RE: RE: intercepts Well, yes, first of all, it is a very remote location. Infrastructure needs to be established. In my opinion, the ideal is if Xtrata develops the Hackett River deposit first and then Sabina is able to access that infrastructure (based on the terms of the Hackett River deal) to develop Back River.
Politically it seems a bit murky. Overall I get the feeling Nunavut is pretty mining friendly. However, it has a small population and I'm not sure how well established their mining policies are.
Newmont decided to shelve the Hope Bay gold deposit that is in the same region (although not close enough to Sabina's properties for there to be a whole lot of potential synergy as far as infrastructure goes). It seems like there is a feeling that part of the reason Newmont made the decision it did was a view that the First Nations groups wanted too much. I got the impression it had to do with contracts to deliver supplies to the site that were going to be quite expensive based on what the First Nations company(ies) wanted.
However, my general sense is that Nunavut is considered a pretty mining-friendly jurisdiction and that provided the economics work, that it should be possible to put Back River into production relatively smoothly as far as permitting and agreeing to terms with First Nations. (I believe the First Nations are in fact the actual owner of the property, with Sabina holding mining claims.)