RE:BKM needs a major to come inYou may be right, however I think that would be an illegal stance on behalf of the government.
Lets say you were a home builder and wanted to build a couple of homes.
Could the government say no because you must have a resume that includes thousands of homes built? I hope not, as that is against free enterprize.
It seems to me that if the permit requirements were met, then I do not think the size of the company matters. If it did, then prospectors and juniors would be forced to sell their projects at a major discount to large existing companies, as they would have no options to develop properties themselves.
Remember that a bond needs to be in place and so the government can afford to clean up the mine site, should the ore prices drop to 50 cent copper or the company closes.
From what I understand, the bond is increased every year as work is performed in order to cover the clean up. Currently I understand that BKM has a small bond, as it has done a little work. As soon as digging and building starts, the bond requirement will be higher.
Personally it sounds like a fair system. The bond does not criple a company by needing everything in advance and at the same time a mining company cannot go for years without increasing the bond for work performed.