Horrible headline numbers and cash on hand obviously down a fair way, however on reading and re-reading there are some very interesting points that are easily overlooked in here.
They mined 322,448mt in the quarter, an increase of 44%!!
Of course production costs were up and they only sold 23,942t due to shipping timing and delays at port etc.
They have sunk and completed considerable capital costs to optimise NAL production and increase efficiency and capacity.
They actually got thr permit to increase concentrator throughput to 4500 tonnes per day! That's fantastic.
All of this is buried in paragraphs vs the headline numbers looking awful.... standard lol
NAL actually produced just shy of 14,000t in December which puts us on 168ktpa, which if maintained is above current guidance and recovery in December was 66%...
So, they've basically significantly stockpiled quality ore, increased efficiency with consecutive days reaching over 650-700 tonnes per day! That's huge, that exceeds nameplate people.
So they've built up 165kt of higher grade ore on the ROM pad, shown NAL can actually produce over 226ktpa, improved efficiency at the end of the quarter and sunk huge capital improvements along with considerable exploration drilling. All of that is complete.
Now if we can produce the same tonnage this quarter and actually ship it, along with the 20kt+ that went out after end of Dec, that could be around 50kt+ sold this current quarter ending march, with likely significantly reduced operating costs and capital expenditure.
So yes, headline bit of a nightmare, but actual on ground processes and facts are highly positive imo.
Ill be honest I sold some today on these numbers, but will carefully watch spot pricing this quarter as I think we could see considerable operational improvements now.
I think care and maintenance has basically been priced in by the market, but the details hidden in the paragraphs of this report tell a different story to me tbh.
We've also built the ROM to potentially shut down mining and continue with concentrator which would also bring us decent profit in for a period if needed: remember mining is contracted so no issue of cost to us for equipment and personnel etc.
A lot of negativity today understandably, but a lot in here to think about imo.
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