re: Ann: Wonarah Enabling Study Confirms Econ... Good to read...

re: Ann: Wonarah Enabling Study Confirms Econ... Good to read some discussion of the two production paths in the Enabling Study to add to the figures that were released in the AGM Presentation.

The lower capex and higher IRR for the IHP process to produce Super Phosphoric Acid sounds like a great option, as long as this fits in with NMDC's outlook. Unfortunately we have to wait for JDC to prove the commercial scale of the IHP process, and the demonstration plant won't be complete until the end of 2012. The proposed Wonarah JV company will be working on the BFS all through 2012 and according to the timeline through into early 2016, so it may not be much of a delaying factor to the BFS overall.

Given the size of the phosphate deposit already delineated at Wonarah, it is good to see that the BFS will be looking at larger scale production than the 1.4 m tonnes SPA or 2 m tonnes DAP/MAP. And there should be plenty of scope in the resource to undertake an initial DSO operation and a beneficiated product eventually as well.

While all this work is going on, I reckon MAK has a great opportunity to get the Sandpiper marine phosphate project producing and getting good returns on this relatively simple process at very good margins at $140/tonne or more. Given the JV nature of both projects , as proposed, I don't think that is too much of an ask, especially as they are on very different development timelines.

Arsenic, thanks for your posts giving us a rundown of the AGM, appreciate that. I was wondering what the picture of the large brown object was, a whalebone. As long as we don't start pulling up too much extra debris to screen out... but it seems like the bulk sample mining went very well and the beneficiation is working well too.