I once was an investor in Ivanhoe Mines, held the stock for years, got in early and finally sold out and made quite a few shekels. The largest obstacle for Ivanhoe was the Mongolian government, if anyone was following the story they would know that Friedland almost went bald trying to get the deal done and it eventually took a deal between him and Rio and then Rio with the Mongols to get the mine on track. Though the latest press report would indicate that the Mongolian Govt is still trying to put roadblocks in the way.

Why do I mention this, well there are some similarities between what's happening in the ROF with the Government, natives and the mining companies. Anytime Governments get too involved in the private sectors business there's bound to be delays, and this situation in the ROF is a good example. Do you think for one minute that Bob Rae is going to get a deal done in weeks/ months, no it's more like a few years, after all he needs to show he's earning his paycheque.

Then there's Cliffs, if they really wanted to move this thing along they'd be cutting a deal with Frank over at KWG, take him and KWG out of the picture and consolidate their holdings. Hell it wouldn't take too much to take out Noront either given their trading in the twenties. Some would argue they (Cliffs)don't have the $$ to do this , given the state of their stock. However if a Rio or Xstrata was really interested they'd have a deal with Cliffs.

The Ontario Government have been sitting on this for years, they either don't see it as a priority, or just don't have the cojones to get a deal done.

So without preaching to the converted, it is this humble investors opinion that it's going to take the Feds to get these projects moving again. Harper and Clements know what's at stake. The financial future of mining in Canada lies in the ROF, the Feds know this they are hopefully not about to let Wynn, Bob Rae, or anyone else for that matter stand in the way of getting these mines up and operational. They want the tax dollars , and they want to see employment and they know the potential.

IMHO

Joe