This sort of question must ask for indicated shallow ore mine...

This sort of question must ask for indicated shallow ore mine life as well as the indicated nameplate output for that period. The questions around this need to acknowledge that the associated infrastructure (water, electricity, transport and port etc) to achieve that output are subject to the BFS.

I would trust that the answer provided would be in the form of alternatives such as :
a) 3 years at 7Mtpa or
b) 5 years at 5Mtpa or
c) 8 years at 3Mtpa.

An updated PFS for the shallow zone could be provided quickly based on previous PFS and shallow zone drill results.