not soI think and have thought for some time that neither China nor big miners will be the partners. I think it will be an end user...somed big Jaoanese steel or manufacturing company perhaps but something like that.
RF wants to do it like no other has. He thinks outside the envelope(envelop-partner with big miner). They don;t lkike him so he'll go a different way, a new way.
As for mine development expertise, he's got the guy who managed the development of Grasberg in Indonesia...a similar world class discovery....John Mackay(sp?). So it could be done without big miner expertise, but needs the big money, thus a JV with Toyota or Mitsui or ....
Yeah, jmho
Brian