I think Rick is correct about the overall environment for juniors, and big porphyries are expensive to get into production, for sure. Time will tell on us how Teck and the market values us and how quickly people want to get us into production. A FS with a NPV5 or ROV over $5 billion would have been a very different story right now I think.

I recall talking to a senior Tetra Tech person last year and he thought Teck building Schaft was a lot bigger deal than I assumed due to the costs associated ... he didn't say it wouldn't get done, he just said it is a very big deal for Teck to actually do it (so, sharing some concerns similar to Rick Rule). The +$500M Teck spent at Highland Valley Copper will be money very well spent as they keep pushing out the life span and resources of HVC (when compared to a total greenfield that costs billions to get going).

I chatted with Rick at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference about Schaft Creek. He didn't like it (paraphrase: "that's a big northern BC porhpyry, right?"). I didn't get the sense he knew tons about it but I think the general criticisms of big porphyries have some validity. I also think our type of deposit just isn't Rick's thing. At the end of the day, it is Teck's opinion that really matters ... or the other majors that were showing interest in Schaft Creek a few years back.