My “foregone conclusion” idea also works in terms of ourselves.
It goes to the core of our attitude and the core of how we think
about the Port of Sept-Îles as Fancamp investors. Whenever we
think of Magpie, the second thing to come to mind should be
how the other parties in the area are spending ten billion dollars
in infrastructure improvements to our neighborhood.
In terms of bringing Magpie to fruition, area infrastructure and its
cost (or lack thereof) is subject number two (behind the resources
themselves but ahead of, even, metallurgy). Whenever we think of
Magpie, we need to think what ten billion dollars in infrastructure
improvements will do for our pet project.
What does that kind of money mean in terms of roads and rail links
to the port? Besides Port of Sept-Îles being our shipping point,
Magpie is in the general border area of Quebec and Labrador. So
when the local government talks of “the start-up of major new iron
ore mines in Quebec and Labrador,” how does it envision the iron
ore will be transported from the sides of the mountain ridges to the
docks of the seaport?
These are not trivial questions. To what degree transportation costs
will be mitigated surely will be something our future development
partner will want to understand in depth.