I still don't understand how the mine could have been economic to mine last year at a much lower $AUD gold price, then suddenly became unprofitable at a higher gold price? I am also scratching my head as to how the plant could be provided late, over budget and was still under capacity..yet the KBL still paid the provider who i think may have been westech - connected to the MD at the time. Surely payment should have been withheld until the plant was delivered to specifications..and if it was over budget surely the onus isn't on KBL to pay...it should have been delivered for the price agreed in the tender.
Of course there was no conflict of interest there at all....
I only bring up this point because the plant debacle was the beginning of the end.... that's where we got behind on producing gold, poor recoveries, under capacity...it meant that we couldn't start paying off our debts. Production in October /November became March the following year.
Then go to the website and read what they say about KBL and the services they provided.. www.westech.com.au/projects/kbl-mining
according to their website and I quote,
'Westech submitted a tender to KBL for the EPCM after the completion of project financing. Westech won the open tender at a lower price and quicker delivery.
So then what really happened....????
they won the tender then provided it late at a higher cost....shouldn't it have been discounted..normally there would be some sort of performance clause in the contract wouldn't there?
The whole thing stinks...but the misinformation on their website remains, and they are allowed to get away with it.
The MDs (Brian Wesson) company westech providing critical infrastrucure, over budget, late and under capacity, but they still got paid. I could understand if they did a special half price deal but sadly the facts are we paid in more ways than one in the end. This is where all the crap started.
I posted at the start of the year that I was worried that staff, service providers, contractors and whoever else were all getting the benefits of the mine with no value accruing to shareholders...then they spin a few bs announcements and proactive investor articles about how they are back on track and confident debts will be paid by the remaining gold left in the pit and they reel you back in.
Yep the ASX truly is the wild wild west of the stock market, leaky ships, unreliable info and too easy to manipulate....in future I'll be sending my funds elsewhere, retail investors all too often get screwed at this end of the market and those responsible always get away with it. Was reading up on Rodney Adler and HIH the other night, he had charges dropped and sentences reduced, he served two years and six months of his four-and-a-half year sentence.....imagine if you robbed a bank....or lets say a petrol station of a few grand....how long would you be going away for.....????
wow didn't intend to go off on a rant....
Anyway the plant, rainfall and management killed it.We could have survived
with only two of those misfortunes, but all three together were fatal.
KBL Price at posting:
0.2¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held