The downside of proceeding with construction when there are...

The downside of proceeding with construction when there are insufficient funds to finish it is that the installed assets have limited value as a security. Any lender coming in now would be hugely expensive. Plus, the chance of recovering anything in the case of default is low, given the location. A bank can not recover anything from a partly built tails dam, a few cleared pads and an accomodation village.

The bank would need to be satisfied with completion risks and a heavy weighting would be put on the geopolitical factors and how other comparable companies have fared.