Costs of transporting the ore (graphite or others) to the processing plants if they are located away from the mines have been discussed when people compare two companies, e.g NGC versus another company which has a higher ore grade. This is certainly relevant if the comparison is done on the same basis, i.e. all other things (flake size, carbon content, need for an upgrader, etc are the same, including comparable distances and road conditions from the nine to processing plants.

However, a design option to avoid/minimize the transporation cost is to build the processing facilities at the mines using either short haul of ore by trucks, or by conveyor.

Without considering using the same basis for the key elemements, the cost comparison between the two companies would not be credible... and could be misleading.

goldhunter