RE:RE:Is this what await us?In Ted O'Connors most recent interview, he mentioned that the locals in Chacaconiza actually invited the company in to conduct exploration on their land after talking to other locals who were on good terms with Plateau.
It is also a big positive as JuanPeru mentioned that there is no commercial farming in the area. I believe it was the farming around Berkley energias property that was the deal breaker for their permits. Even though I believe Uranium mining can be done responsibly, it doesn't matter just what the locals think, it matters what the people buying the farmers produce think, and that could be just a bridge too far. A real pity too. BKYs project was technically really really good, and they had everything lined up to go into production. If so, they would have been only the second junior to build a conventional mine in the last 20 years! Let's hope PLU fares better.
The unanswered questions I'm looking for
1. Concessions (duh)
2. Radioactive transport legislation (according to Ted, it's drafted, it just needs to be signed off)
3. Longer term, permitting. It will be the first U mine in Peru after all.
That's about it really. The technical merits of the project speak for themselves. I really believe that this is the most technically sound Uranium project out there. Arrow may be richer, but it won't be as quick to put into production. Ted was also quite optimistic about the communition work and it's potential. I was hesitant about the idea, as it adds another step into the processing route, but if it can essentially halve the size of the leach circuit, that has huge implications for capital cost, decreasing acid consumption (opex) as well as halving tailings disposal. Another note I found encouraging is that they have used the local water in their met studies and it works. Don't underestimate the importance of (pure) water, it's a hurdle all the African projects will have to deal with, especially now that there are multiple mines in the Namib dessert (when Paladin build Langer, it was only the second mine in the region).
Ted also mentioned that the legislation would be a catalyst for spinniing out the two assests. I'm actually starting to feel more bullish on the U asset again after a long while. I just think that from a technical point of view it is so much more straight forward and simple than the Li project, which still requires optimisation (not impossible by any means, but more processing work is needed). It is just so frustrating that all this potential is being held up by government.