Along with many holders, I was I was somewhat surprised by the CR and the price level, although a CR wasn't totally unexpected after the 4 week delay in commissioning the new plant. However, teething problems in bringing a new plant into production are the norm rather than the exception,
The gold price in Aussie dollars is actually holding up quite well - about $2,604 this morning, compared to around $2,560 back in early February and through much of 2022, except for the period in March when it hit about $2,830. Although there is certainly a risk of further downside in the A$ price while the US dollar is so high, when the gold price turns many people much smarter than me believe that it will embark on a strong and sustained upward trajectory.
As far as I recall, Norseman was successful and profitable for many years, and I think that the closure resulted from not just a low gold price but also some inadequate safety measure issues, and I think that sadly there were 2 deaths. However, from what I recall and from what PNR/TUL have announced, Norseman still contains numerous existing mines and old workings with plenty of high grade gold and with plenty of highly prospective ground to explore, all within viable trucking distance of the plant, which should keep the plant filled for many years to come. In fact, I would expect to see the plant capacity increased within a few years.
The 160,000 tonnes of ore already on the ROM should allow uninterrupted feed for the mill, and the excellent assays from recent drilling hold promise of profitable grades ahead.
My main interest in PNR is the gold, but I note that the lithium and nickel deposits have also been getting some favourable mentions.
As for Halls Creek, we have waited patiently for that to fulfill its promise, but at last there are signs that the gold production and cost structure will improve now that most of the Covid restrictions, costs and bottlenecks are behind us. The non-recurring capex and exploration costs have had some adverse impact while production was down, but as well as increasing the gold reserves, the exploration has turned up some very promising PGE finds, and I think we might see Halls Creek contributing some attractive cashflow in the years ahead.
Overall, I'm fairly bullish about PNR's prospects, and I'll probably top up at the current SP.
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