scoping study numbers out dated, page-21

I suspect I'm feeding the trolls, but let's have a stab at it.

A quick look at the Browns Range fact sheet shows that the mineral zone is deep and narrow. This means either the removal of a lot of surplus material, or vein mining - either way, relatively expensive. Peak's resource, on the other hand, starts at the surface, and is of a style that is very amenable to open cut mining - much easier to manage.

NTU has an eight million dollar loan on the books. Granted that it's interest free, but a quick read suggests to me that that's subject to being converted to equity. I strongly dislike the idea of a mining developer having loans, unless and until they have a clear path to revenue - a loan, by its nature, has to be paid off, and if there isn't revenue coming in to cover it, it will cause trouble for the company. In comparison, Peak has a $315,000 loan - I'm not entirely happy about that, but at least it's small enough to be paid off with a small capital raising if necessary.

NTU has an MOU with a possible off take partner. Peak did too. The thing about MOUs is that they are not legally binding; I would not be inclined to count it as anything more than an expression of interest that may, or may not, turn into funding.

There seems to be a relative dearth of information on NTU's website (granted, I haven't had time to look in depth) about how its separation process will work. Bear in mind that there is a significant discount on the market for impure or mixed oxides. In contrast, Peak has demonstrated separation of cerium, lanthanum, neodymium-praseodymium, and a mix of heavy rare earths (which can, if the situation warrants it, be further refined.)

Peak has a clear plan laid out for development, with the pre feasibility studies almost complete, definitive feasibility studies set for next year, engineering and design in 2015, and construction in 2016. Where is NTU's projected development path?

The key things to remember with a mine: how much will it cost to build? How much will it cost to operate? And how much revenue will the product bring in? Don't forget that the cerium - which LTL derides as being worthless - is a very small part of the expected revenue stream; even if you discount its value to nothing, there is still a very healthy expected return from the Nd-Pr oxide product.

Go do your own research. There is plenty of information on Peak's website, and that stands in very stark contrast - to me - to the apparent lack of information on NTU's website. The key question, as always, is funding; Peak will need four hundred million to build the mine and get revenue coming in. Although they say that negotiations are advanced with several prospective partners, there is still nothing solid - if there ever is a definitive agreement made, I expect the share price to rocket; that's the big question mark hanging over Ngualla. How much money will it cost to bring Browns Range to production? We don't know - NTU either aren't saying, or don't know themselves.