TORONTO (Reuters) -Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals said on Tuesday it would launch an unsolicited bid for the shares in nickel-copper miner Noront Resources it does not already own, an offer valuing the company at C$133 million (US$110 million). Noront responded by recommending that shareholders defer taking any action while it considers alternatives to Wyloo’s C$0.315 per share offer. The bid shows extended interest in battery minerals from Forrest, Australia’s second richest person, whose wealth Forbes estimated at $20.3 billion this year due to his shareholding in iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. Wyloo, a subsidiary of Forrest’s Tattarang, one of Australia’s largest private investment groups, became Noront’s top shareholder with a 23% stake in December. Wyloo said a deal would remove Noront shareholders’ exposure to uncertainty of “several further years” of infrastructure and mine development. The bid would add to a global green drive by Forrest, who over more than two decades turned Fortescue Metals into the world’s fourth-biggest iron ore miner. Noront’s main asset is the high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper and palladium deposit in Canada’s so-called Ring of Fire. That region contains rich mineral resources, but development has been hampered by a lack of power and transportation infrastructure in the area in the far north of Ontario, some 1,000 miles northwest of Toronto. Wyloo said the offer represents a 31% premium based on the closing price of Noront shares on May 21, the last trading day prior to the offer announcement. Noront shares closed up 29% at C$0.31. Wyloo Metals also said it was prepared to make available to Noront a C$5 million unsecured, extendable loan. In January, Wyloo announced a C$25 million option and joint venture agreement with Canada’s Orford Mining covering the West Raglan nickel project in Nunavik, Quebec. (US$1 = C$1.21) Reporting by Jeff Lewis; additional reporting by Melanie Burton in MelbourneEditing by Richard Chang and Leslie Adler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.