borrowings, page-41

("You seem to have a knack for missing the point. If they had of hedged there would of been some form of cost. An outright premium, an increased rate. Somehow it would of cost them something.")

No Surly,

I didn't miss the point at all. It is the Company's Executives (Our Employees) that miss the whole thing altogether and costed us money. A lot of money!!! And there are some posters here that are intentionally missing that point as well.

It is of no use trying to find excuses for the Company in what they did lol. The Company's Exceutives and the Board has stuffed up, and in a big way. From the budgeting to the borrowing, and finally to the proper and full disclosure. Personally I would like to go and Audit their books (for free) and see what else I would find. But of course that would not be allowed, and unless you are prepared to get a Court Order/Injunction, impossible.

Now Surly, getting back to your post.

Hedging would have cost no way near what it costed us now. Hedging is a form of Insurance that the price you have locked into a contract is maintained. You take insurance for your house, (If you own one), car, sickness and accident, etc. You take insurance cover for sickness and accident even if you don't believe that you are going to become sick, just in case. The same applies to hedging.
If you understand Forex and how it works, when you are going to change some money (I don't mean small amounts at the Exchange booth on the main street or at the Airport, but reasonably larger amounts), you will see that the person you are dealing with, will go and talk to someone else and that someone will ring someone else to get a fixed rate to be locked in so that they don't get caught with their pants down either. The money that has been locked at that figure is immediately sold out to someone else ready and waiting for it, who will sell it to someone else that needs it to seal a contract. And the wheel will continue to go around even if money never changed hands at that stage of the game. And it will all end up to the Futures Exchange in the dear old US of A. Chicago. Supply and demand of that currency will determine the value of the currency at that particular time.

Now, why do you think that the $AUD is higher in value and above parity of the $USD at the moment?? Supply and demand, simple as that. Just the same as for any products/produce that goes to market. And why does/is the $AUD rating so highly now ?? Think about it !! Because many foreign Companies and Investors want to be dealing with us and investing in Australia because of our stability and the resources we have to offer. As such, for them to invest in Australia, they will need to convert their currency to $AUD currency so that they spend it here, causing a demand and increasing the demand of the $AUD, thus reducing the supply. The less the $AUD available to be exchanged, the higher the price of it (Exchange rate) will go.
And Yes, even our Interest rates are higher than what they are in other Countries, causing Investors to park/shift their money here instead of leaving it in their own banks earning very little in return.

Many mining and oil companies are hedging their resources to make sure of evading the problems of market fluctuations and the volatility which, in most cases, if not all of them, is caused by traders. The Chicago futures exchange for instance, IMHO is the main culprit. There, they trade on anything you can think of. Hence why they want to be able to trade even the Carbon Scheme there. They will trdae on anything that will make (Or loose) money. Yes, soon it may even be hot air that they will be trading on, lol.

Now, what I am trying to say here is, if these mining and oil companies are smart enough to hedge some of their resources just in case of an adverse reaction to their plans, why wouldn't GBG that is not way near in full production like many others, wouldn't do such a thing???

Hedging gives/offer a security that you will not be subject, nor suffer the consequences, to an unexpected undesirable change to your plans that could send you to the wall. GBG has borrowed some 10 figures amount here, NOT PENNIES, and any fluctuations in the Forex rate would have made a serious difference. And it has!!!!

You may now say that if the Forex rate was going to dive we would have been better off and that is fair enough. But, what are we!!. Are we a future mining company seeking to borrow money, or are we a gambling house that gamble with shareholder's funds, lol.

Finally my friend, may I remind you that you are frequenting a Forum where there are many posters that are always ready to push their own barrow driven by a self interest. There are many Day Traders and ST traders here as well that all they care for is to make that quick trade regardless of what the consequences may be. Someone is even forecasting that our sp could go back to the mid 50's. Why is that!! Because IMO, if you are a Long Term Investor of GBG the sudden bounces in the sp will matter very little if anything at all. The only time that you will be concerned at the sp value, and what you will get in return for your investment, is when you will be ready to sell.

I hope that this will help.

Good luck.