"...Around the time Cliffs was giving up, the Ring of Fire got an unexpected boost from an unlikely source: James Franklin, a respected geologist. The former chief scientist for the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) mused that the Ring of Fire could contain $60-billion worth of minerals. He mentioned the figure in a talk at the 2013 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, a popular international mining conference held every year in Toronto.

Mr. Franklin said he came up with this astronomical number by looking at all the public companies that had published resource estimates of their Ring of Fire discoveries. He simply added up the total projections for minerals in the ground from these reports, and calculated the value if the metals were sold at market prices.

But Mr. Franklin also readily admits the figure contained no analysis of costs or potential return, and no insight on whether any project should be developed.

"There might well be $60-billion worth of metal sitting in the ground, but it might cost you $80-billion to get it out,” he said.

Even the most promotional of mining companies wouldn’t dare print such a figure in a regulatory document, because it would be misleading to investors.

“If any company did the same kind of thing, they would have gotten slapped down by regulators," said Mr. Srivastava.

In the mining industry, geologists categorize deposits based on how sure they are that the metals found underground can be mined economically. “Proven and probable” is the highest bar, meaning metal that can be mined for a profit.

The vast majority of mines around the world are built off of a proven and probable resource. One notch below proven and probable is “measured and indicated,” a far less certain category in which economics have not been proved. “Inferred” is the lowest tier, essentially an educated guess.

No one “sober” would build a mine off an inferred resource, said Mr. Srivastava.

Mr. Franklin says about 70 per cent of his Ring of Fire estimate came from the inferred category, with the rest coming from measured and indicated. Now, he has second thoughts about including any of the inferred in his calculation.

“I [did something] that you’re not supposed to,” he said.

Despite its shaky foundation, that $60-billion figure had a big impact on the public imagination. The number has been cited in scores of news articles and other media (including The Globe and Mail), rarely explaining how it was calculated or attributing its source.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce in 2014 released studies predicting Ring of Fire would create 5,000 new jobs and a $9-billion boost to GDP, and said over its first 32 years of its development, it would generate “more than $25-billion in economic activity across numerous sectors in Ontario.”

Mr. Franklin says he has tried to stop the rampant use of the $60-billion figure, and raised concerns with a senior official in Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

“I contacted [them and said], ‘You guys should do your own evaluation of this. You should not be using some number that I came up with at PDAC because we all know the unreliability of my number,' ” Mr. Franklin said. “It’s just not proper.”

The $60-billion number does appear to have been dropped from most Ontario government statements in the past year or two, but officials haven’t pulled back their estimates or added context...."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-the-road-to-nowhere-why-everything-youve-heard-about-the-ring-of/

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The current measured and indicated chromite resources for the BlackBird, Black Thor, Black Label and Big Daddy Deposits are 20.5 ,  137.7,  5.4 and 29.1 million tonnes respectively (Noront October 2019 presentation slides 16 and 17: http://norontresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Q2-2019-Corporate-Presentation-FINAL2.pdf )

The total of those 4 Chromite deposits alone is 192.7 million tonnes measured and indicated. 

Recent chrome ore prices are $125US/tonne (they've pulled back recently :https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3503863/Chrome-ore-prices-renegotiated-by-137-in-plummeting-market.html

192.7 million tonnes x $125/tonne = $US 24Billion

x1.3oCDN/1.oUS=$CDN 31Billion**

Current in situ value of Eagles Nest {using 11.1 million tonnes Proven and Probable 1.68%Ni, 0.87%Cu, 0.89gm/t Pt and 3.09gm/t Pd ( see slide 11) }

using Kitco Rocks in the Box calculator (https://www.kitco.com/pop_windows/kitcorockcalc.html

$USD 531.87/tonne (10/26/19) x11.1million tonnes=$US 5.8 billion x1.30$CDN/1$US= $CDN 7.7 billion**

(that value excludes the 9million tonnes inferred resource)  

so far the running total is  approximately $CDN 32 billion excluding all inferred values

Of note , this $CDN 32 Billion represents the in situ value of Noront's non-inferred resources (Eagle's Nest and the aforementioned 4 chromite deposits (NOT holds 70% of Big Daddy deposit). This doesn't include McFaulds 3 Cu deposit or any upside from that deposit or any other VMS targets.

Also note  that the Blackhorse chromite deposit (FNC/Bold/KWG) has another 80million tonnes of chromite (but admittedly that resource is all inferred) 

Cheers,

Luker