"I know that tonnage trumps all but there is more bang for the buck with our tonnes."
If I may be so bold Diamondj, then you do not know, as in the pain reliever commercial.

It is the economical grade asset that trumps all, as in what you imply by 'more bang for the buck'.
You can have huge tonnage but if it is border line economical, or worse, uneconomical at the time than you have near nothing. I presume your question stems from the chromite issue.

We have less tonnage and thus total economical quantity of chromite but ours is of better grade deposit so more profitable per ton of ore to mine. Other metals included make it more profitable. If the grades are low, or typical of world grades, then in times of world economic slumps you may have to curtail production of close operations while the richer deposits continue to do business.
Our capability with this deposit to continue to do business in those times stands for a
qualitative edge and a premium on the deposit above the numerical and base $ value that usual calculations derive.

Hope that muddies the water some more, Ed.