RE: TIC has the technology?probably it is an issue for a regular full blown ming operation. I think they are taking the syncrude 'waste' and cleaning it up and then shipping it (hopefully). So all the costs associated with mining are missing in this operation. there is no rock to blast and haul, there are no meters of overburden to remove, there are no trees to replace and reseed after stripping. Sound like substantial savings to me in the scheme of things.