new issue, page-25

WDR has been the victim of one of the worst wets in that area for 30 years - they started up in it. It might be a cliche, but unless you've actually worked in a mine you wouldn't have a clue of how badly rain affects production.

It has also been the victim of trying too hard to bring costs down. It worked on the haul road - delivering it at a fraction of the FS costs through good choice of contractor. It hasn't worked on barging. Pacific Basin Towage are a barge towing service, not a shiploader, so WDR got caught out there.

Finally, it has been a victim of its own optimism. Most new mines these days seem to need to raise capital as they completely underestimate the working capital required on start-up. Operating a mine for 2 months with no income leads to a very empty treasury!

There is nothing systemic in any of this - it is all fixable. My discussion with a director led me to believe the CR and the barge operator replacement will see operations calm down to steady state operations.

WDR have now dispatched 6 ships of cargo. The ore is better than predicted. The wet is coming to an end and all will come up smelling sweet. I believe it.