ThyssenKrupp Steel is already successfully operating its Hydroltic Distillation facility for Hydrochloric Acid in Mobile, Alabama. Basically the same process. Just for another purpose. SMS Siemag, a German heavy machinery major, developed and supplied it.

So whatever Starfield is working on with SGS already works elsewhere.

I strongly believe that they are heading into the exactly right direction with their Chloride based Nickel/Cobalt-process. Other companies are jumping on that too, but Starfield is the Frontrunner.

Have bought my shares at 0.12.

Expect some encouraging news about their process development in the near future.

Lanny:

Information not relevant for Starfield.

They will not produce any nickel anytime soon, so short term forecasts are not interesting. Long term forecasts are not possible.

If Starfield intends to stick to Nickel, they have to demonstrate their hydromet process. If they can prove, that the Nickel is there and that it can be won at low cost, the company increases in value and shareholders benefit.

Outofafrica,

another thought:

Even if SRU

a) manages to raise the flow through money

b) is entitled to use it for hydromet research

they might later find out that patents on critical process equipment have already been filed by somebody else. So far Dr. Harris' patent does only cover a process flowsheet but not the specifications of any crucial equipment.

Greetings

Hydro

Outofafrica,

I like the polite style of your answers and I like South Africa where I spent some of the best time of my life.

For me it is difficult to understand to which extent Starfield has progressed in piloting the technology, which the company is showing on its video on its internet site. What Dr. Harris has published in regards to hydrolytic distillation of metal chlorides is in some (if not most) respects more the less state of the art since the mid 1970s.

Do you know, what exactly they did in their labs? Do you know who (Harris, McGill, Hatch) is performing which kind of research and how they work together? Are they finally building a pilot plant? What exactly will that plant demonstrate?

It would be a big surprise to me, if Starfield has achieved anything substantial with the few hundred thousand CAD they invested into external research so far.

Another problem seems to be that in my humble opinion nobody - not even the big players like Vale Inco - is currently in a position to secure cheap long term debt to gear a business plan that secures a reasonable ROE. If you name a bank that is ready to jump onto something like that I can send them a list with tens of equally interesting and potentially feasible ventures.

Maybe Ferguson Lake has to wait until the financial markets have stabilized and banks become more interested in long term project financing again.

Regards from Yekaterinburg

Hydro

Outofafrica,

most probably you have more insight into that particular process than I have. Maybe my concerns are not justified. You may safely disregard them.

SMS Siemag's technology is not proven yet. Their plant in Alabama is under construction. However as you say they already have (or claim to have) a mini plant and a pilot plant.

Anyway. This is not a process engineering forum. It is a stock market forum. The reason why I am posting here is because I heard about that interesting process at a conference in Brazil and did some research. If Starfield has a chance to get it working and demand for base metals returns to pre-crisis levels their stock might sky-rocket.

Bad thing about Starfield seems to be that they have recently lost focus and started some side activities; I had strongly preferred to invest in Ferguson Lake only.

Regards

Hydro

Jerry,

I think (well, I believe I even know) that from a strictly chemical point of view the Harris process works (with an artificially pure feed liquor). At least one can rather easily make it happen it in a couple of laboratory jars (if one has access to a properly equipped laboratory).

The big challenge is to build all the heavy duty equipment which implements such a process in the desired scale. There is no proof for the claim that that can be reliably done.

Some issues that look elegant and simple in Harris' flowsheet call for machinery that is not available on the market in the required materials and sizes. Other very serious issues are overlooked in Harris' publications; I do not believe, that he can make his process work without relatively complicated feed preconditioning equipment, which makes sure, that no undesired compounds enter and clog up the plant.

In short: It most probably takes a lot more money than Starfield can put on the table to complete the development of such a process.

Answering your question: I do not think, they are exaggerating; I think they simply underestimate the technical challenge.

Regards

Hydro