Speaking of Mt Cattlin being a “liability” and “costing us...

Speaking of Mt Cattlin being a “liability” and “costing us money”....
I posted this 5 or 6 weeks ago, directly from the half-year report.




Australian operations: EBITDA +$5m

Like I said the other day, even IF it is actually costing us money to operate in the current crappy pricing environment, we can survive far more comfortably than many of our peers before the supply-demand shift naturally forces prices higher again. How long will others survive if we are losing money? Scenarios like colin proposed of $500 prices for 3 years are simply not sustainable as producers will shut up shop and the dynamic then shifts rapidly.

Sure, we are spending money on a few things to grow the business, but that’s a key part of business, so I am not worried in the slightest.

Those claiming that the cash spend rate will continue, or somehow must continue, are sadly misguided, because a lot of it is discretionary expenditure, which we can turn up or down as we please.
Do you not think the company is very aware of issues like “running out of money” etc, or do we think they are like a 5-year old who has just smashed open the piggy bank and are in the candy shop..?

Smart spending at this point in the cycle can be very rewarding. Looking forward to see how the whole A40 thing turns out. They didn’t muck around there when it came to the pointy end, and I really wonder how many on here have actually been involved in such business activities -  I haven’t, and I therefore don’t start making all sorts of judgements or conclusions as to the merit or otherwise of those strategic manoeuvres. A lot of “armchair expert” commentary on that.... we’ll see who was close when it all plays out!

I did some work for Newcrest a while back; one of their mines had AISC of over $1800/oz iirc, a lot higher than the price of gold at the time.
“Losing” money there at a cracking pace, but in the bigger picture it wasn’t an issue. Push through the tough times and sail through the good!! They will come.