This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.
Ontario Mining Association member company Noront Resources is believed to be the first junior mining company to make a major investor presentation using an iBook. At the recent Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, Noront President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Hanson spoke about his company’s profile and prospects, while embracing interactive, high-tech communications tools.
The audio-visual and computer experts on site at the PDAC were able to get the presentation on the big screen for all to see — after overcoming their puzzled looks. “I really don’t like static presentations. At events like the PDAC, the iBook can be used interactively on a timely basis as an investor tool and a community relations tool,” said Mr. Hanson. “We hope to have the Noront story on iTunes in the near future and then everyone in the world would have the capability to download the Noront iBook.”
“I have all kinds of embedded audio files in the iBook and it is a totally interactive system to talk about Noront, our Eagle’s Nest project and the communities where we are working,” added Mr. Hanson. “Technology is wonderful and we have to take advantage of it as a communications tool. It is our responsibility to do so.”
It should not come as a surprise that Noront is moving in this direction with communications technology. Two years ago, it launched its Mikawaa portal. Mikawaa means “discovery” in the Oji-Cree language.
“We felt it was time to stop talking and start listening to our local communities of Webequie and Marten Falls,” said Leanne Hall, Vice President Human Resources for Noront. “It was a new way for us to learn from the communities and Mikawaa is a listening post. We had to learn from the communities before starting to talk about geology, our specific projects and the company.”
“We had to turn our one and one half inch thick technical document about our project into non-technical and understandable language in an interesting way,” said Mr. Hanson. “It is all about dialogue and education and building a meaningful relationship. We are going to need at least 300 people to work on our project and we have to start preparing the communities to fill those jobs.”
Noront Resources is focused on developing the high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper- platinum-palladium deposit, the exploration and development of the Blackbird chromite discovery and regional exploration for additional mineral deposits within its large land position in the Ring of Fire, an emerging multi-metals camp located in the James Bay Lowlands.
“Mikawaa provides an overview of the mining project, in simple terms and visual graphics for people who are not technical and provides wonderful commentary by First Nations people describing the importance of the lands and what kinds of challenges they have faced in growing up,” said Mr. Hanson. “It provides a wonderful exchange of information. The company believes that through open dialogue, effective communication and mutual understanding, it can take the first steps to maintaining relationships in good faith as needed to create shared value.”
The website for Noront is www.norontresources.com. Mikawaa is accessible through the Noront website, or directly at www.mikawaa.com.