Hi Wescott,I realise that SDL is very personal for you, and that...

Hi Wescott,

I realise that SDL is very personal for you, and that your posting here is also a big part of what you do and who you are. That allowance made, I also think (as others have also previously remarked) that you quickly get emotional when others pick you up on factual errors, or when you think your status is under threat.

On your immediate reaction, how is my querying Pandev's certainty that Hanlong will be back a negative post on SDL?

Taking your representations (?) of what I have posted one by one

- I have previously said that I think these tenements are good enough to be mined by someone one day. I do think they will come into production. Its a question of when
- Consistent with this I have never said the cost of infrastructure is too much to get into production, just that clearly SDL standalone can't do this
- I have said the big players (Vale, Rio & BHP) won't buy SDL given they have better options in their own portfolios. I have never said no one else is interested - how would I know?
- I have said the Itabirite (but not the DSO) is expensive. I quoited this directly from SDLs own cost curve
- I hardly think western Africa is an unknown risk. The IE valued it this way

And I have complimented SDLs Board and management team a number of times for doing a remarkable job of delivering this takeover price.

> How do you know what the market is telling us?
Look at the share price Westcott. I don't know if it could be put more simply that.