In answer to your questions and where the answers mostly lye is in older FML reports and prior companies.If you invest in a company,the best thing one can do is read this old stuff particularly if there have been name changes or partnerships as here in the past.I personally have a 1 Tb drive full of information that i hold on many companies,most of which keeps my money well away from them. For example-Resource figures were quoted in times where they were of little value,especially 2g/ton and gold $400.They were not Jorc figures,but compliant ones for publishing at the time.You can't quote some of them now,unless you upgrade them at great expense. A reason why i am so bullish about the Mount.Bulk mine it at 2g/ton,or do what they're doing,might cost a bit more to mine,but is the same as doubling your mill size,halving your trucking and milling costs.Up the grade again with different mining method - Resue for even more yield. Squeezing a dead lemon for EXTRA juice. As they have said,they could have drilled it to death creating a JORC resource,or just start mining with the same money.The important thing was they said they could have easily spent $14m doing so.That's because IT IS BIG. To your questions
Q1. I do not expect the overall mill grade to drop much if at all.Currently 150kt a QTR at 3.5ish,30kt from the Mount and the rest used to be 1g/ton site trash at most. Now we're onto pits and to be honest the average grade is around 2g/ton+ at the top.Like Empress starting at .9g/ton(there's still 200kt floating about)and finishing at 5g/ton.The mount is still on ramp-up and I have no doubt Tindals' underground will restart,once the pits above have reached their maximum economical depth,possibly opening up easier and cheaper access to the currently KNOWN 4 extra resources(yes Lodes Q2). Thus allowing the production cap of 50kt a month to rise,if a second access is opened up.Empress if they do a second pit cut,may be within 20-30 mtrs of underground workings,if not already,if my back of envelope calcs are correct.Certainly that pit access,looked more like a decline access,than a short-term pit one and would be in an ideal place looking at the extent of the underground workings. Maybe why they did it first? But what do i know?--Absolutely Nothing. I did get the JULY figures WRONG didn't I. But always believed Focus have applied a two or more gain for one expense model.It would not be where it is now if it hadn't with the average resources its worked with to date. The mounts production is slowly picking up pace,now the grade issues have been sorted.The original plan was for 60koz/yr production,although those figures have continued to decline in presentations. Do you see the logical planned swap from one U/G ORE source to another while Tindals' resource/mine plan issues are sorted for it to come back even stronger and logically owner operated?I have read 40 weeks wait for loader/truck delivery from date of ordering elsewhere.
Q3 I would ask NST if replacing Barminco saved them more than 20% in costs.There is a recent announcement stating the actual savings were much higher.Remember FML have already seen Barminco off at the Mount and they WERE NOT using the RESUE mining method to upgrade the ore and reduce dilution.That was added,by employing NEW PERSONNEL.That method has been around for years by the way.Barminco have a lovely picture,showing them basically using it to open up a new PORTAL at SUNRISE DAM? from memory.(latest Barminco staff mag).Barminco must be nearly complete,with the last of that Tindals' U/G ore out soon.
Q5/6 your half right as to when the mill was built,however,The mill was rebuilt and reconfigured expensively as part of its recommissioning optimized for the ore from Greenfields/Dreadnought.Check out 2009/2010 resource statements.Then go back to 2006ish for further information.Possibly why it has such a powerful crushing circuit(2mt rating for hard ore).In fact in the far distant past,there was an amalgamation of both SITES owners as it was more efficient to mill Greenfields ore at 3mi and Tindals ore at Greenfields.Check the comments about feed from these pits supplying 3mi mill made at that time of the mill upgrade.
Q4 500kt the answer to that is supposition on my part on CB's "well on the way to becoming a 500koz producer"comments,as to options i personally see ahead.Even if you were paying me,they wouldn't be concrete enough to sell those thoughts.Having said that there are glaring opportunities about and no doubt better ones lined up by management,or presented to them.All i need for reassurance is i can easily see 250koz and FML has shown it can double its size and TAKE ON A LARGER OPERATION EASILY,or squeeze a dead lemon and get extra juice out of it,that no-one else has(CRE/The Mount/even Tindal's). I feel another cheap dead lemon coming FML's way for a little bit of cash(a few million only,or maybe a few shares).Synergy bringing cost reductions is the name of the game and there are numerous options around FML's growing operations. Plenty of dead lemons stuck to trees that no-one wants,or that no longer fit current corporate businesses operation/direction models or ongoing maintenance better spent elsewhere. Any of those can add to resource or milling capacity.A mill at the Mount would be nice.There's always someone with an old car that REALLY ONLY NEEDS A MECHANIC TO LOOK AT IT AND CHANGE THE PLUGS AND BATTERY,to get it going.Who's got those skills----FML has-BEEN THERE DONE THAT TI's years away IMHO.
DYOR+DYODD If you took the time to read the lot,follow a few leads,you no doubt will see more opportunities and potential than i have. I recommend that digging,then you can see the bargains and the charlatans easily from miles away. Cheapest investment you can ever make-RESEARCH There's tons of dirt between every diamond,even in the richest of fields.Same with all those FML company reports/announcements.Google is a good place to start on any lead you find.
you'll excuse me if i don't reply to further questions,Her Ladyship who must be obeyed has given me a rev up for the time i spend here and Rightly so.
FML Price at posting:
3.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)