This is a positive for the company seeing short term debt...

This is a positive for the company seeing short term debt obligations being solved for at a premium (yet still a price short of where AUQ was trading in the lead up to production) by the Director to the tune of $1mil and the largest shareholder for the balance - $2.4mil. Worth noting that the failed rights issue to raise +$15mil was being offered at 3.4c and s decent discount to the last price at the time when it traded at 5c.

Interesting to note off the back of this commitment from ATI, this takes their holding just shy of the 20% limit that would see an offer made to all shareholders having to be made to acquire the balance of shares under the takeover provisions (vs the rights issue / creep provisions they were trying to utilise by underwriting the previously failed rights issue).

For those that had been suggesting that management / the largest shareholder are scheming to steal the company / force a wind up to pinch the producing asset etc, this commitment (although relatively small in the grand scheme of things from the largest shareholder) suggests otherwise. Seeing the Chairman write a cheque vs issue himself performance shares etc is a welcome surprise.

I'd be surprised to see AUQ still trading sub 3c off the back of this news throughout the week.

On a separate note I have emailed the MD to raise a number of questions around domestic market engagement etc and am still yet to receive a reply. Iam not surprised, however would welcome a response and engagement from management.