"Opportunity" is the operative word at holding company and consulting group Griffis International. With interests in major mining concerns worldwide, Griffis is a virtual gold mine for investors. "We're a good source of opportunities," says president Tom Griffis. "We're involved with several corporations. We usually source our own projects and we have strong partners." Royal Nickel is a Griffis investment, which owns and is developing one of the world's largest undeveloped sulphide deposits. Located in Quebec with more than 4.5 billion kilograms of nickel content, the Dumont Nickel Project proposes an operations capacity of 50,000 tonnes per day. With plans to double the project's operations capacity, Royal Nickel also intends to exploit a significant amount of iron ore by-product in the area. Nickel and steel companies throughout Asia would be able to secure a 30-year nickel supply from Royal Nickel, which is looking for offtake partnerships from the region. Backed financially by Canadian and international institutions, Royal Nickel has attracted the interest of various investors from the mainland. The company has a Chinese investor but is open to partnerships. It has completed a pre-feasibility study for its principal asset and is looking to offer 30 to 40 per cent equity to a new partner. As its search for direct investments or offtake partners continues, Royal Nickel expects to complete its feasibility study by the middle of next year and to begin production in 2015. Griffis' other Asian interests include a partnership with a Hong Kong group, which purchased the company's potash assets to become Royal Potash Corporation. Griffis intends to intensify its Asian operations, specifically in Vietnam. Outside of Asia, the company is particularly focused on its gold companies in Ghana and its copper project in Morocco. "We're always in the need of capital to expand and build these things up. We're always looking to establish relationships with a financial partner," Griffis says.