Ann: Finance News Network - Interview with CEO, page-11

So, development finished, processing to finish, then recon, then we get to hear about what the rub of the green is when some sort of plan has been cobbled together. Sounds like they probably already know based on sampling during processing. At least that puts to bed what stage the operation is at in the interview.

If it's going to plan, we should be hearing about which part of Stacpoole is going to be trialled (or not) based on the development results.

Would have been good to hear about finance going forward, but the interview was focused on the ROD. It does sound like it is the game going forward and if it comes off with bigger, more economic (sub-vertical) stopes, then it's going to be a great year, with Stacpoole playing the supporting role of getting the mill tested and ran in, with perhaps that deep exploration coming in the medium to long term ultimately. These guys do not sound like headless chooks.
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Rachael Jones: What can you tell me about the drill program?

Tom de Vries: We're keen to keep the mills going as well, Rachael, and the Rose of Denmark ore is prime material for that. If we're mining from Rose of Denmark, this allows us to understand the relationship between the drilled assays from the diamond drilling, the face assays, and the final gold produced out of the plant, giving a certain drilled grade. So we'll mine some tons, understand the drill grade to mill grade, and then we'll move on to a more serious mining stance. But in addition we intend to drill to depth, to understand the full potential of the mine. We do have high expectations for the Rose of Denmark, and we'll have a lot more to say about it in the coming weeks.

Rachael Jones: And Tom, while we have you, can you provide an update on the Morning Star Gold Mine and processing plant?

Tom de Vries: We're happy with where we've got to. We've now proven the capability of the plant, which was a concern for some people. The plant is our main processing facility for Morning Star and Rose of Denmark mines, so it was quite important to ascertain that and achieve that. We have a confidence that the plant can process gold-bearing material mixed with hard diorite, and the confidence is built on a measured tails grade that is something in the order of 0.5 to 0.7 of a gram, regardless of the head grade. Importantly, we have a high level of confidence in the plant sampling points, that allows us to review the grade through the plant and at a number of different points. And that allows us to have full control of the plant and allows us to adjust as we gain the information.

The other update on the Morning Star Gold Mine, of course, was our maiden gold pour, the first since 2012, and for us, you know, that's a very significant and symbolic event for AuStar Gold. And there are not many gold explorers that ever get to pour gold and in such a short period of time.

The Stacpoole development is completed for this phase of the program, and we're processing the last of that ore now, and pretty soon we'll be providing a washup of that activity.


Rachael Jones: Last question, Tom. What can investors look out for in terms of news flow over the next couple of months?

Tom de Vries: Further drilling results at Rose of Denmark, Rachael. We'll also progress to trial mining at Rose of Denmark, and we'll announce that when we're ready. The Stacpoole mining and processing results, which we just talked about. And further information about our exploration and drilling activities around our exciting prospects that really haven't been examined in the past in great detail.