Smartdude, your expectation on Rox that the outstanding ‘highly...

Smartdude, your expectation on Rox that the outstanding ‘highly anticipated’ drilling results will be announced prior to Christmas, whether good, bad or ugly is very reasonable but has not been met. Was Rox thinking that that they will have released the MRE metrics by the time the drill results are washed through the 2023 Q4 quarterlies and we will be refocused away from them?

We also have to face up to the likely reality that the regional and near mine drilling results have been disappointing for the millions they cost. Perhaps the new lode at Currans will add some gold ozs but these lodes are shallow. Paddy's could be a significant discovery and continue at depth when they redrill it next year. Why didn't they drill it again this year? The focus on historical drilling results could find new targets. After all, Spectrum’s discovery of Penny North was not from a blind drill hole but informed by a single high grade historical hit that had not been followed up.

I do believe RR when he said the MRE is almost complete and we will be pleased with it partly because he spoke in a measured confident manner without the usual overconfidence.

But it is unfortunate that the opportunity to restore retail investor confidence in the company has largely been squandered, in my opinion.

Have you noticed the lengthy time gap between the MRE and the PFS?

The 2022 Scoping Study was already nearly a PFS so the timeframe tells me that the PFS in June will be nothing like the Scoping Study. Also note that Rox are now identifying relatively low-grade resources as coming into production eg the Plant Zone is about 1g/t and the Scoping Study model needs 5 g/t.

That suggests that the PFS will be based on at least a 1.2 Mtpa plant capable of processing a much lower grade. The output will be an upscaled 100Kozs PA with a much larger free cash flow than in the Scoping Study.

That change from Scoping Study to PFS is only possible because of the much higher price of gold that translates into a higher AISC margin so there is a risk that it will not be fundable if the POG falls sharply. But the consensus is a higher POG going forward so the risk is slight.

Longer term Rox doesn’t need a high POG. The challenge for Rox is not the medium to long term but getting into production in the first place to generate the capital needed to mine the deeper ore.

More than 2m gold ozs @ 6.89g/t UG are in the pipeline and the bottom of the high grade resource at the Youanmi main pit has never been explored. Youanmi should have a life of mine of 20 years based on the current resource and more if they make new discoveries.

2024 should be a big year for Rox with a DFS likely in Q4.