We are told the PIOP deposit is "low grade" and needs more work done on the beneficiation of the deposit to make it economic, it appears all the analysis is already done long ago.
An independent analysis was done on the various PIOP deposits prior to 2015 and the grades after trial beneficiation are impressive. (see chart below)This report from 2011 has already made a case for an economically feasible project.KEY OUTCOMES OF THE PILBARA IRON ORE PROJECT PREFEASIBILITY STUDY 2011*The ore resource supports the production of more than 229Mt of final fines product at an average grade of 60.7% Fe and 57% Fe for BID and DID products respectively.*The BID product will be a DSO product with the DID product needing minor beneficiation prior to shipping.