I wasn't overly thrilled with the low-ball (timing/pricing)...

I wasn't overly thrilled with the low-ball (timing/pricing) capital raising and didn't mince words when speaking with Simon about it. What's done is done, so we move forward with close to $6m in the kitty.

From what I understand, the new instos on the register have sticky hands, so hopefully plenty of the newly issued shares stick. And, even better, would be access to a potential source of funding for the plant refurb.

I hear your concern and expressed the same to Simon. Here is a brief summation of what I said.

I am concerned that there is very little discussion on transitioning into production next year. Surely, all the additional drilling of the past few months has built up the reserves to enable a decision to mine by now? The whole idea of the past board changes was to get the ball rolling here towards production. The longer this takes, the more skeptical the market will be regarding your intentions. While I appreciate your methodical approach, at least some sort of comment regarding your commitment to become miners (not simply explorers looking to flog this off) would help calm things a little.

In reply, Simon reiterated their determination to transition into a profitable gold producing company, with 'production in the forefront' of their minds. They are aiming for 300,000 ounces of quality reserves before moving towards production.

Good point re: focusing solely on Orelia and Julius. Part of their exploration strategy is to identify new targets and drill them - in the hope of finding a new transformational deposit. I tend to agree, though, that they should stop being distracted and focus on getting the ounce numbers up (at Julius and Orelia) and examining funding options for the plant refurb.

I certainly won't be tolerating endless dilution, and from here onwards, management can expect me to ramp up the shareholder pressure on them. At some point, they need to take off their exploration hats and don their miner's helmets. They need to convince the market of their sincerity here.