looking good, page-15

"In regards the quarterly just released the only negative I picked up on were the Admin. costs at A$2M for the quarter which seem awfully high especially when senior management salaries are only $1.2M pa. Anyone got have ideas on why they are so high?"

good question. Here is how management responded today:

In answer to your telephone query, the administration costs for the December quarter were higher than normal as a result of:
The acquisition of new mineral interests in the Kyrgyz Republic, and the associated on-costs resulting from same, all of which have been reflected in the administration line of the Quarterly Report.
Further to the above point, various diligence costs have been applied to the administration line, as the Talas acquisition has yet to close and so certain costs could not be capitalised
Various consultancy works were also taken up, particularly in relation the scoping, and other study work on Romang Island
December quarters have been historically higher than others (audit fees, AGM, annual report etc.) whilst our self imposed slowdown on Romang Island reduced exploration expenditure, exacerbating the comparison between exploration and administration lines on the 5B.
Increased marketing and investor relations costs were incurred in the Quarter, in front of the planned Rights Issue which was announced today.