Ann: Update of Operations Underground Mine at Nifty, page-76

Have to look at the timing of shipments, four a year. The voyage takes 17 days, and they are paid 90% on arrival at the smelter and 10% two months later. Hindalco pay on the dot. Good record. So when sales were down last half year part of it was shipping timing with the Dec Q production going in early January. The fall in sales due to 1 out of 4 shipments in the half year, was accompanied by increase in inventory. To suggest that increasing inventory is not near cash is quite disingenuous, as it is not more Barbies on the shelf in a toy store which might and might not sell. Copper is a commodity. There is one financially strong contracted buyer, Hindalco, so it is converted 90% to cash two to four months after production, and 10% two months after that. Hindalco is a huge operation and Niftys input is comparatively minor. Plenty of other potential buyers exist in east Asia from Pt Hedland which is also supplied by Sandfire from Woody Woody and Newcrest at Telfer nearby. Management accounting if done well requires a bit of nous and not one size fits all analyses. For evaluating the strength and performance of a business the management accounting approach is superior to the statutory approach required by law and therefore the Chartered Accountant auditors.