HIGH-GRADE NI-CU-PT-PD-ZN-CR-AU-V-TI DISCOVERIES IN THE "RING OF FIRE"
NI 43-101 Update (September 2012): 11.1 Mt @ 1.68% Ni, 0.87% Cu, 0.89 gpt Pt and 3.09 gpt Pd and 0.18 gpt Au (Proven & Probable Reserves) / 8.9 Mt @ 1.10% Ni, 1.14% Cu, 1.16 gpt Pt and 3.49 gpt Pd and 0.30 gpt Au (Inferred Resource)
Message: Forrest in $142m takeover bid for Canadian nickel player
Lets see an offer from Vision Blue.....Mick knows what this is worth.
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Forrest in $142m takeover bid for Canadian nickel player
Brad ThompsonReporter
May 26, 2021 – 12.00am
Andrew Forrest has launched a takeover bid that will give him control of a high-grade nickel project in Canada as he looks to establish himself in the region and become a major force in battery metals independent of his multi-billion dollar iron ore interests.
The takeover bid, made through the Forrest family’s private investment arm Tattarang, values Noront Resources at $C133 million ($142.3 million) and comes six months after Dr Forrest grabbed control of a nearly 37 per cent stake in Noront through a deal with Resource Capital Fund.
Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Noront’s assets include Canada’s highest grade nickel discovery since Vale-owned Voisey’s Bay. The Forrest camp has signalled it is willing to bankroll development of the discovery along with other projects in a region known as the Ring of Fire.
Tattarang-controlled Wyloo Metals has pitched its takeover offer at C31.5¢ a share, which represents a 31 per cent premium on the last closing price and a 90 per cent premium from when Wyloo acquired its initial stake last December.
Noront’s highly rated Eagle’s Nest nickel project sits in the Ring of Fire, an emerging multi-metals region in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario where Noront has a number of other assets.
The Province of Ontario has indicated a willingness to contribute up to a billion Canadian dollars ($1.07 billion) to infrastructure development in the region.
Wyloo boss Luca Giacovazzi said the takeover bid was part of a long-term commitment to invest in developing the Noront assets and the Ring of Fire region.
“Wyloo Metals’ ambition is to produce the metals needed for a truly sustainable future and we believe the Ring of Fire can play a long-term and strategic role in helping us realise this,” he said.
“Under private ownership, Noront can focus on long-term decision making and value generation that can be shared with the communities in which we operate, without funding uncertainty and short-term targets.”
Mr Giacovazzi said Wyloo was committed to continuing to work with First Nations communities and community stakeholders as part of its long-term investment in the region.
Supporters of mine development claim the Ring of Fire has potential to generate significant business and employment benefits in Ontario’s north-west.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce analysis shows that within the first 10 years of development, the Ring of Fire could contribute up to $C9.4 billion in gross domestic product, create 5500 long-term jobs and pump $C2 billion into government coffers.
Dr Forrest is currently on his second lengthy overseas tour in the past nine months looking for green energy assets, investors and customers as part of his vision to diversify Fortescue Metals Group into a major supplier of renewable energy and green hydrogen.
Separate to the Fortescue chairman and founder wanting the iron ore miner to spread its wings into green energy, his family’s private investment arm has focused on nickel in the battery metal space - with investments in ASX-listed Poseidon Nickel, Mincor Resources and Panoramic Resources.
Dr Forrest was also offered a stake in the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in his home state of Western Australia by Canadian owner First Quantum, but passed.
First Quantum announced last week that it had sold a 30 per cent stake in Ravensthorpe to South Korean steel and battery materials maker POSCO for $US240 million in a sign of renewed interest in nickel assets.
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