I've been out. Now that I've seen what competing mines have to offer I know for certain that SC has to be developed. All in, including waste, it's profitable. They went very high on the costs to cover future increases in a big way.

Having first hand commissioning experience leads me to believe they can substantially lower the costs. Any value in the waste will lead to a huge gain on the bottom line.

One thing the public needs to know is that red tape is still alive and well. These mines are going overboard to give the enviro aspects a superior set of conditions. A large chunk of the costs go to the enviromentent in ways that are wastefull. Work on the sites is often strangled by safety rules. As a long time construction company owner I always practised safety above what was required but I let common sense rule. The big barrier to improved safety is not more rules it's phyco/social. Workers must get the common sense through their heads. An example of obstructionist rules would be where people are to shovel a flat roof. They have to but up barriers 6 feet from the edge. This applies to anything over 6 feet high. In this example, falling off the roof means landing in snow that's 3 feet from the top. If not barriered the workers have to be harnessed and tied to an anchor line. The lines in the snow become a trip hazzard. Each shoveler must have a spotter on the ground who's in radio contact with them. His job is to tell them they are too close to the edge. I kid you not. This is where a lot of the cost are driven up. Example 2. I drive machinery. I own machinery. I have to go pay some wet behind the ears kid to train me and sign a paper saying I know how to run my machinery! Bullpuckey I say. Anyone who wants to know just how bad it's getting should take the online SCTS ticket. Believe it or not, one of the pieces of information you learn is that if you are tired, you should sleep! I did this course with my 5 year old and she passed too! I am stunned that our work force is expected to learn from it. I worry about working with anyone who does learn from it. This should be given out in Elementary school for free. But it actually costs about $90.

Going back to the economics of mines, Look at the share price and time line of Mt Milligan. Look at the FS. Now compare it to Western and SC. SC does have the synergy with GC. They can have an enormous advantage in long term cost. A super camp for one which implies the labour pool will be better, trucks, conveyers, power... in a word, lots of things that do work together. I have no doubt this is what's coming. It will take 10 years to get both up and running but it is going to happen. This has been downplayed by management. Now, I have no doubts.