Basically this talks about the the startup and running costs of...

Basically this talks about the the startup and running costs of a mine in northern Canada, and how the prices are directly related to where the mine is located. Its amusing that some of these guys are boasting about an Australian company (SFR) that was able to get started and shipping DSO using 450 mil. They fail to think about the fact that mine was literally on a highway in an area with already established mines and infrastructure, not to mention they literally just had to drive down the road (yes its a long road) to get the ore on some ships. Lets take the 400m for the Australian mine, and multiply it by 2.5 (what the research paper estimates), That's 1.125b, that's the price were looking at, their both copper mines...

I compared the price to an iron mine that is on an island next to storm. I understand its an iron mine and the costs will be different but many of the startup costs will be the same (things like power generation). The iron mine was about 4.5b to start, that included 1.2b for the railroad they built. Lets take the railroad out and call it 3.2b. part of the reason the cost was so high was specifically because of how far they were, the mode of transportation used, and the seasons. They had to mine more than what was initially expected just because the amount they planned to mine would not have covered the cost until they hit a certain point. I would not be surprised if this mine had a similar fate, small quantities would not be worth the cost.

Its entirely possible they could get away with it, I mean they do have a mine next door to learn from, and contracting for companies that already have experience and operate in that area could greatly reduce the costs, but i'm still expecting at least a bil to start.

Side note, thanks for not being an ass like some of the others here.