Ann: Divestment of Siana Gold Project, page-42

Agree. It is easy to criticise this decision. But I wonder if these critics ever considered where RED would be today if the BOD and management was not agile enough to see the writing on the wall in the Philippines and was not switched on enough to make the deal with SAR...Without that decision your RED investment would be worth zero today.

Please don't get me wrong I love the Philippines. I lived and worked in Mindanao island for a few years as a consultant for Del Monte Pineapples and Dole Stanfilco Bananas. Aussies meeting other Aussies on the Island is how I ended up investing in RED.

Although back in Australia for years since then, we loved it so much that my wife and I made a point to have our honeymoon at Pearl Farm in Davao. You won't find the biggest smiles from "salt of the earth people" in the world than in the Philippines...

With the good there is the bad. You need a security escort and a conceled sidearm in the south western part of Mindanao island. Kidnappings are a risk to foreigners If you are not careful. Child prostitution is disgustingly rampant. The worst of all is the extra judicial killings amongst other things...

Business wise, every decision you make needs to go to a local handler that greases the tracks on processing the paper work. Officials are notoriously late on every meeting. Expect half a business day delay at least. You need to be extra careful not to step on anyones toes or there is a posibility that you will be the next on the extra judicial list.

RED knew these when they built the mine in Mindanao but the Duterte administration was the last straw when it made foreign companies a pawn in his international political games... If you can understand that then you can understand that this is a good eventuality.