Canadian miner Noront Resources Ltd said on Monday that it would purchase Cliffs Natural Resources Inc's chromite assets in the northern Ontario Ring of Fire district for $20 million, financed by a loan from Franco-Nevada Corp. The deal is a boost for the district, which is has huge deposits of chromite, which is used to make stainless steel, and other metals, but little infrastructure. Mining companies have touted its potential for years, but they have yet to take any projects to construction.Franco-Nevada has agreed to loan Noront $22.5 million for seven years at an interest rate of 7 percent. The loan will cover the cost of the Cliffs assets and $2.5 million for general working capital.The royalty and streaming company will also pay Noront $3.5 million in cash, receiving royalties of 3 percent on the Black Thor project and 2 percent on all of Noront's property in the region, excluding its Eagle's Nest project.Cliffs was the biggest company invested in the Ring of Fire, but in 2013 it suspended work in the region. Hit hard by a weak steel market and problems at its Bloom Lake mine in Quebec, Cliffs' Canadian subsidiary sought creditor protection in January.
Noront Resources Ltd., a Canada-based company, is engaged in the development, exploration and acquisition of properties prospective in base and precious metals, including nickel, copper, platinum group elements (PGEs), chromite, iron, titanium, vanadium, gold and silver. Shares of NOT fell by 1.389% or $-0.005/share to $0.36. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $0.24 and as high as $0.70. On average, 171684 shares of NOT.V exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 201745.
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