Two comments to add:

1. The biggest ticket item is the $1.8B electric arc furnace which is also a power guzzler. And we should no forget that CLF will required billions of power subsidy over the life of the project. A gas-powered furnace would be much cheaper to build (simpler, hence cheaper, but this is my guess only) and operate (pretty sure about this). No subsidy required from the government. In addition, electricity can also be produced (gas plant, but KWG will not cancel it) to power at least the industrial complex in the south, near Nakina. The "waste heat" from electricity geneartion can be used for drying the concentrate.

2. The on-site $800M upgrader was proposed at BT mine is required to bring the grade up to DSO level (CLF wanted to ship some 1M tonnes/yr? of DSO directly overseas).

As I have indicated before CLF picked the wrong deposit (BT). The best grades and locations for the area are located at BD and the next door BC. These deposits don't need a $800M upgrader (another big ticket item for BT mine). If CLF throw in that $800M to the $600M the total sume would be close enough to build an RR (estimated cost ~$1.5B). Perhaps, the government $600M could be used to build a small (and public) service-road and some power transmission line to the RoF.

It would appear that people in mahogany board room were making huge mistake over and over (remember the $4.9B Consolidated Thompson acquisition?) but still collecting huge pay cheques. Hope that the new CLF has people with common sense.

goldhunter