Ann: Half Yearly Report and Accounts, page-16

I'd agree that they would have been better off drilling and expanding the resource. always easier to say in hindsight - obviously they thought they'd be able to start generating good cashflow to fund exploration and growth rather than going cap in hand to shareholders - but so far it's just been a distraction that's sapped a bit of cash and a lot of time.
Even now it might make sense to halt mining and focus back on exploration. Market cap at the moment is so low it's on par with an early stage explorer when they already have a large high grade resource and good exploration prospects.