Im no expert but my humble opinion/understanding of this is that...

Im no expert but my humble opinion/understanding of this is that generally speaking longwall mining is higher cost than open pit. However the deeper the pit, the more costly open pit mining is, to a point where longwall becomes the cheaper alternative. Therefore I think Gene hopes to open pit mine the shallower seams, then access the deeper coal seams by longwall method.

So my take on this is that:

- We would have greater production potential by being able to access deeper coal cost effectively;
- A lower cost over the life of the mine (i.e. cheaper at the backend life of project?).

Gene mentioned in the last preso that longwall methods have been ineffective in the region due to the complex geology, given the reportedly simple and predictable geology for the vista project it sounds like this would be viable. Not so for vista south.

Welcome others thoughts on this.

All IMHO only

Good luck to holders.