Khareema, your comments are definitely thought provoking. Especially your last paragraph were you propose a possible scenario of a 3rd party. During the FWR takeover I had a few discussions with other posters who thought that the chineese may be backing Cliffs. If you remember back to one of Cliff's NR's they stated that they had someone in the background that was supporting them. They never mentioned names but threw that comment out there for whatever reason, I suspect mostly for intimidation. As I mentioned in my previous post China may be watching these events closely. It may be that they are backing Cliffs with the hope of securing chromite for the future.

Your comments about the share price are also intriguing as I have also wondered this myself. I am very green when it comes to understanding how a stock can be manipulated, however I have thought that SPQ was a prime example of the possibility of such. SPQ has released good NR after good NR without an increase in SP. Why has the SP remaind at 51/2 to 6 cents for so long? I am sure that someone was accumulating at these prices while others, mostly retail, were nervous about jumping into a stock that was so stagnant. Cliffs has probably been accumulating for months. Allowing the SP to rise a few cents before making an offer may be to their advantage. I don't think that Cliffs could have made a 10 cent offer and expected Mr. Novak and the BOD to take them seriously.

As an aside I wonder what Noront is thinking at this time. NOT has outwardly expressed their desire to consolidate the ROF. It appears that Cliffs is one step ahead of them. It would make no sense at all for NOT to attempt a takeover of SPQ as they have already openly admitted that they cannot compete with Cliffs.

Sitler 27

I certainly cannot say that I am a long time holder of SPQ. I purchased my first shares in March of 2008 and since that time I have been frustrated at the SP but have never lost faith or my long term vision. My DD has been through attending conferences and communicating with people in the mining industry with much more knowledge then myself. What I am about to say is meant to provoke discussion and nothing more. I have no inside information rather I am simply looking at the eventual sale of SPQ and possibly KWG in a logical manner.

Timing, why is the SP rising at this time? Spider has been the operator of this joint venture for the last two years. Normally Spider and KWG rotate this responsibility on a yearly basis and it is my understanding that KWG should have been the operator last year. Is it a coincidence that Spider has just finished as the operator of the drill program and is now handing the keys over the KWG? Considering Cliffs relationship with KWG what better time for Cliffs to make there move. I suspect that the reason for the SP rise in both KWG and SPQ was in large part due to Cliffs accumulating. They may be doing this indirectly but none the less I believe that Cliffs is on the move. They need alot of shares in hand to ensure they will be successful. Cliffs has to do this in a reasonable manner as they don't want to push the SP too high too fast. As with the takeover of Freewest, Cliffs will need some help from a few friendly institutions that will in turn make a healthy profit.

Why should Cliffs waite for a 43-101? Cliffs is already privy to what is in the ground as they are sitting on the KWG board and thus are in the know. Just as it was in Cliffs best interest to purchase FWR before the announcement of the 43-101 the same can be said in this case. People will say that Noront pushed Cliffs into action, however I suspect Cliffs was going to take out FWR with or without the push from Noront. Cliffs just didn't expect to act when they did and remember that FWR was not going to release their 43-101 until 2010. Everything was hastened due to NOT's actions.

Why should Cliffs let KWG and SPQ drill more on their joint property? It makes no sense for Cliffs to want to continue with the drill program. If Nickel/Copper/or PG's are hit it will only complicate the eventual sale and thus cost Cliffs more money then they would like to spend. As it stands now KWG is the operator and Cliffs has a big say in what KWG will do and, more importantly, not do in the future. Even if Mr. Novak wants to continue with the drill program he needs the consent of both KWG and Cliffs. I doubt that will happen.

Competition for the Chromite? I sincerely doubt that another company, such as Xstrata, would be interested in owning 1/3rd of a deposit. If such company was truely interested in purchasing the chromite they would have made a bid for Freewest. As Khareema noted the sale of SPQ will be much different then that of FWR. As shareholders we will have to rely on Mr. Novak and the board to either advise to reject or accept Cliffs offer. Then it will up to the shareholder. But as we all learned with FWR the retail shareholder is at a huge disadvantage.

Takeover of Cliffs? Others have mentioned this in the past and I think that this is a real possibility. Chromite is strategic and there are only a few companies that run the show. The eventual mining of the JBL chromite is going to affect the market and take some of the negotiating power away from companies such as Xstrata. For example, China needs chromite but until now they have not had many options on who or where they are going to purchase it from. With the eventual mining of the JBL this will all change. Maybe a company such as Xstrata is just waiting for Cliffs to consolidate the area and build the rail road. Only time will tell.

Thank you to the many posters who make this site both enjoyable and informative. Snug, Kelsee, Khareema, and Donypee (mostly from his posts on the FWR board) are but a few posters that I have learned allot from over the past 2 years. It looks like this is the year we have been waiting for in the ROF.

Good luck to all SPQ SH's

Sitler27

JD,

Thank you for your input; however I do have one question. From your analysis of the NR you stated that..

" Now it will not be very hard to find this MOTHERLOAD NICKEL, PGES and Cobalt from here on.."

Can you please explain why it will not be very hard to find the source of the nickel. It has been over 2 years since the discovery of Eagle 1 and this "motherload" has yet to be found. Could you please explain your thought process.

Thank you in advance.

Sitler27

After todays announcement of high grade platinum I was reminded of an article from the Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal (March 1, 2008, Volume 5, Number 1).

The title of the article was "Noront discovery highlights record year". For those of you who haven't read this article Mr. Nemis was quoted as saying...

" The difference with this thing is the grade', said Nemis. "If you just had platinum and palladium at these grades, you'd have a mine. With the grades of copper, you'd have a mine. With the grades of nickel, you'd have a mine. Voisey's Bay has no platinum or palladium."

Mr. Nemis was heavily criticized for this and other comments that he made in this article. I find it very interesting to read some of Mr. Nemis's quotes and relate them to what Noront and others are finding today.

I attended Mr. Nemis's last AGM as Noront CEO. In one of his final comments to investors he stressed that people should believe in the potential of the ROF.

The reason I mentioned this quote from Mr. Nemis tonight is not to rehash the past but rather to further recognize how special this play known as the ROF is and could be.

As a closing thought I find it a little disappointing that both NOT and FWR couldn't find a way to exist and work together for the betterment of the ROF and all investors. I realize that this is a business, however; IMO the ROF would greatly benefit from a FRIENDLY merger of these two great companies.

Sitler27

Sum,

I fully agree with your comments. I have long felt that Noront was and is down playing their findings in the ROF. In January of this year I commented on AT12 and Noront's ho hum NR stating what they had found. Since that time they have drilled many new holes and we have yet to hear any results. Then Mr. Hamilton made a positive comment, however brief, about AT12 at this years first luncheon . Now Noront is back at AT12 and drilling deep.

I too have found it very discouraging to see NOT's management promote their finds in the media only to preface these comments by reminding the readers of the remoteness of the ROF and how much it will cost for infrastructure. At the PDAC I asked Mr. Harvey about the remoteness and he was very quick to dismiss this as an obstacle.

I believe that there is a large company behind Noront and their bid for FWR. I do not think that NOT's trip to South Africa was just to learn more about mining chromite. I continue to ask myself why Mr. Rieveley (NOT's CFO) was among the group of individuals that made this trip.

Sitler27

Just thought I would pass on some information that was brought to my attention. I thought this would be of some interest to the forum. Please note the #9 top holding company in this resource fund.

From Globefund.com

Dynamic FocusPlus Resource Fund (5 star rating)

Total Assets: $490. Million

This is the list of the top Holdings as of July 31,2009 including the % of total assets.

1. Lundin Mining (12.02%) 2. Consol Thompson Iron Mines (8.08%) 3. Iamgold Corp (7.74%) 4. African Minerals LTD (6.0%) 5. Kinross Gold (5.48%) 6. Sherritt International (5.35%) 7. Queenston Mining (4.54%) 8. FNX Mining Company (4.11%) 9. NORONT RESOURCES (3.72%) 10. Canadian Oil Sands Trust (3.21%)

Portfolio Manager(s) - Ned Goodman. Mr. Goodman is the founder of DUNDEE GROUP of COMPANIES.

Noront accounts for approx. 18 million in total assets of this fund.

Sitler 27