Hi
@sabine
Thanks for the links , it is a good reminder of what we are dealing with here
Your mention of Maximus prompted me to read there recent Anns, notably the Quarterly for period ending Dec 17 . It provides , admittedly , only one side of the story but contains far more detail than anything announced by Empire. Apologies if many were already aware of this.
See cut and paste below..
MAXIMUS RESOURCES LIMITED QUARTERLY REPORT PERIOD ENDING 31 December 2017
The Company is pleased to report that the refurbishment works at the Burbanks mill have been completed and commercial Toll milling operations commenced on 7th of October. The commencement of mill production represents a significant milestone for the company, having acquired the Spargoville Project in August 2015, and the Burbanks Mill in August 2016, to now being in production. Following completion of the plant refurbishment in September, commission of the facility commenced. The commissioning process involved introducing low grade feed to the processing circuit to achieve the required operating densities in the Leach and Adsorption tanks. Once the required densities were achieved, cyanide and lime were introduced to the circuit. Minor plant interruptions were anticipated, and occurred during the commissioning phase, with steady state conditions achieved in early October.
Toll milling of low grade ore supplied by Empire Resources Limited (Empire) commenced on a commercial basis on 7 October 2017. The process water for the Burbanks plant was historically supplied via two underground sources; Main shaft and Burbanks Underground. During recent mining operations conducted at the Burbanks underground project, the main borehole and pump were damaged and unable to be resurrected. During commissioning at the Burbanks processing plant, water was sourced from the main shaft supply line under an extraction agreement with Barra Resources Limited. Once processing commenced, the second source of process water was from a disused open pit under agreement with Kidman Resources Ltd. The open pit water source was depleted whilst a new water bore was being developed, resulting in reduced production in late October and early November. The new water supply bore into the Burbanks underground workings was commissioned in early November and continues to supply excess process water for the mill.
The supply of ore from Empire ran precariously low in November and the group was not able to recover ore stocks at the Burbanks plant, resulting in milling operations ceasing on 3 December 2017. The company notified Empire that Stand-down charges applied from the 4th December during the unplanned closure, resulting in Empire issuing a notice of termination of the Toll Milling Agreement on 5th December. The 30 day termination period required Empire to supply ore through to the 4th January 2018. However, with ongoing issues with the continuous supply of ore, agreement was reach to cease the Agreement early, and processing of Empire ore was finalised on 21 December 2017. A final Gold in Circuit (GIC) calculation was still in progress at the end of the quarter. The GIC calculation forms part of the final reconciliation and financial settlement process. 
(20min delay)
