KWG Resources, Spider Resources and Freewest Resources: the juniors to watch are poised as the miners-to-be.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: COMPANIES TO WATCH

KWG Resources, Spider Resources and Freewest Resources are the triumvirate of junior miners behind a monumental chromite discovery that will open up Ontario's Far North and make the province a first-time producer of a highly strategic global mineral.

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Now American iron and coal behemoth Cliffs Natural Resources has entered into the picture with a $240 million offer to take over Freewest (to be decided at a special shareholder meeting in late January) and assist KWG and Spider in developing its massive, high-grade chromite deposits in the James Bay Lowlands.

In a remote muskeg swamp, now known as the 'Ring of Fire', they discovered a commodity that's never been found in any size or degree in North America.

Geologist Bob Middleton, director of Aboriginal and Regulatory Affairs for the Canada Chrome Corporation, a subsidiary of KWG Resources, said the tale of McFauld's Lake is really one of a "series of accidents."

What began as a search in Ontario's North for diamonds, turned into discoveries of copper and zinc that now has the potential to be the world's biggest chromite mine, possibly by 2015.

Middleton, who was brought into the KWG fold as an exploration advisor, said there is enough tonnage at the McFauld's deposits to see chromite production for 150 to 200 years.

KWG and Spider have been developing the flagship Big Daddy chromite property adjacent to two other chromite deposits, Black Thor and Black Label, owned by Freewest Resources. The three companies have formed an alliance. It was the discovery of diamonds at the current De Beers Canada Victor site which opened up the James Bay Lowlands to exploration.

The whole region was examined by detailed magnetics looking for the tell-tale bull's eye anomalies that are indicative of kimberlite bodies, a mineral pointing to the presence of diamonds. Eight kimberlites and multiple volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) discoveries led to the KWG joint venture in the mid-1990s.

It was the beginning of a whole series of VMS discoveries-as many as 13-by 2003.

A flurry of staking rushes and VMS exploration followed over the next three years. It led to a drill hole discovery on the KWG-Spider ground that hit a black mineral that was at first ignored but was soon realized to be chromite.

Cliffs officially entered the picture early last year with an investment in KWG to finance their exploration drill program for a 20 per cent stake.

Canada Chrome was set up as KWG's subsidiary that will...