Thanks, Trev, for that valuable insight into Steve's thoughts....

Thanks, Trev, for that valuable insight into Steve's thoughts. Its almost as if he reads HC & is aware of the concerns of some of us nervous nellies, lol.

Re the subject of "Wind Power" and the capital costs thereof, I imagine there will be further costs as we will have to be either connected to a local power "grid" or have a secondary diesel/ gas turbine plant as well. Wind power is inconsistent, and even the windiest place can have low or zero wind at times, and we cant have a mining operation grinding to a halt at the whims of nature, can we?

"GRID CONNECTION and Wind Energy

Wind generated electricity must be
integrated into the National Electricity Grid. Those against wind farms point out that this is difficult and expensive because the grid was designed for a few large power station, rather than hundreds of small wind farms. Also, the places where wind farms are planned are mostly far away from existing grid infrastructure, so there is a lot more cost there too. This is all true, and should be included in any discussion, but beware of projected cost figures for replacing the entire grid. This is unlikely to be necessary. Upgrading the grid a bit at a time will remain the standard way of dealing with the changes in generation technology.
WIND VARIABILITY and Wind Energy


The wind doesn't blow all the time What do we do on still evenings? Sit in the dark? This is an emotive argument with some merit.
Variable generation can only supply up to 10% or 20% of
peak demand, without having to make any significant changes to the grid. However, nobody is really sure how to deal with a figure larger than 20% at present."
More at:
http://environment.newarchaeology.com/wind_energy.php

I'm sure Steve's team has factored that in, but thought it was worth a mention.

I like his thoughts on the initial gold circuit. I believe there might still be a complete and partly refurbished plant available for sale in WA.

So, now we wait eagerly to see what transpires after the completion of the SPP........

GZ