My memory re Noront's chromite is that they dig it up and convert into a slurry at location of mine. Then they were going to use the pipe to transport the slurry to the processing plant which is to be located at more convenient place nearer electrical and man power. From there it would be plain chromite or ferrochrome to be sold.
Where things change is that now instead of converting the ore to slurry and using pipe, it may be moved by trucks or rail cars.
The problem with the chromite ore is the bulk of it and the huge amount of electrical power needed to process it before we have a marketable product. If transporting the raw ore then it needs to be reduced in bulk at the earliest convenience to reduce transportation costs. Also why transport the useless slag portion if it could be gotten rid of nearer the source.
Hope that clears things up a bit.