I think they've redirected from the '10-50Moz' path, and have...

I think they've redirected from the '10-50Moz' path, and have refocused on adding '0-2Moz to RPM Area' (my guess) to improve its economics, for a lower cost, lower risk, more easily investible starter plant.


From the website animations, I feel that:

- RPM North Pit is realistic.
- RPM Mid pit may be puffery for the moment, unless some shallower resources get added to it, or some added between Mid and South. Otherwise I think the pit is just there as an example pit design, not an economic design.
- RPM South I'm not certain about. They show just taking a smallish area out of one side of the mountain top, which may be doable. The access comes past the backside of RPM North, which is necessary if there's a big Mid pit on the front side.

Catalysts: RPM Mid shallows (making the huge Mid pit make more sense), RPM Mid-South connection (again, making the huge pit make more sense), RPM North's high grade resource area expanding a bit towards the VG (if it is better than the current resource assumed for that Eastern trend, which I suspect it might, since I think the VG is in the 'medium grade' resource area), Train/Trumpet (if finding anything significant on the 1-2km trend of strong rock chips), Cathedral if finding anything significant (around the rock chips, but I think it's drilling is on pause).


So the question being:
1. Is it better to develop only RPM North now (requiring lengthy and costly studies before seeking funding), then potentially ending up with a suboptimal design if more resources were later defined elsewhere, then maybe having to revise the studies.
2. Or properly define the RPM Area first, before completing the more lengthy and costly studies before seeking funding? That way, the plant is closer to optimally designed.
3. Or wait for the road to hopefully happen? Which would make it easier to convince people to fund it.

4. I don't think ounces for the sake of ounces is a high priority right now, so it's barely a question. Eg. putting lots more resources into Cathedral/Korbel area. That might be an easier pathway if the road happened.

I think this year's drilling is to make progress on options 2 and/or 3. I guess option 1 will be progressed slowly concurrently, eg. gradually completing certain studies which will help to finalize a PFS later.


"Hope cathedral wont be another RPM" - there's low expectations priced in for Cathedral. Its resource grade is lower than that of Korbel. Possibly the current inferred resource outline could be larger than reality (or smaller), but we have long and consistent low grade intercepts, so I think it's hard to estimate the resource too terribly wrong. If Cathedral got downgraded, it would look bad in terms of total Oz reduction, but would barely hurt the economics (since I think it would be barely economic as it currently stands).

I think Cathedral will only become an important factor if they found some better grades at a reasonably shallow depth eg. near the high grade rock chip area. If they don't, then it would just be low grade late in mine-life ore for a potential Korbel plant. The 'target zone' of Cathedral is half way up the mountain, so if they found higher grade, but deep, it might still be unrealistic to dig it up (having to move most of the mountain to make a large enough pit to get down to depth). So they need either: better grades that are shallow, or LOTS of better grades (making it worthwhile to move the mountain).