I think pumping a slurry of concentrate makes perfect sense, at least it should seriously be evaluated. I don't think winter roads will be acceptable for long term operation, possibly only the first year or two during high grading.

Inco's and Falco's costs are I guesstimate in the range of 6,000 to 8,000 $ per tonne of nickel produced. NOT's processing costs will be in the same range, except that both Inco or Falco will of course charge a processing fee, so NOT's costs excluding transportation should be in around 10,000 $/tonne of Ni produced. Another factor is that the overall recoveries are normally in the range of 80% for Ni and Cu.

With these costs and not 100% recovery it is critical that the transportation costs are kept as low as possible, and a pipe line may indeed do that. Freezing in winter may be an issue, any known solutions?