Ann: Suspension from Quotation, page-257

Unfortunately, true. Up until yesterday almost nobody believed we would be in a further suspension as a result of the words “application of the 2023 Mining Code” either. In fact there was a massive chorus previously shouting that down. So I don’t think we can be adamant, assured, certain or absolutely sure of anything yet until we get a fulsome explanation by way of the next market announcement(s) here.

If we’ve learnt anything from FFX too it is not to automatically assume that what we believed to be correct - or what we had been led to believe was correct - will in fact prove to be. Governments (of all stripes) imo are often unreliable, their rules of engagement are frequently prone to reinterpretation, and they rarely hesitate to use levers, loopholes and brush-offs to get what they ultimately want. Majority partners sometimes too.

We’ve all got our theories about what is really going on here but imo you’d be a brave soul to stake your life (or life savings) on it at present, including (whilst very helpful) from Australian-centric interpretations and translations of Mali’s laws, codes, regulations and Ministerial discretion. Important to deal in the facts, yes, but imo best to also do what all good risk managers do by preparing for the worst case scenario rather than feed into the usual “nothing to see here” optimism. Because, of course, if the outcome is much better than expected, the market sinks less than if you’ve just prepped yourself for the optimistic result only to be let down ...yet again.