Resource Update, page-28

Arrgh! The pain that unfortunately your post brings back!

Vector, far more than considering whether they could just use the Century infrastructure, the current AML Board had the opportunity to be paid by the then owners, MMG, to take over the entire infrastructure outright: the Century processing plant, significant ore reserves and various other benefits as MMG wanted to concentrate on Dugald River.

Indeed, MMG were prepared to make cash payments of $34.5m plus all the assets (including the plant with a replacement cost of circa $2Billion) and cover the risk of environmental remediation for AML to take Century off their hands.

After about 2 years of looking into the deal (with AML shareholders being led to believe it would be taken up), Chairman, Paul Harris then suddenly announced out of the blue that AML were walking away!

It was quickly picked up by market minnow, Attila Resources and renamed New Century (NCZ) and valued by the market consistently ever since at at $400m - $500m (i.e two times to three times AML’s market cap)!

This has since become known as “the deal of the Century” and it really is quite unbelievable that the AML Board (apparently led by Paul Harris and Hamish Collins) let it go especially considering the additional production synergies with the Century plant only 100kms away from Walford Creek.

We haven’t heard the last of this phenomenal mistake (?) which, unquestionably has cost AML shareholders at least $500m!

Meanwhile, we continue to believe in the excellent Walford Creek Resource and look forward to a takeover bringing commensurate management experience and ability (which, in our view would see a market cap of circa $1.5billion).