Edgy, my post was simply a reply to the question posed "What if the Chinese pull out? What if govts don't build a road?" By way of reassurance to a poster who seemed concerned those possibilities might result in the ROF being essentially dead, I pointed out pipelines are practical and comparatively inexpensive to build, and could be used by NOT and KWG.

I don't think it will come to that, as you say, the deposits up there are just too valuable to leave idle or with minimal infrastructure.

The area First Nations naturally want a share in the benefits to come from those minerals, and history has shown that just sitting back & trusting Govts and corporations/miners to spread the wealth doesn't work very well.

Infrastructure means roads, rail, hydro power, internet. With those come ease of moving in & out of the area, getting health care, reasonably priced groceries, drinkable water, jobs that allow workers to go home at least every few weeks. All of which most of us enjoy as easily as the air we all breathe.

With the present govts there is hope of all of that being factors when deciding how to approach exploitation of the ROF. In other words, roads & rail are likely, and ore reduction plant & smelters will receive favourable attention, rather than just a rip & ship approach.

The world economy is 'down' sure. Good time to start on projects like this. Nickel, copper and iron prices are low for now, while chromite and chrome prices seem fairly stable. Eagle's Nest is said to have enough different minerals in high concentration to make mining very economical even at low metal prices.

In my opinion.