Ann: Corporate Presentation, page-112

At the start of February they raised $19M for exploration through the flow-through scheme. At a rough guess I'd say they've chewed through about $14M of that since, even allowing for the time off due to the fires. That would leave $5M + whatever was left in the exploration funds kitty at the end of January. Let's say they still have $8M left today and are burning cash drilling at the rate of $3M per month, especially with 5 rigs operating! That would mean that by New Year there'd be nothing left in the exploration kitty. Yes, there should still be at least $25M in other funds but why drill with that money when you can acquire new exploration funding at nearly double the SP? They'd also want to keep a healthy float to cover the running of the business over the next year and for possible acquisitions. I may be out slightly with my estimations but if you think about it, probably not too far out. It would certainly explain why they took this opportunity to raise now rather than run the exploration budget low by Christmas and then have to seek funding in a hurry around the holiday season.