RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Congo's Shakedown PlaybookCharni,
Northern Dynasty is a terrible comparison with Ivanhoe. Pebble got to prefeasibility, and despite nearly three years work, never succeeded in demonstrating feasibility. Prefeasibility was repeatedly mentioned in every NDM Company MD&A, up until reference was abruptly dropped when Anglo American ditched the project after sinking $600 million. Why would they spend hundreds of millions on prefeasibility and then abruptly banish any mention of the study? A PFS is not a huge milestone. After nearly two decades of work, NDM should have completed this modest study at a bare minimum.
Anglo and Rio, and recently First Quantum, didn’t walk away because of environmentalists. One look at the cross sections tell the whole story. The grade is too low for an underground mine. It would be fine as open pit. Yet Pebble is too deep for open pit. It’s a classic case where you have a large resource, but grade is too low to be classified as ore. ORE is ONLY that portion of a resource that can be mined for a PROFIT. Pebble never demonstrated profitability.