of the case will not be KWG or NOT, it will be all stakeholders in the Ontario mining industry, who will have some clarification about how they may proceed in such matters in the future. For KWG and Noront as individual companies, it will be business as usual once the verdict has been released.

I believe that the general consensus is that the industry and all present and future players need two routes into the Ring area. One is the road, which is needed first and foremost for the First Nation communities, within whose region the mines will be built. The road is also needed to support initial development of mines, and to facilitate convenient transportation in and out of the region. The other route needed is the railway, which is essential (in a slightly less pressing time frame) for cost-efficient large scale transportation of ores out of the region. The two projects are not mutually exclusive; they are complimentary. KWG may have a foot in the door with respect to the long-term development of rail. That wouldn't mean that Noront wouldn't be glad to pay to have ore shipped out on the railway. Noront seems to have some support from the provincial government, which may in a shorter time frame lead to all-weather roads going into the area. That doesn't mean that KWG wouldn't benefit from the same road access.

You will probably say that I'm just a Noront cheerleader. Incorrect. I support and invest in both companies, and I've been increasing that investment regularly for the past couple of months. In fact, about 60% of my recent ongoing purchases have been of KWG with only 40% going into Noront. These are not the only two ROF companies that I hold shares in, although they're the main two.

Some of the posters on the Stockhouse KWG site seem to have a hate-on for Noront. To suggest that Noront is at fault for any of this, or that Noront would not be just as happy to have a railroad that leads to the Ring, would be blatant misdirection at best, and short-sighted idiocy at worst.

Don't forget that in the business world, it's best to leave your emotions at the door and use logic. The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe your own propaganda.