Barry’s promises, page-223

I haven't sighted the letter in question, so it is challenging to speak to that.

My thoughts:

We don't know if management had already contacted the ASX in advance re: their continuous disclosure obligations around furloughing "some" (?) workers. On its own, I would be surprised if a disclosure was necessary. C&M would most likely require one, but it is ambiguous here. Are we talking about furloughing a portion of the workforce? How many staff are affected?

But, with what appears to be the unauthorised disclosure of company information on this forum, I can't see how management can avoid updating the market now. In fact, they may be legally required to do so. At the very least, common decency needs to prevail.

This sounds to me like they are furloughing some workers to preserve cash - a prudent move, especially if Glencore are stonewalling them or aren't providing any approximate timelines re: a binding off-take. I did say (twice now) that Glencore will operate on their own commercial timelines. I'm not at the point of accepting that they won't do the deal at all - like many are suggesting. It will be at a time of Glencore's choosing. And I guess that has forced their hand.

Management either reduce costs while we wait or we potentially face greater dilution down the track. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise capital. As unfortunate that it is to those employees impacted - this is the right move in the ST. I hope the wait isn't too great for them.

A market update is necessary here.