Not a great quarterly, but it does contain traces of hope, as steven1459 has highlighted.
The AISC is a shocker, as usual, it's been way to high forever here at Halls Creek.
And the Halls Creek operating philosophy has been changed, which seems to have affected some of PNR's operators. As quoted " ... rationalization of the underground mining fleet and personnel ... ", which effectively means that the mining fleet has been reduced, and some personnel have been let go, which is probably not going to please them.
Some of the operators are obviously unhappy as well. As quoted " ... some operators opting not to return under the revised conditions ... ", which means that PNR offered them an altered contract but they did not like it and have subsequently then pulled up stumps and quit.
I'm getting the feeling that its not a happy camp up at Halls Creek. I also sense that the directors and management thought they needed to take the hard decisions now, however unpalatable they have been to staff and contractors. Let's see how it works out.
They are only producing 9,000 ounce a quarter at an AISC of over $1,800, which is a poor result. The directors credit, they are trying to do something about it, but I'm not sure Halls Creek has a great future, unless some wildcat drilling accidentally hits a bonanza reef.
And they failed to sell the PNG tenements, so just let them lapse.
Its all about Norseman now for this company. If Norseman works out then they will be ok, if not, then it's in the toilet. They paid a lot for Norseman, they had too, the owners were not going to sell to anyone who would not stump up an excessive amount of money. So even Norseman is a gamble, at the price paid. Thank goodness for the current gold price.
Cross our fingers that the drilling results at Norseman are good, and glad I bought in at a much lower price.
Good to see the Hedge going, especially at these gold prices. It's funny how investors justify themselves, over at BCN they have a hedge of 50% of their production for the next 5 months, and the hedge is $350 out of the money, but the investors on that thread were all finding reasons to say how necessary and good and prudent it was. I thought it has backfired on them, but I suppose those investors are trying to " ... always look on the bright side of life ... ", which doesn't always work out so well at the small cap mining end of the market. I'd promote a good healthy does of skepticism down here at the bottom end usually, and an ability to carefully read "between the lines" on many reports.
PNR has a a long way to go, but Norseman is the right direction, and (probably) is the hard decisions being now made at Halls Creek.
Watch the Norseman drill results now, as they come in, because that will tell you nearly all you need to know about the future of this company, up or down. Keep a close eye.
Gw
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