re: Ann: Drilling continues to expand the Gro... Bender - the...

re: Ann: Drilling continues to expand the Gro... Bender - the HMS was the only way to go .We had already been diluted excessively and might as well have thrown the shares away if we diluted further to fund a solvent extraction.

So strategy is ok but implementation not.In the six months since we were supposed to have got to nameplate we have produced enough spin to make Warnie green with envy but have not produced the same amount of copper.
Despite being mainly "on time on budget"and with liberal doses of ramping up,bedding down and driving foward demonstrating our effeciency and being on track , we have yet to get to where we were supposed to be six months ago.
The contract miners have been well ahead of us for 6 months and we must now divert them.

Compounding the problem it would appear is the prices we are receiving although a bit of digging is required to work these out .
We have been selling in "the DRC, where very competitive commercial rates are currently achievable for the average 20.3% Cu grade concentrate product sold."

Those competitive rates in the DRC are $3100 per ton ( based on 1630 tons of Cu in conc)
This is less than 40% of the average Cu price of Cu for September(about $8200) and our "very competitive" friends in the DRC receive the other 60%

Unfortunately ,unlike some I am not " impressed with the demonstrated improvement in efficiency, which reflects that the operating team is well on track with our plans to drive the plant towards its nameplate capacity."I will belive it when I see it.

Fortunately the copper is not going to go away but the gremlins are and we should arrive at destination albeit at a different time.