Rickford who was appointed to the board at Noront.....

=============================================

http://www.ckdr.net/news/636809136/new-role-greg-rickford

Greg Rickford has been named to the Board of Directors for Noront Resources.

Rickford was the MP for the Kenora riding for seven years and also served as the Minister of Natural Resources under the Harper government.

In a statement, Rickford stated he's honoured to join the Noront team as they seek to create economic opportunities for northern Ontario through responsible resource development.

He says he looks forward in applying his experience living and working in the northwest to help create value for Noront and the Ring of Fire as well as communities across the region.

Rickford adds the companies dedication to full, meaningful partnerships with First Nation and municipal communities in developing the mining assets in the Ring of Fire is the benchmark for how resource companies should conduct themselves.

The company says Rickford specializes in natural resources, Indigenous and health matters, and has lived and worked in First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario and across Canada.

======================================================

used to host a roundtbale on chromite with CREEN (Canadian Rare Earth Element Network) .....

www.cim.org/~/media/Files/PDF/.../CREEN-Progress-Report-12-June2015.ashx?la...

Progress Report #12 June 28th, 2015

I am pleased to bring you up to date on CREEN-related activities since our last Progress Report, #11 (April 23rd), in which we highlighted the Federal Government’s Budget announcement of $23 million pledged, over 5 years, to rare earth and chromite technological development via Natural Resources Canada. You’ll recall Economic Action Plan 2015 primary focus is to address the technical challenges of separating and processing rare earth elements for use in advanced manufacturing applications and products. http://www.budget.gc.ca/2015/docs/plan/budget2015-eng.pdf

REE/Chromite Roundtable with Natural Resources Minister Minister of Natural Resources Hon. Greg Rickford, accompanied by Marian Campbell Jarvis, NRCan’s Assistant Deputy Minister invited a small group of 12 (eight REE representatives, 4 from the Chromite sector) to participate in a roundtable on May 14th. The Minister was keenly interested in the “how to” achieve effectiveness and efficiency in bringing REE and chromite production into service and that commercialization is the only acceptable outcome. The REE contingent was comprised of Greg Andrews (Search Minerals), Boyd Davis (Kingston Process Metallurgy), Ian London (CREEN), Dirk Naumann (Quest Rare Minerals), Al Shefsky (Pele Mountain), Vlad Papengelakis (UofT), and Steve Wilson (SGS). The roundtable was convened in Toronto during National Mining Week.

==============================================

This was their mandate.......

www.cim.org/~/media/Files/.../CREEN-Progress-Report-11-ENG_April15.ashx?la...

Progress Report #11 April 22nd, 2015

I am pleased to bring you up to date on the Federal Government’s Budget item related to CREEN’s
on-going information sharing consultations, since our last Progress Report, #10 (Mar 31st). The
following excerpts are from page 217 of the 528-page budget tabled in the House of Commons by
the Minister of Finance Joe Oliver yesterday afternoon. I am extremely pleased to report that within
the document $23 million has been pledged, over 5 years, to rare earth and chromite technological
development via Natural Resources Canada.

Unlocking Rare Earth Elements and Chromite Production in Canada
Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to allocate $23 million over five years, starting in 2015–
16, from Natural Resources Canada to stimulate the technological innovation needed to
separate and develop rare earth elements and chromite.

The commercial production of rare earth elements and chromite in Canada represents a
significant economic opportunity. Realizing this opportunity will require advances in science
and technology.

Rare earth elements have specific properties that make them critical inputs to the defence,
aerospace, automotive, energy and consumer electronics industries. Canada also has
significant unexploited deposits of chromite, which is used to manufacture steel and other
alloys.

Rare earth elements are critical minerals that represent an opportunity for Canada to enter an
emerging and globally strategic market. The metallurgy for Canadian ores containing rare
earth elements involves a complex sequence of individual separation, refinement, alloying
and formation stages before they can be used in the production of permanent magnets,
consumer electronics and other high value-added high-tech products. Canada does not
currently produce any rare earth elements, but has deposits with significant potential.
According to the Technology Metal Research Group, there are currently 51 advanced rare
earth elements exploration projects in the world; 21 are located across Canada. Canada has
the possibility to play a leading role in supplying rare earth elements by potentially fulfilling 20
per cent of global demand.

Chromite deposits located in Ontario’s Ring of Fire have production potential that could make
Canada a significant global producer, processor and supplier of products that contain the
critical metal chromium. Over 90 per cent of global chromite production is used to
manufacture stainless steel and other alloys. There is no substitute for this mineral in the
production of stainless steel, which has unique corrosion resistance properties. Chromiumbased
alloys are also used in gas turbines, aircraft engines and other high temperature
applications. There are currently six chromite projects at the exploration phase in Canada.
Although major steel mills exist in North America, there is currently no chromite production in
North America. This presents an opportunity for Canada to develop its abundant deposits
and become a global supplier.

Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to allocate $23 million over five years, starting in 2015–
16, from Natural Resource Canada to address the technical challenges of separating and
processing rare earth elements for use in advanced manufacturing applications and products.
Funding will also support the development of efficient and green processing technologies to
reduce the environmental impacts of chromite production.

The full pdf Budget document is available at: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2015/docs/plan/budget2015-
eng.pdf

I have also taken the liberty of attaching a copy of a Press Release issued by CREEN in response to
the Budget announcement.

I will keep you informed as we learn more and lay-out specific initiatives that will help Canada realize
its REE industry/economic potential.

As always, I hope you find these progress reports helpful. Please feel free to contact CREEN with
any suggestions you may have.

Ian M London P.Eng, MBA

===================================================

I am personally very happy Rickford joined the board and his close ties to the development of Canadian chromite and a stainless steel industry by the feds cannot be far away. 

GLTA

Ringer