Sally_Will, at last the weather has cleared and drilling resumed today. I'm looking forward to some exciting news from GRL, but if it doesn't happen at this time, IMO it will happen at some stage at one of their areas. GRL has got good ground and a bright future IMO. On the other topic, I hadn't read about Rudy Gomez, so thanks for that info. It's amazing that he discovered a significant orebody that was well below surface (without outcrop). Unbelievable. Also, with regards discoveries, there have only been about 10 big discoveries in NSW in the last decade. So unless we pick up our game, there won't be many mineral mines here in 20 years. NSW accounts for about 6 to 8 % of metal exploration in Australia - WA is the leader then Qld. (That's what I found out from a webinar on this topic.) In NSW, amateur prospectors probably keep things secret (but there are very few places they can explore unless they have an agreement with a landowner). But for those with an exploration licence, all results (including any discoveries) really should be reported in annual reports to the Department. To explain the process, each year explorers have to pay annual fees and submit their work programs which specify their plans for the year (how many rocks & soils will be collected, plus planned geophysics and drilling). Explorers need to have access agreements with landowners, which are generally difficult to get because many landowners "lock the gates". Then at the end of the year, explorers have to report what they actually did and submit a new work program for the next year. Based on these reports, the Department decides whether they accept them or requires them to be re-written. These reports need to give the GPS co-ods and assays for every sample (these results will be added to Minview later on). At the end of the licences period (2 to 6 years), the Department assesses the overall progress to decide on whether an exploration licence is renewed . If an explorer doesn't make sufficient progress, then the Department will want the area of the Exploration Licence to be reduced by about 50% before it will be renewed (that's what the compliance officers told me when I got my exploration licences). So, discoveries are important for holding onto good areas. Also importantly the explorer has the right to mine any discovery. It means that if you make a discovery, then another person or company can't take it from you until you relinquish your exploration licence or sell it or JV with a "big brother". In other words a mining company must negotiate with the explorer, even if the explorer is an individual explorer like me. So, reporting a discovery is very important for a holder of an exploration licence. My areas are not near to GRL's, but you learn plenty from reading what they do and why they do it. (Same goes for reading about all of the junior explorers on the ASX). It's an exciting time at the moment for explorers because of the re-newed interest in metals - not just gold, but critical metals, EV metals, rare earths, and more. I am yet to make a discovery, but where there is life there is hope. Good luck amigo.
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