SM is curtailed by the CEO and the board and the budget. I'm certain he would happily spend a lot more on exploration if it was there to do. The recent acquisition of EM equipment should allow them to get much greater bang for buck on exploration going forward. The equipment is currently on its way to Brazil and AVB staff will be trained in its deployment. SM seemed very satisfied to be receiving the equipment.
Be careful what you wish for $Man. Spend all our revenue on drilling for its own sake and no one profits. Have an intelligent "economically" minded geo utilising the available resources to hunt for the viable deposits that we can afford to develop and we will do very well. Waste it in any fashion and the wait will have been of no value. I've seen some companies spend a fortune drilling, growing a resource only to find out at the end of the process that the capital required to develop the resource was uneconomic and so large no one would put up funding. I don't see that happening with AVB.
Personally, given Vern Tidy is independent and his and Scott's talents are similar enough I think Scott could make way if a better candidate, who has something significant to offer us as a company, was found. I'd like to see who that someone is though before I consider dumping the men who have got our company to cash flow positive in the current macro. It was no small feat and deserves hearty congratulations in all regards bar one.
AVB Price at posting:
6.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
