Herring / Rabit,I guess the main point, apart from the obvious...

Herring / Rabit,

I guess the main point, apart from the obvious cost / oil / gas issue....is that we simply aren't finding very many 'world class' deposits anymore in oz re gold.

Now we can all name a couple...but that is it.

So the point is that for as long as there is interest out there people are naturally going to gravitate to the next best 'thing' and potentially dress it up, talk it up, think it up as being something more than it is. Look at all the junior upstarts....what real prospects do they have, and I'm talking Australia here, and only gold. AVO have pretty much made it and in very good time, and IGR will probably in due course....but they are still 2 years + away.

But look at Crescent, Norton, Dioro etc and i'm afraid they are terribly marginal producers. IF gold goes up massively in AUS$ terms then yes they will be fine but this is a gamble....people say it will happen but it hasn't! If it does go up to be frank it will mean we are probably all out of work as the banks have imploded...so who at that point will have any $$ to buy gold shares?

Probably buying physical gold or GOLD would be more sensible.

Then look at history and look at your major producers...when did they last make any decent money in Australia?

Profitablility for the industry here has been terrible for a long time, and quite simply is about to get a whole lot worse. Margins are incredibly tight and will be for the forseeable future. With this in mind do you want to be holding a marginal producer / explorer?

Don't get me wrong there will be winners out there, all over the place, but perhaps we need to look at things differently or at another place.

Personally I think Brazil is a great place to be and I think VERY near term VERY SMALL Iron ore producers could do well.

You could easily be in a situation in years to come where there are 5 global mining houses and not much else.

Investor confidence has been shattered by the market. The companies could get shattered by rising costs. Nasty double whammy!

Guys, I know no more than you. I have known Rabit on here for the past 2 years. What does seem obvious to us all is that it seems increasingly hard for goldies to make money or get projects off the ground....or keep them off the ground i.e SBM VRE BDG MON etc...

Good luck to all, and as I say please don't necessarily take this as a reflection on NGF, it is more general....just negative thoughts which may or may not be helpful.