SCP-3194 — SCP-3194 | Cost Breakdown

Read on SCP Wiki ↗

SCP-3194 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-3194

Expected annual

$16.8M

One-time setup

$182.3M

Annual recurring

$15.5M

Personnel

Initial capital expenditure (including contingency and an optional full-tunnel exploration project) is estimated at roughly $182.3M one-time; baseline recurring operations are approximately $15.54M/year, driven primarily by personnel, long-range logistics/resupply, fuel, and specialized monitoring equipment and robotics. The decision to pursue full 280 km tunnel exploration (industrial-scale) is the largest single cost-driver and can add tens to hundreds of millions.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $182.3M

Full Tunnel Exploration Capital Project $150.0M

[#15] Optional large-capex project to map/instrument the full 280.45 km tunnel (cable/sensors/repeat camps/logistics over years).

Facilities $13.5M

[#1, #2] Site land-ice preparation, modular camp construction and perimeter fence (leveling, foundations, insulated modular living quarters, helipad/airstrip support area, wind-resistant fence and anchors).

Equipment $5.7M

[#4, #5, #6, #7, #12, #20] Major installed hardware and systems: patrol vehicles purchase, 50 m opaque geodesic dome purchase/installation, HVAC setup, power generation/install, communications uplink setup, initial on-site servers/data hardware.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $4.7M

[#13, #14, #16, #17] Deep-access winch and tethered inspection system (to 6.3 km), robotics and remote surveying package, initial laboratory geochronology campaign/on-site lab buildout, optical & radiation-safe sensor suite.

Long Range Logistics Initial Mobilization $3.8M

[#9] Initial mobilization charters, heavy-lift ski/ship deliveries for heavy equipment and modular buildings (LC-130/IL-76/icebreaker operations).

Decommissioning And Remediation Fund $2.8M

[#24] Decommissioning/site remediation fund for eventual site closure or concealment.

Contingency Stockpile $1.1M

[#23] One-time contingency/emergency spare-equipment stockpile (generators, winch parts, pumps, rapid-response spares).

Cover Story Setup $400K

[#21] Initial cover-story/legal setup: environmental impact assessments, fake grant/legal documentation, initial PR/NGO reimbursements.

Environmental Waste Management Setup $325K

[#18] Sewage/greywater treatment, hazardous materials containment setup and related infrastructure to meet Antarctic protocols (or to maintain cover).

Medical Equipment One Time $125K

[#11] One-time medical bay equipment and specialized remote-medical gear.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $15.5M/yr

Staff Wages $7.8M/yr

[#3, #10] Security, core research team, technicians, medics, pilots and management salaries, hazard pay, benefits, rotation travel and training.

Long Range Logistics Resupply $1.8M/yr

[#9] Annual resupply campaign costs: ski-plane/ship charters, heavy-lift logistics and regular cargo deliveries.

Diesel Fuel $1.2M/yr

[#8] Diesel fuel purchases with transport premium for generators, heating and vehicle fuel.

Medical And Medevac Contract $900K/yr

[#11] Medevac standby contract, remote-evacuation charters and on-site medical staffing/consumables.

Supplies And Consumables $750K/yr

[#19] Food, spare parts, lab consumables, PPE and routine resupply consumables.

Oversight And Audit $600K/yr

[#25] Periodic engineering inspections, containment maintenance crew costs, administrative oversight and internal audits.

Contingency Replenishment And Emergency Repairs $500K/yr

[#23] Replenishment of consumed spares, emergency repairs and rapid-response crew mobilization.

Research And Monitoring $400K/yr

[#16, #13, #14, #17] Ongoing laboratory campaigns, monitoring of deep-access winch/tethers, robotics maintenance and sensor recalibration/experiments.

Facilities Maintenance $350K/yr

[#2, #5, #7] Ongoing maintenance of perimeter infrastructure, dome upkeep and power system maintenance.

Training Rotation And Psych Support $325K/yr

[#22] Cold-weather survival training, rotation transport, counseling and psychological support for isolated staff.

Cover Story And Legal $175K/yr

[#21] Annual costs to maintain the endangered-penguin habitat cover story, legal readiness, permits and PR/NGO reimbursements.

Patrol Vehicle Maintenance $175K/yr

[#4] Annual maintenance, fuel (not including site diesel), spares and cold-start kits for snowcats/tracked ATVs/snowmobiles.

Communications Bandwidth $175K/yr

[#12] Satellite bandwidth, Iridium backup airtime, secure link maintenance and encryption/hardening services.

Environmental Compliance $125K/yr

[#18] Annual hazardous-waste removal, compliance reporting and disposal contracts.

Data Storage And Processing $125K/yr

[#20] Ongoing server maintenance, off-site encrypted backups and archival storage costs.

Hvac Energy And Maintenance $88K/yr

[#6] Annual HVAC energy use, filter replacement and maintenance for dome/airlocks/contamination control.

Logistics And Transport $0/yr

[]

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $15.5M/yr

73.0% probability / year

Normal year with routine operations, scheduled resupplies and no major incidents or large-scale exploration projects.

routine resupply scheduled maintenance normal research cadence

🚨 Minor Incident $16.0M/yr

20.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline

Localized equipment failure, small weather damage or a medevac-tier medical incident requiring extra emergency response and replacement parts.

severe storm damage to equipment small structural/fence failure single medevac or short mission overrun

🚨 Major Breach $18.5M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$3.0M vs baseline

Significant containment/breach event or unauthorized deep entry requiring large-scale emergency response, investigation, and heightened security.

unauthorized mass entry major equipment loss in-tunnel large-scale medical/psychological casualty

🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $65.5M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$50.0M vs baseline

Decision to initiate industrial-scale exploration/instrumentation of the entire 280 km tunnel (mobilization and first-year capex).

significant scientific discovery policy decision to pursue full-tunnel mapping

👥 Personnel 48 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	36	[#3] 12–16 guards per shift with three shifts; headcount sized to maintain continuous perimeter coverage and rotations.
Research Scientist	4	[#10, #16] Lead researchers and specialists for geochronology, spectrometry and monitoring campaigns.
Technician	3	[#14, #13] Robotics/remote-survey technicians, winch/tether operators and field repair techs.
Engineer / Maintenance	2	[#7, #23] Site engineers for power generation, structural maintenance and emergency repairs.
Medical Officer	1	[#11] On-site medic/clinic lead to manage emergencies and medevac coordination.
Pilot / Logistics	1	[#9, #10] Pilots/logistics specialists for LC-130/charter coordination and supply flights.
Administrative Staff / Site Director	1	[#10, #25] Site leadership, administrative coordination and oversight duties.

📋 Confidence Notes

Estimates are based on polar logistics and specialist equipment cost ranges provided in analyst notes; medium confidence because operational recurring costs (personnel, fuel, resupply) are reasonably constrained but major uncertainties remain around transport mode choices, staffing model, redundancy requirements, and the optional full-tunnel exploration scope which can change totals by orders of magnitude.

← SCP-3193 ↑ All SCPs SCP-3195 →