Ann: June 2016 Quarterly Report-MML.AX, page-6

IMO this is not a good result. Development metres are down 765m on Mar; 335m on Dec and a whopping 2768m on last Sept. Look at the tonnes mined and milled in the Mar. Qtr and the June Qtr. They are practically the same, but produced from less development metres in the Jun Qtr, and with an increased grade. I'm not a geo, but the results could indicate that the richest veins are being mined inefficiently. Too much waste rock is being extracted in the recovery process. The strategy maybe appropriate at this time, while the Service Shaft is constructed, but this could impact on the economic life of the mine.
The other concern is the Costs. The Cash Cost is up 16.6% on the Sept and Dec '15 Qtrs, to US$512 (AUD$683) and the AISC is up 14.2% on the Dec and Sept '15 Qtrs to US$1,088 (AUD$1,450). Why?
Finally, if you take out the US$5.3m of so called "Warehouse Inventory", and provide $1.5m for debt reduction and $0.5m for Tax, the cash position is exactly as it was at the end of the Mar Qtr, primarily as a result of the much higher exploration cost in the Jun Qtr. We can only hope that the cash will flow when the Service Shaft is completed next year; that the mine is managed well, now and for the LT, and that the US POG goes north. In the meantime, after 9 years, I think I have to take my pick and shovel elsewhere, and place MML on a watch list.
Pls DYOR