I think the type of ore is a very important difference between the ROF nickel deposits and many large deposits elsewhere. As Babjak and myself have recently pointed out, many large-scale projects, in development or actually producing, are not economic under present conditions because of the expensive processing needed by Laterite ores.

For that reason, a fair comparison cannot be based simply on grade and tonnage. Capital costs should be much less for E1 than for the example cited by Glorieux (infrastructure such as roads and power aside) in view of the simpler processing needed. Hence a mine becomes economic at a much lower tonnage figure. Higher grades, as well as other metals in the deposit, are very positive factors. Quite a while ago, wasnt there some mention of simply shipping ore elsewhere for refining? That option would lower capital costs and make for much speedier development.