Rocks are complex mixtures. There's a difference between separating out the various particles in the rocks, that occur as separate minerals or mixtures... and separating the various elements that occur in those minerals or mixtures. If you're lucky, the "bad" stuff you have will be easily sorted out, early in the process, because it isn't part of the same particles that have the good stuff in them...
It gets complex, still, because a lot of things are hard to separate... and a lot of things will have to be separated out... at different stages. And, each deposit is unique.
Gumballs and Skittles... not hard to sort based on size or shape... which doesn't alter the variations left that depend on color or flavor. If the green gumballs are exactly what you want... and all the bad stuff is in the red Skittles... great.
It won't generally be that simple... but, that's the general idea.
But, either the gumballs or skittles may have a poison in them ? Maybe both do ?
Sort things by shape, size and color... then, even if the green gumballs are what you want, you still have to separate the part thats gum, from the part thats green color coating, the sugar shell, or the sugar in the gum, and the bit thats the flavor... while getting rid of any poison ?
So, again, the pairings in what's good stuff and what's bad stuff and which stuff is mixed with what, with how much, and how hard it is to separate this from that and get it out... It presents challenges and opportunities. Things without poisons in them, better than things that do have them... and cheaper to process as a result, with the final result being a much better product.
SRSR has some advantage... because the history in the geology means a mixing occurred putting good values in niobium together with good values in REE in the same rocks, which is something that others don't have.
That's a pretty big deal... advantage wise... giving more value in the result for making the same effort in separating things.
The same unique events... caused other physical changes, not only that potential benefit in the physical mixing in of the green gumballs and green skittles... but, mixing out of other things.
If what you really want to get is an intact green gumball... maybe it's not good that yours have already been melted down, mixed in with skittles, and then re-crystallized...
But, if you really don't want the gum from the green gumballs... but only the green coloring, or the flavoring... it might not be a bad thing that they've been mixed with other things, and re-melted and re-solidfied in the process ? Particularly if having that type of an event occur, giving a re-crystallization, means your particles have managed to have sorted themselves out from some of the other less good stuff... ?
If you can get nature to do ahead of time some of that bit of work that is necessary in processing things... for you... for free ?
That unique history in the geology means Nemegosenda DOES have a different distribution in particles than most other deposits...
It also means that what's in each of the particles is different... since they've been partially "pre-processed" by nature... re-melted and re-crystallized... while being remixed...
How the best bits in that uniqueness are made into an advantage in costs is still a function of figuring out the process, and optimizing processes for working with the rocks you do have.
So, the metallurgy work matters... a lot...
That you've already figured out one way to do it advantageously, doesn't mean there's not additional benefit in looking at other ways... that might be even better.
CBMM has a similar naturally occurring "good" deal... with chemical erosion in the tropics having done some work in concentrating their "good" particles more than other deposits... giving them higher values... but in that event, doing that work in concentration without changing anything much in the balance in what's inside each of the resulting particles, while the same concentration function... will also have concentrated some of the other, less good stuff, too.
Because of the nature of the cost structure in separations and purification, what's in the particles, and the cost of getting it out, may matter a lot more than the concentration of them.
Nemegosenda doesn't have the same benefit of that higher basic concentration in good particles (and in other less good stuff)... but it DOES have a potential benefit in the natural pre-processing that has occurred... giving a better mix of materials at the start, with particles that may cost a bit more to separate from the rock than if they were already more nicely concentrated... but, once you do have them separated out... their history of physical reworking could give you a much less expensive path to purifying the resulting end products...
Big picture, it isn't the cost of each step you need to take between mining the rock and producing a final product... its the aggregate of the costs in all the steps.
So, there are many different potential sources of advantage...
And lot depends on how efficiently you can do the specific work that needs doing... given the rocks that you do have... while it is still the final steps in processing and purifications that are far and away the much bigger element in bottom line cost... not just the basic extraction and concentration processes.
If it costs you twice as much as the other guy to separate out your particles, but that doesn't cost much, and then it costs you five times less to purify them in the final process steps, when that's the most costly bit in the process ? Then, you'll end up with a higher value product made at much less cost.
Still not likely we will get much of a feel for any of that in any specific terms... before they've finished doing the feasibility studies... and show us the results in a comparison of costs and product features.
My opinion still just a function of seeing what the different situations are... both in terms of the geology, and the market issues...
I think Nemegosenda will prove out as equal or less in cost in basic mining, concentration and separations... while giving a higher value result, given the REE kickers...
And, I think it will prove out as better, too... and perhaps much better, in terms of advantage in the end stage costs of advanced processing to higher purity. And, if that proves true, it could be a much bigger deal than it is generally considered to be now...
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