since spending a motzah on rejuvenating the A1 mine last fiscal...

since spending a motzah on rejuvenating the A1 mine last fiscal year, gold production has turned sharply and frustratingly lower.

aided by previous upbeat commentary from management, which was extended into the December quarterly, one can feel the potential but mining and gold production haven't met expectations, again.

success seems tantalizingly close, but falls short.

were it not for spot gold trading just shy of record highs, the outlook could look decidedly grim. Early afternoon in Sydney spot gold was quoted around US$2,024 and AUD$3,081.

at these prices even a modest lift in gold production would boost revenue substantially. Doubling production this quarter to 3,500 ounces would see revenue jump to more than A$10 million, a level that would surely stave off the need for any more dilutionary CRs for quite some time.

given the company's performance since relisting this isn't necessarily a lot to ask for but i wouldn't bet on it.

KAU's SP could do with a decent catalyst or two and it looks like it won't come from production.

Exploration drilling at Maldon is underway and is one possible catalyst.

It's about as known as exploration drilling can possibly get, given what we know from the historic workings, and would open a pathway to a second production front, though this would take many months to come onstream.

it's possible we'll get some results from this drilling in the two months left of this quarter. By midyear, KAU could know whether any of the prospects are mineable.

a second catalyst on the exploration front would be news of a formal JV with a major at the Macquarie Arc blocks in NSW. This is prospective elephant country but it's hard to see any drilling on KAU's well placed blocks until well into the year, if at all.

decent copper/gold intersections on these blocks could supercharge the SP.