It's something I've been wanting to tease out, which is why this is a good conversation. Like I said to
@PamplonaTrader , I'm interested to further think-through the current low Capex plan, and understand just how unique it is. The paragraph below is the important bit - alongside the cross section diagram of the resource. The fact that most of the Cobalt at Mt Thirsty is found in a small portion of the resource, and in the manganese, and that it's located near the surface is the main argument for the resource, and the reason it can be mined and processed very cheaply. I'd imagine it's why Mark Creasy bought his part of it as well
See below.
@PamplonaTrader, have you factored this into your comparison with other resources? Or you like you say you don't believe that managemnet will take the low Capex path and so have discounted it. Like I say, a really good conversation to have now. Thanks for all of your modelling!
From Mt Thirsty site:
...85- 90% of the cobalt was contained in the manganese mineral asbolane, which was less than 1% of the feed. Subsequent test work by RMDSTEM was then focused on selective leaching of this fraction of the ore using sulphur dioxide gas in an atmospheric, low temperature agitated leach.
Cheers all,
Solarbat