To throw in a bit of balance, although its market capitalisation...

To throw in a bit of balance, although its market capitalisation has increased since March 2022, RED's share-price now is less than what it was 2 years ago. For quite a number of other gold stocks, both their market caps AND their share-prices are up over the past two years.

For RED, part of the reason may well be that there was too much optimism regarding the construction and commissioning of KOTH, and around March 2 years ago, the share-price was really way too high. I'm sure a few too many investors "bought high" in this optimistic period.

When extra funds were subsequently required, the capital raise caught everyone by surprise (the Board too I'm guessing) and I reckon the company actually suffered a fair bit of reputational damage. At this point, I'd suggest the share-price was way too low and while many investors "bought low", many others probably thought "one capital raise too many" or maybe even "don't throw good money after bad" and let the opportunity pass.

However, as KOTH has been performing at or above what it was supposed to, shareholders in RED have done well lately. Clearly, KOTH's successful operations have de-risked the company a bit.

But I'd suggest even more importantly for a relatively high-cost producer like RED, the real driver for the share-price has been the spike in the AUD gold price and the much higher than originally forecast margin they're making on the unhedged ounzes of gold they're currently selling. A related factor may also be that analysts are factoring in even higher levels of earnings post hedge expiry based on the slightly higher forecasts of the AUD gold price they're now incorporating into their models.

As I've alluded to on this forum before, my only concern with an investment in RED relates to what factors can drive FUTURE out-performance of the stock. The clearance of the company's debt and the expiration of their hedge-book are both factors fully known to the market, and despite what a number of HotCopper posters suggest, there's no reason to suggest to me that RED shares would suddenly "re-rate" once debt and the hedges are cleared.

I don't wish to sound negative and upset many in here who are real RED devotee's, but as I said in my opening line, I'm just trying to throw in a bit of balance. My sentiment on the stock remains "None".