I agree a private owner would make a better fist of this and...

I agree a private owner would make a better fist of this and part of me says a local owner has a much better chance of success.

The pumping isn’t a big challenge imo, but they need to approach it with some robustness. I said it before on this forum that the team probably needs to invest a bit more to increase production and get to the better ore. The presentation in October indicated that the process plant was starting to hit its straps which is good. Just need to get everything going well at the same time.

You are right about this not being worth multiples of its current MC anytime soon but imo it should be worth about double if they can sort their issues. From there they need to increase production above its current nameplate. These guys represent just over 1% of my portfolio so aren’t going to kill me if they continue to underperform but have certainly taught me a thing or two about investing in something like this. For one, investing in a mine overseas is fraught with issues particularly if you don’t have a team on the ground driving it forward. Also, trying to do things on a shoestring like CZL are doing, is a high risk strategy. Accept they have spent there CAPEX and some but not getting production only hurts them more.

I’ve given up on a decent January update but I’m watching now to see how they deal with the pumping issue. IMO they need to take a sledge hammer approach and start to aggressively dewater or else they will disappear into the wilderness.