Got my first car in the mid-90s. Unfortunately it was a lemon. Holden Camira SLX. I kid you not at first glance you would mistake it for a VH Commodore SLX. That is the story of Red Lake, Pogo and a whole lot of North American gold mines. With very few exceptions, Macassa/Kirkland Lake is an exception but certainly not the rule. Looks good at first glance but ends up being a lemon.
What matters is what you do with the lemon. I drove that Holden Camira for years! I got my investment out of that and then some. As an eastern dweller, It got me as far as far north as Townsville QLD and as far south as Geelong Vic. I was so paranoid of it braking down that I ended up knowing everything about the car and fixing it. Those Haynes books are amazing. Sure I sacrificed some weekends, didn't take up much time and it gave me something to do to keep me out of trouble. As a young bloke that is what you need. Top-end rebuilt, new clutch, brake pads upgraded suspension and by the end of it it had a VTEC Honda engine from a wrecked Honda Integra...
Which brings me to my point. As an EVN SH you need to be prepared, for EVN looks to do the same thing here on Red Lake. They are planning to drive this for years! RL It is certainly better now than what it was production wise. FY25 onwards is really when its going to hit its stride when all that Capex starts paying off...930 on mill, 144k on the ounces and $2,237 on the AISC.
But show me the money... I will. Red Lake EBITDA is a whopping 288% increase FY25 even more FY26. With Capex having a 23.5% reduction and even more reductions in subsequent years..
At the end of the day it is not patience that you need here. 1 more year hardly requires patience. What everyone needs however, is to frame their expectations on RL as I have in these highlighted boxes. Adjust your holdings accordingly if EVN fails top deliver. Simple...
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