Champion Iron Mines Limited CPMNF

Lamalee Peppler Comparison

[greenandgold]

What distinguishes CHM's cluster 2 properties (Fire Lake North, Bellechase, etc.) from Cliffs's Lamalee-Peppler properties ( 935 MT, at around 30% iron)? All immediate neighbors, and all have good tonnages, solid grades, but bad access to common carrier rail.
*
Why hasn't Cliffs announced any plans regarding development of Lamalee-Peppler? It's only 62 kilometers of rail to connect to the Bloom Lake railway, right? They're doing nothing with those properties at the moment because they know (given Consolidated Thompson's experience) how much rail costs and how difficult it is to permit and build.
*
When Consolidated Thompson submitted a provincial Registration of the Bloom Lake rail project in 2006 (document signed by your guy Quesnel) they estimated the project would cost $50 million. When they finally completed it in 2009 it ends up costing $164 million. That's a 228% cost overrun. Building that railway was a big job: surveying; multi-level government permitting; land clearing along right of way; blasting, excavation, and filling; construction of 4 bridges and installation of culverts; installation of a level-crossing; ballasting and track laying; installation of signal lights and communication systems.
*
CHM is proposing a rail spur twice the length of Bloom Lake railway. That equals twice the surveying, twice the land clearing, extra everything else involved and probably twice the price: $328 million.
*
All of this assumes Bloom Lake railway will indeed have excess capacity once Cliffs increases production at Bloom Lake mine to 24MT. I doubt it.