Ann: AGM Chairman's Address , page-5

Hi TPG, yes, it was clear enough. I'll say what I gathered but remember I'm just another punter sitting out front so my comments are mine.
In relation to finance it was said that the Coffey Report is in (we knew that) and where we are at now is negotiating what will be the conditions precedent. These conditions have turned out to be fluid and difficult to nail down.
The tin, well we're there digging it up, but there have been numerous mechanical breakdowns, even so, I think I heard the figure of around 100 tons of concentrate shipped to Malaysia so far. There is a lack of engineering capacity in Egypt and so spare parts have had to be flown in, and that's one lesson GIP has learnt, which will be useful in the much bigger tantalum operation when it happens - carry more than normal back-up spare parts. There was no mention of the crushing plant, or I missed it, but I got the overall impression that the tin operation, whilst showing that we can do business in Egypt and that there have been no politically inspired problems on site whatsoever, is not contributing a lot to the company's bank account.
The tone of the meeting was a bit subdued because, obviously, attendees had hoped that this year it would be different - it wasn't!
Mr. G, of course, is a formidable force and when he says that he believes in the project and will continue backing it you can bet that he will. From that we can take some comfort that the company will still be there when the project finally gets the nod.
Stand firm, men!