'I don't think we're too far from hearing about environmental assessments for explicit development proposals: road, slurry pipeline, and rail.'
I do believe, Lar, that it has been a while since I have read a single sentence paragraph that says so much with so few words
This morning I sat down to a cup of tea with a friend who is a friend of a friend, etc.
The word I got was that the infrastructure question has several parts to it, mainly they are; What, where, how, and by who.
Apparently the what (rail, road, pipeline) question,as well as the where, have both been reduced to one, and the present discussions have now progressed to the how and by who.
If one tries to fathom the logistics that will be required for the area along with the related costs, it can quickly turn into a nightmare. It isn't just a case of determining the total cost and getting a percentage thrown in by each player, but more of how does each company or gov't guarantee a return for their investment.
If we look at Noront as an example, and assume they are prepared to contribute 300mill towards infrastructure costs. They are not likely to just hand a cheque to KWG or someone else as their contribution towards the total. Far more likely would be that they would agree to provide a portion of the infrastructure such as a power plant at their cost, and charge a fee for it's use.
In the same fashion the Prov and Federal gov'ts could agree to construct the required bridges over the two main rivers, while leaving the remaining rail costs to KWG.
Smack dab in the middle of all of this, is the first nations. As per usual, they do not bring a whole bunch of money to the table, but intend to leave with a good portion of the controls going forward. Realisically, that is fine, but it does tend to prolong any meaningful discussion.
At any rate it would seem that these discussions are proceeding, and a mid September announcement is realistic.
FWIW, I am sticking to my predictions of a preliminary road followed by rail construction from the south.
Best regards
K
