Ann: December 2017 Quarterly Activities Report, page-17

It is a very complex issue AJ as so much depends on the metallurgy and setting up the right plant/mill.

Anyway, following the KISS principle the rule of thumb I use is 5g/t for raising the yellow flag. That means I take a good look at the type of ore being mined such as how much is free milling and how much is sulphide ore needing leaching or worse still how much is refractory that will need roasting........ plus much more.

One also needs to take a close look at each quarterly report to see how much development ore is diluting the head grade. Finally, the milling recovery rates are paramount to consider as well and one should watch the trend on those figures as well.

With NST all looks good with the exception of Paulsens. The company forewarned us all about what was happening there so the production decrease shouldn't be news to anyone.

Notwithstanding the above, I must admit to being disappointed with this last quarter. I was expecting a nice increase in FCF or at least the Underlying FCF considering that NST has supposedly moved from a high capital intensity cycle to something less intense with their capital spend.

I now hang my hat on the announcement to come soon about the exploration success and resource increase that NST are alluding to in this Qtr Report.

I didn't have time to listen to the broadcast this quarter and maybe somebody who did can post some summary comments.

Cheers