Until the BFS drops no one really knows the value of what we hold – I apologize I’m stating the obvious.The primary determining factor is what is in the ground. Or Pounds in the Ground. I’ll leave this evaluation to the geologist amongst us.The secondary factors are the ones that make this project stand above the rest and is why we have TECKs undivided attention.

1.Political frame work.

2.Logistics

3.Capex

As a practicing P.Eng I’ll comment on the last two.When we use the word Capex many investors get nervous due to our proximity to the Galore Creek debacle.Some of these same investors may have been burnt a few years ago.When looking into why the Galore Creek Capex when from $2B to $5.5B read/view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_3fOfqS8A

http://www.vannattabros.com/iron64.html

Who in their right mind flies D6 Cats into the bush at a cost of $22,500/hr!!!I knew a pilot of a Boeing Chinook that spent 2 whole months flying pallets of bagged concrete up there.This was the Largest civilian airlift ever. There was a rumor that it dwarfted the Berlin Blockade for kg lifted(not by distance though). There were Bell 212’s ferrying nothing more than fuel to equipment! 400gal at a time at a cost of $2200/hr!My message: the CAPEX for Galore has no Relevance for the SC CAPEX.Galore was severely miss managed, when the project timeline became more important that the project cost- the balance was lost

From a logistics standpoint SC is has a lot going for it.

1.Port of Stewart.

a.Reduced Truck Costs – Trucks shipping to Stewart are now permitted a gross vehicle weight of 72,300 kg, a 14% increase over the 63,500 kg maximum allowed on most BC roads. Fuel, labour and equipment costs per tonne of cargo are thereby reduced.

b.Low Ship Costs – To reach Asian buyers, Stewart has lower ship costs than southern ports. Shippers benefit from lower fuel costs and ship charter costs through shorter travel distances.

c.Low Port Costs - Stewart has lower terminal handling costs and port charges than competing mineral shipping ports. Costly port authority fees are avoided.

http://investnorthwestbc.ca/major-projects-and-investment-opportunities/map-view/stewart/port-of-stewart

d.Diesel can be barged in rather than trucked or railed in from Alberta!A CAT &(& mine truck burns 1000gal of fuel per shift. That is almost 750,000 gal/yr per truck! If a mine had a fleet of 50 trucks that is 86 rail cars of diesel per month! (or 190 B-train loads)

2.North West Transmission line. This creates a significantly lower operating cost.

3.Under an hour flight from Vancouver, this means crew changes can be done with ease. And a massive labour pool can be exploited.

I don’t like waiting either but the scent of a kill is strong enough that I’ll patiently wait.