That's a loaded question, depends whether they just restart the concentrator in its current form and mine Ban Chang, upscale conc to 2Mtpa or a revised 4Mtpa which is on the table too. A lot of capex has already been sunk in the project so 2Mtpa start of mine scenario will be <US$100M and produce 12,000-15,000/t Ni in concentrate pa (dependent on the mix of Ban Phuc DSS with other sources of high grade UG like what's being discovered at Ban Chang).
Obviously a 4Mtpa operation will be on scale with the Brazilian hopeful you highlighted.
As for tax implications, that's why Ecopro is involved with downstream processing - by selling conc in Vietnam for processing you eliminate the tariff. The Vietnamese government have highlighted Ta Khoa as a project of national significance, I believe there is also a tax holiday planned for the first 3yrs of production where company tax is reduced to 10% (don't know where I saw this, someone must have the reference?).
BSX Price at posting:
41.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
