scoping study numbers out dated, page-42

Hey tonio.

One question: how do you derive the statement "... which means they used at least 3t of acid to 1t of ore" from "... produce 5200 litres of filtrate"? I'm not disputing your figures per se - merely trying to understand how to reproduce them.

As for the question of "why they verified the leach recovery on a bulk sample", I would suggest that the two pieces of work were run in parallel, not sequentially - ie, they started the leaching work before they knew of the magnetic separation results, and once that work had started, they could hardly re-start it three quarters of the way through - at least, that's my guess.

Note also that the announcement you posted a link to stated, "ANSTO have also been commissioned to optimise the leach recovery and purification process to further improve stage recoveries and lower reagent costs. The results of this work will feed into the Pre-Feasibility Study and revised economic assessment currently in progress and due to be completed in Q3 2013."

I would suggest that most of your questions/concerns should be answered (or confirmed/refuted) with the pre-feasibility study, which should be out Real Soon Now(tm) (they're obviously running a bit behind, which happens; I'll be very concerned if we don't have some sort of news this month). All pertinent stuff, mind you - it's all appreciated.