welcome KWR guys.., page-6

tend to agree with your underlying thought as I do think there would be better deals closer the BTR plant or least resources that would have the tonnes to fill up the plant. I'm of the mind that maybe the main reason was to just try and get some market cap size in a combined company maybe. makes for cheaper capital for a start.
so yes may not go a long way to achieve those milestones , but also doesn't make it go backwards I don't think. net net I think in front.

that said, I think there would be tonnes from KWR that would grade sufficiently to make sense.
the jv is taking the ore to Leonora for example. bulk of the profit is going to the mining contractor and let's assume there is a $20 per tonne premium in the cost of third party toll treating. alternatively, to go to BTR plant you do have to travel extra 160km but least you have control over the recovery and the process cost.
if you then back calculate at 15cent/t/Km transport difference for 160km and add back the $20 per tonne profit going to toll treater, pretty much any tonnes that are economic to go to Leonora should be economic to go to the BTR plant. ($4 tonne difference)

plus we have the upside of recovery that isn't "lost" via third party treatment , have control over the mining/ processing and as a company producing AU ounces, the value of the company should 10 x in market cap. (assume producing from other ore sources as well)
that's without taking into consideration the 50% profit share to contractor that is going out the door (personally I think a gold mining producer should be able to do itself or very least pay normal contractor margins.)

But I don't think there will be a lot of tonnes and not enough to fill the plant but no less the tonnes and gold ounces that would be produced if toll treated at Leonora. (note that there may not even be a toll treat option in future if GMD buy SMB. there isn't any toll treating at Kalgoorlie now and Paddington does ore sale which wouldn't work for high grade menzie ore.

I assume someone is or has been doing the numbers with bit more accuracy but that's the way I think about it.