.I asked Grant Heywood how things are different this time around and got this very quick response:
Hi Grant,
We are a relatively long-term but moderate HRZ holder with an average now at 8c. So, seeing the latest announcements about the two new mines was pleasing after years of pretty dismal performance.
I'm concerned, though, at the conditions of the toll mining contract, which seems open-ended in a similar way to the Burbanks effort. That was a failure.
What is different this time around?
After an initial bump in the share price, the trend has retreated, and it is clear there is a lot of mistrust in the company management.
What can you tell me to ensure that things are on track for success? We have a lot riding on our holding, and a positive outcome is essential to us.
REPLY
Good to hear from you. I assume you are referring to the JV that Greenstone had with FMR at Burbanks. This was an underground JV and I actually visited the site whilst it was being mined. There were a few things that were not ideally managed. They did not follow the geology model and drove in the wrong direction, following a mineralised structure, however it did not carry sufficient grade to be economic. Once on the right structure, things improved. Burbanks is a narrow vein, high grade deposit, however it was mined too wide to optimise tonnage productivity, rather than taking it cleaner, minimising dilution and increasing the grade. By mining narrower, although less productive from a tonnes per hour perspective and therefore has the effect of higher mining costs per tonne, however you receive more revenue per tonne mined with lower dilution which has a greater margin overall. The JV was also carried out through COVID times in 2020/2021 which was not ideal and had restrictions on workforce numbers and increased costs.
Going forward, our JV with BML Ventures is low risk from our point of view - BML put up all the capital and are motivated to deliver margin, as they split the profit with us 50/50. They make no money on the mining itself and only cover costs. BML have also done successful mining ventures with Auric Mining (ASX:AWJ) mining at Jeffrey's Find near Norseman and also Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) mining at Selkirk near Menzies, so they have a track record of delivering for listed companies and private ventures.
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