Cliffs may be planning to deliver first ore by road, with rail line taking over once it is built. First chromite ore will not be million tons or more but will likely be less than the original planned.
Road is needed to haul in the heavy equipment and supplies for mine construction. I suspect a road is also more flexible as to what it can be used for vs a rail line, hence goes in first. As stated power line along road corridor so another reason for road first.

(BarbuBeatnik, money for funding is not a problem. If there is a problem it may be with us investors not wanting the shares dilluted too much, which is a possibility if the company does not want to go into debt. I favour debt over dillution - Obviously.)

If there is a major interested in us they may be waiting for the road, rail and power infrastructure decisions to be made or even started. Majors often are willing to pay extra for near ready projects insted of doing the ground work

themselves. I suspect Xstrata as most likely due to them needing diversification from South Africa.
So it could be Baosteel vs Xstrata as potential suitor.
And I also agree that all the Ring's chromite will end up under one flag ( we can sell only our Chromite deposit) with our nickel deposit likely separate in our or other hands.

K is right about the Cliffs boast of a million tons shipped out. They could be using it as a carrot to Baosteel, = Let us have it and we will contract to supply this much ore to you Baosteel. I keep repeating, stranger games have been played.