Noronex has put its foot on a substantial tin project in Alaska. It has a historical resource, and the emphasis will be on establishing a JORC resource and then growing this to capitalise on booming global demand for tin. Tin is on the US Critical Minerals list, but there are no tin producers in America.Guest BioJames Thompson is Chief Executive Officer of Noronex Limited (ASX: NRX), an ASX-listed mineral explorer advancing the newly optioned Sleitat tin-tungsten-silver project in Alaska alongside its Kalahari Copper Belt interests in Namibia and Botswana. He was appointed CEO in July 2026, coinciding with Noronex securing an exclusive option over Sleitat. Thompson has been involved with Noronex since 2018, when he became a director of the company's founding copper subsidiaries, before being appointed an executive director of the company in May 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws, and began his career as a chartered accountant with KPMG. Over a 25-year career he has built investment experience with firms including Macquarie Bank, Quadrant Private Equity and Viburnum Funds, where he has served as Investment Director since 2014. He has also been a founder and director of numerous other ASX-listed and private resource companies over the past decade, spanning the base, precious and battery metals sectors.Produced by Resource MediaThe Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Read Corporate.Please note that Read Corporate does not provide investment advice and investors should seek personalised advice before making any investment decisions.LinksThe Hole Truth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-hole-truth-podcastThe Hole Truth YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI4sZkSfEpPi_u7OrD7lQ-tZHbdy6EhCCThe Hole Truth Website: https://resourcesrisingstars.com.au/the-hole-truth-podcast/The Hole Truth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholetruthpodcast/Company Website: https://www.noronexlimited.com.au/Key InsightsSleitat gives Noronex a rare, near-term entry into US tin supply.Noronex has secured a 60-day option to acquire 100% of the Sleitat tin-tungsten-silver project in Alaska, targeting a historical (non-JORC) estimate of 25.9 million tonnes at up to 0.37% tin, representing an estimated 58,000 to 96,000 tonnes of contained tin. With the US holding no domestic tin production and tin formally designated a critical mineral by the US government, the deal places Noronex in a category with almost no ASX-listed peers targeting US tin supply.The project is genuine brownfields, not a speculative punt.Sleitat was discovered and drilled by Cominco in the 1980s, including a standout historical intercept of 30 metres at 1.5% tin, with the US Bureau of Mines later compiling the historical resource estimate from that work. Thompson notes Noronex has since re-examined the preserved drill core using XRF technology and confirmed high-grade tin exactly where expected, giving the company confidence to move straight toward a JORC-compliant exploration target rather than starting from scratch.Deal terms are structured to avoid dilution before drilling begins.The acquisition is weighted toward deferred and milestone-based payments tied to future resource growth, requiring only around $1.5 million upfront in cash and scrip, funded from Noronex's existing treasury. Thompson says the company can complete due diligence, exercise the option and define an exploration target without raising capital, only tapping equity markets once it is ready to fund drilling.Tin's supply-demand fundamentals underpin the investment case.Thompson points to International Tin Association forecasts of continued deficits and roughly 25% demand growth by the mid-2030s, driven by solder use in semiconductors, AI data centres, electric vehicles and solar panels. With Indonesian producers shifting to costlier offshore dredging and no US tin production since the 1990s, he argues the timing is right f