Spludger The auto claves cap cost/operating costs are THE worry...

Spludger
The auto claves cap cost/operating costs are THE worry with HPAL - everyone but you are saying it.

Wingellina doesnt need them.Obviously thats a huge plus.
The cap costs will be approx 1/3 of a HPAL setup - those figures are from the latest interview with ED (Gag Island figures).
Your line of thinking means even GORO is a dud.
The fact is laterite ores are the future and Wingellinas ore has definite processing advantages . Ni demand has to be met somehow - large sulphides finds are nonexistant.
As Nugget has said - the acid cost is a small % of the operating costs.
As for the cost of diesel(AEX are proposing to heat the higher grade ore to 95 degrees(ANL etc heat it to 270 degrees +) and heap leach the lower grade ore which means no heat) transport - if the deposit is big enough then there will be a decent sized town established.
I think Bomber has said railway lines are very close/fiber optic cable passes close by - so whats the big deal with the isolation/infrastructure costs if the project is big/profitable enough.
The comparison with Ravensthorpe is very valid - BHPB are considering the project seriously - thats why they are in the process of a US$30 mill feasability NOW and just awarded a $1 mill contract to mine 100.000 tonnes of ore as a trial.Wingellina has obvious advantages over Ravensthorpe.