Arg... I just enjoy reading more about the history of...

Arg... I just enjoy reading more about the history of Norseman.

This little gem stuck out at me... will be interesting to see what the infill drilling shows over the next 12+ months (I assume PNR will start doing that, especially if they still believe they can get anything close to 4g/t for the open pit!).




Considering where PNR sits, this is still a little pie in the sky, but... as you discussed @wassa the market clearly doubt PNR can even hit 100k p.a. Let alone 200k p.a. But... PNRs grades in both it's U/G and O/P are... some of the highest in the industry.



Norseman was profitable, with a mill 1/3 the size (ran at approx 400k back in 2010).



Never really though to look too far back, but... Norseman gold does provide a very interesting picture of what happened and how much sunken capital exists at Norseman (I mean, it was in production for 65 years for starters).




For those interested, here is Norsemans 2010 Company presentation.

Sadly... early in 2011.... yikes... when will companies learn to not over promise! Or even... just aim too high too early!
Any of these issues or statements remind you of other failures... Wiluna comes to my mind above most others (though MOY is up there too).



A few months later.... it's no better.



Then in July 2011 they started getting desperate (well.. more desperate?) No foreign currency exposure... hmm..



And on the same day... took on Debt.



Then 2 weeks later... (when you read last line, it does not fill one with confidence)


A couple of months later (more capital raisings and reduced production rates....


Then... in Dec 2011... they undertake an operational review and shut the OK mine (after ploughing in a huge amount of capex and undertaking development, which PNR has recently benefited from). hmmm... they need someone from outside the company that understands the orebodies!!?


Then... a WEEK later - must have been a tough week.



Then in Feb the 'white knight' appears.... Tulla!





Bullen also put in C&M which, hopefully gives PNR another low capex restart for future U/G mining.

As for Tulla's 'initial review'..... hmmmmm lets see what happens



A few months later (May 2012), Tulla's investment has reached approx $20m, with their stake in the company getting to around 19% (ironically almost the same as PNR today). Oh... they produced around 6500 ounces for the March Quarter.


July 2012... just a small $25m capital raising.... which is basically doubling the amount of shares on issue... Ouch. Tulla invests another $12m and converts $8m of the debt into equity. Though just to really complicate matters... Tulla has to reduce its placement size, to allow a Chinese entity to buy in. Tulla is now about 27% of the company.





August 2012 - they are trying mighty hard.. to find a way of actually making some money. Production continues to reduce..... writing on the wall anyone!





2 months later. Tulla is sort of... a white knight....





I mean... the mill did not even operate for the last month! Pretty tough to make any money no matter what business your in when your business... isn't doing anything.



Even with the Admin in charge and running operations (for months), Tulla is on the hook and.. the losses it took are likely never reported.
I can only guess that it would run into the 10's of millions (admin operates for a while yet)



6 Weeks later in Feb 2013.... it's all but over. $0.04-0.05 in the dollar.. ouch.
Tulla on the hook for more cash.



May 2013 operations update. They really did throw everything at it (9+ months of loss making.....)






Suffice to say, the major shareholder of PNR... has seen far worse that what PNR has done!! Truly amazing and why I have included all the document.
I guess... I have underestimated how determined Tulla is to make back their investment (though... to do so would need to see PNR hit well north of $600m (just a rough guess, or $100m net to them with their 17% holding).

Sept 2013.... Tulla is just about to finally throw in the towl.



For context, here is the AUD gold price. Basically... they shut down about a year before the absolute lows... which was probably the right decision, otherwise they would have been on the hook for another 12+ months of losses.



Oct 2013 - Strategic review... a logical goal, except, the plant was clearly too small as well. For context, they are now producing around 1000 ounces a month!



20th December, 2013.... Company update - Basically.... they are putting the operation into C&M Norseman Dec 2013 op update



Nope... in Jan 2014 they are still limping along!



Sadly... whilst the lost of shareholder wealth was bad, Norseman really ended on a sad note with the passing of an employee on the 17th of Feb 2014.