Thanks for your very informative insights on the various matters. Much appreciated, as often, posts on here are of no value, apart from annoying frustrations!
Insights of real relevance are welcome, although harder to come by. My post this morning was a bit rushed and cut short by time constraints and was aware of potential, and likely, cost blowouts with these mega projects. Seems inevitable with most government projects, so the proposed benefits really have to stack up over the long term. But, as govts continue to enforce big changes in technologies and primary product useages, our challenge as investors....or innovators, is to stay ahead of the curved ball thrusts imposed. eg. coal fired power to hydro, wind ,solar, etc generation, native timbers to plantation- grown, and petro transport to EV.
This is where new innovations and investor opportunities can arise. (Obvious enough). Finding the best options is fraught with dangers...as we know.
Mt Lindsay V Green aspirations to close up this Tarkine area is, I agree, an unresolved question, politically.
Environmentally, I would suggest, a delicately mined Mt Lindsay would NOT adversely affect the greater forested benefits. The Envoro Impact Statement application which vms has to submit and comply with should satisfactorily resolve any suspect issues. I am aware that BBF leaders and followers would differ, but it remains if they are realistic to ACTUAL environmental impacts.
They tend to deny many broad scale facts and overstate some smaller issues; the judicious removal of a small number trees to enable a BENEFICIAL access to huge amounts of critical minerals and metals, which in turn can benefit Advanced Energy and Decarbonization, while limiting detrimental mining operations elsewhere......and the assertions that a few owls, possums, frogs or devils will be negatively impacted are not always supported by solid research and govt approved environmental studies. eg. The recent VMS 24 hr trucking licence approval.
(Enter BBF with all their rebuttals! Just back your assertions mates....with widely researched facts! ). At least, have open discussions with All stakeholders without prejudice. The bigger picture tells a better story, as has been said on this forum by many others too.
VMS may hold a relatively small resource of boron, but this could still be valuable in the Mt Lindsay mineral mix and help bring better economics to the project. The PFS should inform.
The "Critical Minerals at Geoscience Australia" web site can help us understand this broader context for not only Australian miners, but how we fit in with World resources and supplies. Australian governing authorities are obviously waking up more to our localised needs. Hence, the opportunity for VMS to advance to Production in the quickest and best means. (Hope is not yet totally rattled by Experience, but the next 2 or 3 years will tell much.)
Re Australian smeltering of metals...or not, it's interesting to see Lynas now building it's next stage Rare Earths refining complex in Kalgoorlie after the hassles in Malaysia. Why didn't they do this years ago? A change of plans is accruing in line with this renewed Australian focus. (May even assist any VMS REE productions in future????, as Mt Weld is in same catchment proximity as the new VMS tenement near Leonora.) Arafura once proposed building their REE refining plant at Whyalla. Now it's near Alice Springs at the mine site.
New ideas have to start somewhere...logistics fill in later with any feasibility studies.
Just a few thoughts.
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