The road construction business in Thailand is rife with corruption. Politicians are said to partner with suppliers, up the contract price and split the difference. Either their own companies do the job, or their corrupt friends. Roads are said to be built to a bad standard on purpose, so they can be re-done every year.
So: 1. It may be challenging to get customers for road material sales, without corruption. 2. The business is likely only economic within a short distance (because it's likely a low margin business, so fuel would soon eat up the profit if you had to deliver it very far). There would also be a lot of low-cost domestic competition, unlike gold sold on the international market.
I imagine it's not some amazing opportunity to boost KCN's finances.
Hasn't our waste all been going towards TSF2 upgrade? I'm not sure where the waste goes otherwise. Maybe piled into a mountain, to reserve it for later rehabilitation use (as agreed in rehabilitation plans with the government). If we sold it, we'd be stuck with holes in the ground.
If the cost of community relations is fairly low, and the economic opportunity of exploiting the waste is also low, then maybe they just choose to go with community support eg. the water in the pits. They could try to sell it for just a few bucks (or dispose of it in the cheapest possible manner), or spend a little more to use it towards community relations (which is necessary, as they've likely promised it as part of the licenses, and the public approval votes).
If anything, selling the waste would be a distraction, costing significant time. Best focus on the base business. The business has been slow to ramp up even with minimal distractions (other than the conferences, and political instability).
KCN Price at posting:
$1.37 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)