EPBC - NT Government, page-3

QUOTE: - "Whilst the Refinery and the mine are being pursued by the same proponent, the Refinery is considered to be a separate proposal and should be assessed separately. There are a number or reasons for this including:
x the Mount Peake Project is a project in its own right and not dependent on the refinery for its progress
x the two projects are at different stages of their respective assessment processes and are progressing on different timelines
x the two projects are 1,400 km apart, in different biogeographical regions, and not connected to each other by ancillary infrastructure
x Environmental issues relevant to the two projects are different."

Reading this, it looks to me like the possibility of developing the mine and transporting the material to, for example, an overseas buyer to process in their own interests, is still a possibility if there are problems getting finance or whatever to get TIVAN (by far the most costly bit) up and running. Clearly that method would not be near as good for TNG (or for Australia) but it would at least get a profitable mine up and running. A couple of years ago a two stage development along these lines with TIVAN coming on stream later, was suggested by TNG but I have not heard further about it lately.