Thank you for that question.
Indeed, we do think about it, and the minute we stop thinking about it, because we have such a good network with industry and with our stakeholders and so on, they certainly remind us that we ought to be thinking some more. So rarely does a day go by when we don't think on our own part or get prompted by others into thinking what the real challenges are for us to use that enormous potential that we have and to turn it into real value for Canadians.
I think you hit on a few of the challenges already. Specifically regarding the north, the main thing we think about is the lack of infrastructure. For example, many of these projects are very energy intensive at various stages. We don't exactly have ready-made energy that's available. Trucking diesel up there or flying diesel up there is very expensive. There's a short season, which is certainly a huge cost driver in any project. So we are focused on seeing how we can diversify the sources of energy—for example, to geothermal or wind sources. Again, in those conditions we're talking about, the same rules perhaps don't apply and the kinds of knowledge we need and the kinds of challenges we face always present new things for us.
Just very quickly, the other challenges obviously include the timing of the regulatory process. As was mentioned earlier, there are only two seasons. So if we miss something by a month or two, potentially a whole year could be lost because you can't ship material up there afterwards.
There's also the lack of infrastructure. Diamonds are easy; you can put them in a briefcase and off you go. It's a little more difficult with iron ore or zinc, or whatever you have, and if we don't have the roads or the railroads or whatever, that's a real problem. It comes down not only to who is going to pay for those but also how you sustain them in the kind of climate and unique conditions that are there in the north.
You hit on the labour force as a challenge. There are always pros and cons of whether companies should fly people in and create a camp or use the communities, and so on.