VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Northern Ontario-focused project developer Noront Resources has increased its position as the dominant land-holder in the prospective Ring of Fire (RoF) mining camp after closing the acquisition of 75% of MacDonald Mines’ claims in the region, the company said this week. Through the transaction, valued at about C$750 000, Noront has increased its claim blocks in the RoF from 375 claim units to 522.
Under the terms of the transaction, MacDonald has a 25% carried interest until a National Instrument (NI) 43-101-compliant resource has been issued on one of the properties, at which time MacDonald will have the option to convert the carried interest into a 1% net smelter return royalty.
Should MacDonald choose not to exercise its conversion right, Noront will be able to buy back MacDonald’s 25% interest for C$3-million, payable in cash or shares. If neither the conversion right nor the buyback right are exercised, the parties will form a joint venture to develop the properties.
These properties comprise two separate blocks of claims, namely the Butler property (77 claim units), covering a prolific belt of felsic volcanic rocks that hosts four known zinc/copper-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) occurrences, and the Sanderson property (70 claim units), which covers a large ferrogabbro intrusion (the ‘Big Mac’ intrusion) and possible footwall ultramafic intrusion, similar in scale to the Black Thor intrusion. The latter is prospective for nickel/copper mineralisation, as well as chromite deposits, the company advised.
EXPLORATION
The start of drilling, marked by a drumming ceremony staged by the local Webequie First Nation in the interests of minimal disturbance to the land and water and for the health and safety of the workers, took place at a geophysical anomaly identified at depth, which could represent a significant sulphide conductor, Noront advised.
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