From the various figures, very rough figures, assuming $300/hr for drill and crew, 3.5 drills avg, 9 hrs/dy avg x 320 days/yr working = $30.2m.

Probably a good bit less than that since they're going via a big contract, and you get efficiencies running multiple drills.

However, you have to figure the professional and management expenses too.

My understanding was that 1/2 of the $55 placement would be run through in one year of exploration. So that adds up nicely too - about $30m/yr.

They may get the job done for $20m, and then spend $10m exploring some of the other land. They have a huge amount of land, and I checked claimaps, and a good proportion of it must be worked this year and next so as to keep the claims in force.

The whole thing is an incredible work of beauty. It's like you are 17, at your girlfriend's house, and then her parents are urgently called away somewhere, and they ask "could you two care take care of the house for 3 days?". A very fine place to be. This actually happened.

The question runs through my mind too often, "what if I put every last penny I could lay my hands on into KXL?" So far, sanity has prevailed. But it's by a thin thread.