Whilst many posters blame Andre (and I hear what they are...

Whilst many posters blame Andre (and I hear what they are saying), I have a somewhat different view. I know that things haven't gone well over the last few years and that the takeover of Round Oak so far has been problematical. Having said this, running small base metal miners is very, very difficult. Invariably these small miners are exposed to the base metals price cycle with huge swings in cashflow as well as a raft of other risks - floods. lack of water, fires, seismic events etc etc. Many don't survive and over the years I've realized that in many cases it's better to invest in explorers (looking for a big drill hit) or majors with deep pockets (who can ride out the inevitable storms), rather than investing in small producers and developers where the risk profile is much, much higher. Recent problem children include AMI (recovering now after near death), Galena (suspended Pb developer, cashflow issues), PAN (receivership), practically all Aussie Ni producers (can't make any money at the current Ni price), Red River Resources (receivership), Heron (Woodlawn Project, receivership) etc.

Andre has done some good things at AIS - he originally managed to swap huge debt for equity, he diversified into gold via the Cracow purchase so we weren't so reliant on base metals, he tried to upscale with Round Oak (so we weren't so reliant on just a couple of mines), he made the brave and tough decision to put Jaguar on care and maintenance quickly rather than hemorrhaging cash in the low price environment, he made the prudent and pragmatic decision to withdraw from the high risk/high reward JV in SA (where drill costs were going to be more than what we could afford at the time). I remember the SA JV partner's CEO was absolutely ropeable at the time because AIS had withdrawn . Under his tenure we have also found the excellent high grade Constellation deposit at Tritton.

Anyway, let's see if he can successfully renegotiate the ANZ facility and the WHSP facility - IMO he will do it and AIS will emerge a larger, stronger and more diversified base metal miner.

GLTA & DYOR