I am pretty sure that the Coyote plant is capable of running 240,000 tpa as is and is able to be scaled up with little effort to 300,ooo tpa, plus the test plant on site with the ore can do 50,000 tpa and be scaled up with little investment as well.
Past ABU Co statement (Staged Development stages), say year 2 100k oz is the plan, with no change in between.
Re Gold Company Price's
In recent years the USA Federal reserve has been undermining Gold in order to protect the US currency as the worlds reserve currency, (the reserve currency gets to print money out of thin air to lend to Banks to stimulate the economy - QE using Fiat currency with faith based value)
China and Russia are accumulating Gold in order to have Gold backed currency and become reserve currencies, that have backing and fortitude. (With an actual store of wealth backing those currencies Gold)
The ex CEOs of the big USA investment banks (the ones that caused the GFC - banks that work for themselves - don't need deposits - don't need to lend and also trade paper gold that does not exist ETF's)
Goldman and the like, those ex CEOs on retirement from the investment banks, go and run the USA federal reserve bank, who in turn dictate the USA Government economy.
Two big USA investment banks a little while back, mysteriously sold 80+ tons of gold in the last 10 minuet's of trading on a Friday on the NY stock exchange. The Gold price tanked over night.
The resulting huge drop in the Gold price, undermined confidence in Gold and as the Gold Price tanked all of the safe haven Gold investors, were driven back into the USA econom,
QE by force.Much like an overnight drop in the Oil price is QE by stealth and we are meant to believe that increased production, led to an over night supply glut, instead of a steady drop in price.
No doubt those two investment banks, not only profited from getting the cream gold price for the gold sales, but they very probably shorted Gold at the bottom end and made money there as well, playing both side of the fence, sort of like insider trading, knowing that they were going to control the market for the Gold price and drive it down. Market manipulation!
The Gold Price in us$ drops as the US $ rises, so gold has got a lot of negative press and the safe haven investors in Gold were left with a very bad taste in their mouth.
As a gold producer and in AU$, as the Australian dollar drops against the US$, the Gold price in Australian dollars goes up or remains in a less volatile trading range.
Gold drops in America goes up in Australia, because the US$ went up and the AU$ dropped.
But all most people see and are sold, is the US$ price of Gold and the resulting negative sentiment form US press. Plus big fund investors deserted the Gold market (until now that is),
Most countries store their Gold reserves with the USA Fed, BOE "for safe keeping" (ha ha - black mailing more like). Germany asked for its Gold reserves back from the US Fed and was told "NO", you have to wait a government changing 7 years, Germany asked to inspect its Gold reserves with the US fed to prove they were actually there, and was told "NO".
The government changed in Germany now it no longer needs its Gold back, as asking for it and not getting it would impact the German and every other economy with Gold reserves stored in the US Fed, BOE etc...
Contrary to popular belief the US fed is not a government institution, it was set up by a hand full of the wealthiest people in the world at the time, half a dozen people who owned half the worlds wealth.
Many years ago a US government tried to bring the US fed under control was told, "The country will fall before the bank" and the government caved in.
Goldman lent Grease to much money and at the same time bet that grease would get into trouble.
If grease leaves the Euro zone, and says flat no to getting deeper in debt, just o pay debts it has no chance of paying off at the expense of its people bailing out Goldman, expect all sorts of fire works under the gold price, it will drag Spain, France Italy into the same boat.
The worlds big banks effectively failed in the GFC and are insolvent, the people who run the banks and now run the Fed, advised the US gov, to put the taxpayers into debt (advising the way out of debt is even more debt and give the debt to tax payers) to save the banks.
Plus the US banks got to do creative accounting, like re classify bad depts,
I.E houses now worth less than the money lent to buy them during sub prime scandal, are reclassified as long term investments, as bad debts would bankrupt the bank, who owns the loans or the credit default swap insurance policy that would need to puy the bank for the "potential" bad debts it insured, after lending people money who should never have been given credit.
I saw last week, I think of 480 billion ish, that Grease has taken to stay afloat, has all gone right to Goldman apart from 15 billion ish.
Hence all gold companies are down in recent years, because the confidence trick is to talk up us US economy, to get the public borrowing again and investing in the USA.
It will also be interesting to see what happens, once the 0% interest rates rise in the USA, as the money that was printed has been lent to already insolvent banks and people in a 0% interest rate environment, and the free money is curently driving the US stock market.
DUe to the above, ABU is just a victim of the Gold market bad sentiment in recent times, as are all gold related investments.
But as a post here yesterday or the day before showed, big US funds (predators) are now looking in Australia for Junior Gold investments that can give a potential 10 x return, with hostile or friendly takeover and cash injection.
The exchange rate drop in the AU$ v US$ has made Australian Gold companies very attractive recently to big USA Fund money.
Please don't take anything I say as investment advice, but all of this can be researched and confirmed.
My enthusiasm comes from the fact that I purchased Tanami shares that rose 1600% at one point,
ABU purchased the majority Tanami Golds main assets, all the exploration land, the start of Tanami GOlds downfall.
In my opinion ABU are in the best position to grow from cash flow, as well as being in a much better position than Tanami Gold were.
At 50k oz there is a ten year mine life, excluding other inventory.
There is a good profit margin that can be substantially improved with cash flow reinvestment from production and short term cost reduction, such as operator employed work force, not trucking ore a 140kms round trip to the plant, rather moving the plant to the ore.
Fuel savings and higher throughput.
Plus my wife and I own a fair few shares in ABU.
I am not even a lefty, but recent years have highlighted the excess, that the USA and the world can go to , with self interested bankers running the government through control of the money supply.
Regards Mark
ABU Price at posting:
24.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)