proposed upgrade of rail, page-18

Hi Okeefe ,that is basically my findings .
You have to bear in mind that commercial rates are not likely be connected to the cost of upgrading the rail line .
I expect commercial rates to be in line with rates similar to other rail lines in Africa .African Minerals wont just be able to set any exhorbitant price because the government has given the lease under provisos .
African Minerals need to rebuild the line to take their own freight ,and I expect that the size of Tonkolili alone will more than justify the cost .Access to other users will be just added cream for African Minerals

From Pepel to Marampa is only 80k and all of the cuttings and beds will still be intact ,so this section of rail would be relatively cheap to refurbish .Its the proposed new section section fromm Marampa to Tonkolili that would probably take the major funds to complete ,and other users could hardly be asked to pay higher rates for that privilege .It looks like Tonkolili is about 200 km from Pepel on the map .
The beauty for CFE is that the distance is only 80 km ,which is a very short distance in Iron Ore terms .
This will give Marampa a very competitive advantage in freight costs assuming costs are based per KM .
Iron ore is a logistics exercise and the fact that CFE wont need large amounts of capital for rail and port infrastructure is a massive advantage for funding as well as risk .
The fact that African Minerals will own 19.9% of CFE will also make access negotiations easier .
I think overall ,this is a fabulous result for CFE ,and all they need to do now is drill out Marampa .
The Port and Rail upgrade will substantially increase the value of Marampa for CFE .There is no doubt about that.