"“They’re walking around talking about this stuff as if it’s real. I mean, it’s a penny stock. Why does anyone take them seriously?"

Here’s another harsh reality Noront must face: Even if an access road into the Ring of Fire appeared tomorrow, it isn’t in a position to move forward on any of its projects, because it hasn’t proved they are viable. In its marketing materials, Noront flaunts a feasibility study conducted in 2012 on a nickel-copper-palladium project called Eagle’s Nest, which Mr. Coutts says will be its first mine.

Yet in the same breath, Mr. Coutts acknowledges that feasibility study is no longer valid. A lot has changed since 2012, including copper and nickel prices. The company assumed materially higher prices for both.

Mr. Coutts is optimistic that Eagle’s Nest could still be profitable, especially in light of significantly higher palladium prices, used in the manufacture of catalytic converters for autos. But the company has to conduct a new study to prove the investment case."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-the-road-to-nowhere-why-everything-youve-heard-about-the-ring-of/

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22.2.3 Expected Metal Prices

The three-year trailing average metal prices as of 31 August, 2012 were selected for the base case. 

US$/lb 9.43   Copper US$/lb  3.60

Platinum US$/oz 1,647 

Palladium US$/oz 599

 Exchange rate $/US$  1.015 

In situ value of the above base case is  approximately $US 530/tonne, which is almost exctly the same as that calculated using today's metal prices

However, operating costs are likely to have increased since then. ...but those  may be at least partially offset by the  expected cost of capital , with these recently ultra-low interest rates ...and it's doubtful that the price of nickel will remain at $7.58 US/pound..