Wyloo Metals, which earlier in the year acquired Noront Resources and its mining assets located in Ontario’s emerging metals camp known as the Ring of Fire, has chosen Ring of Fire Metals as the new name for its Canada-based business as exploration activities begin in the area.
“The name and branding was chosen to reflect the unique culture of the organization, while also paying homage to its Canadian roots and the region’s history,” Wyloo Metals CEO Luca Giacovazzi said in a news release.
“We highly value the rich history associated with the Ring of Fire region, the importance of the region to Canada’s critical minerals future, and all that Noront Resources had achieved before we came on board.”
Noront’s primary asset is the early-stage Eagle’s Nest project, which has been billed by Wyloo as the largest high-grade nickel discovery in Canada since the Voisey’s Bay nickel find in Labrador. The mine is scheduled to begin commercial production in 2026 with the mine running initially for 11 years.
“Ontario has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a world-leading hub for the production of the critical minerals the world needs to de-carbonize and we want to play our part in connecting the minerals in the north with the manufacturing might in the south,” Giacovazzi said.
“Ring of Fire Metals reflects the grit, determination, and unwavering commitment to sustainable mining, and to giving back to local communities, that will help us achieve this goal.”
The new company name coincides with the resumption of activity at Eagle’s Nest project, as well as broader exploration work across the region. Also part of the Noront portfolio of projects were world-class chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor and Big Daddy.
“Eagle’s Nest is one of the highest-grade nickel-copper-platinum-palladium deposits in the world, and we’re also very excited about the potential of our other mineral opportunities across the Ring of Fire region,” said Stephen Flewelling, acting CEO, Ring of Fire Metals.
Drilling is currently underway on the Eagle’s Nest property, with the aim of collecting detailed structural data to finalize infrastructure planning for the mine’s development. At the same time, the company is refreshing the Eagle’s Nest mining, metallurgical and infrastructure studies and assessing how the operation can be tied into Ontario’s first battery metals plant.
“We are also conducting a diamond drill program on a number of our nickel targets, ground and airborne geophysical surveys over several of our 70+ regional nickel targets and are collecting soil samples across other major structures,” Flewelling said. “Moving forward, we plan to keep the site open year-round and the next milestone on the exploration front is to finalize the scope of our winter exploration campaign.”
The Esker site, which is a base for project and exploration teams located adjacent to the Eagle’s Nest deposit, recently re-opened after closing in September last year following the summer 2021 exploration program.
