BRM is actually a further advanced than FMS in its development.
BRM has a mining license, environmental approvals and native title agreements, which FMS is yet to get. BRM has also completed its DFS and FEED design (although this design appears to have been rejected). BRM has slightly more ore at Marillana but a lower grade - which beneficiates down to a much higher grade product than the FMS ore (so will be worth more).
BRM has dedicated port - whereas FMS is dependant on a 3rd party provider
The strip ratio for BRM is only 0.78 - whereas FMS is 2.5:1
BRM has more cash (about $10M more) but the way Wah Nam is spending it that may not last for long!
Marillana has a higher capex ($1.9B to $1.1B) but potentially better final product.
FMS has a discounted NPV of $2.2B and a mine life of more than 20 years which is almost identical to Marillana.
In May 2009, FMS reached an agreement with Maximus Resources to purchase the Canegrass magnetite iron ore project, with Maximus retaining a 2% net smelter royalty, however BRM has 39 other tenements including the highly prospective haematite deposits of Duck Creek and Opthalmia.
Direct comparisons are always difficult but I hope this summary gives you an idea - and please if I have anything wrong or have missed a key differentiator - someone let me know! - perhaps one of the FMS guys would care to comment?
BRM Price at posting:
$1.92 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held