The cost of steel is a critical factor in the capital costs of any large industrial project like Schaft Creek. From our 2008 Preliminary Feasibility Study:

"Predicting future commodity prices is and will always remain a big part of economic risk
associated with any large project in the development stage. The same increases in
commodity prices that drive the development of numerous new projects also mean high
prices for the materials that are required to develop the new facilities. Add to this the major increases in iron ore and steel prices over the last several years and a major economic risk is trying to determine what the cost of the equipment will be by the time it is delivered two or three years in the future."

I suspect one of the reasons for this lengthy review is related to the fluctutations we have seen in iron ore prices recently. Between June and September spot prices for iron ore fell from around $140 a tonne to close to $85. It's possible Copper Fox had to reprice several large pieces of equipment based on recent changes in iron ore prices. This would explain why the economics of the project are not yet complete.