Wow, Old Joe - looks like you've done an excellent job of historical analysis - regarding Shell Oil and the Alberta Oilsands project. Thanks for that great info! An important conclusion of that great info - which the average guy or girl on here might not get - is that a big increase in cost of production might not necessarily negate a commercial viablity to continue with a project. Because, if the greater costs of production are matched with the greater value of mineral - it is still profitable to mine same. The same holds true for nickel, copper, platinum, etc., and not just Alberatan oilsands bitumen. Our increased costs of exploration, etc., are much more offset by the extremely increased values of the minerals we are discovering (and especially at the phenomenally high grades we are hitting).