Comparing Pak vs Corvette pegmatites Although it appears likely that Patriot’s Corvette pegmatites may eventually match Pak in size (e.g. ~100 m tonnes, see site visit estimate below) with similar grades possible, Pak has the big advantage of being 1-2 years ahead in development. Pak also has other advantages. Pak is located only 170 km north of Red Lake, which will be easy driving distance, once the all-weather road is completed, whereas Corvette is much more remote, lying about 600 km north of Chibougamau, via gravel road, and will likely be a fly-in operation for many of its services. The Corvette area is also essentially uninhabited such that most of the work force will need to be recruited from Chibougamau or Montreal. Pak, on the other hand, is surrounded by four indigenous communities within easy driving distance (Sandy Lake, North Spirit Lake, Deer Lake, Keewayan) with total population of about 10,000 (see site visit report below). These communities could potentially supply a good chunk of the work force for the mine.
Also, the ease-of-mining of the Pak deposits will be hard to match. Pak and Spark are pipe-like orebodies with low strip ratios, located on dry land, and consequently their mining footprints will be relatively compact. The Corvette deposits, on the other hand, are a series of pegmatite veins that will likely have a more extended footprint, and are partly located under a lake, which will complicate the permitting process. Also, it has been determined (see site visit report) that the Pak ore is inert (no sulfides present), which will be a huge plus when it comes to tailings disposal.
The market however, appears to prefer Corvette at the moment, with Patriot having a market cap of $566 mm, vs $452 mm for Frontier, but we shall see how this unfolds.
The Mookster