Thanks for your post Rhstone. We also have a lower grade large...

Thanks for your post Rhstone.

We also have a lower grade large scale deposit in Buccaneer.
Joint venturing that for a 50:50 share to a partner in exchange for them paying all capex to first production would be an excellent way to add value for shareholders while at the same time de-risking that project.
The Chinese are said to be interested in gold mines and not worried about high margins or profits. They just want the gold. A large scale multi million ounce mine like Buccaneer should be very attractive to the Chinese. Even a low to moderate margin would add significant value for existing shareholders in ABU if there is nothing to repay. Put it on care and maintenance at times of low gold prices (if necessary), and bring it back on when POG moves higher again.
It would have no debt to repay, no hedging, will not cut into OP cash flow, it will provide profits where none exist or are factored in now and still give us excellent leverage to higher gold prices thanks to the scale of the deposit. All the benefits would be realised much sooner under such a JV as we wouldn't need to wait until OP has built our bank balance, but the benefits would be achieved without the risk.
We would retain 100% of OP and all other tenements.
That would be an excellent deal IMO.
So much so that I will be mentioning it to Darren and hope he considers it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it is something management are already thinking about.
Think about what would happen to our current mc if a partner commits to say $160-230mill in capex.
That should be added to our mc in time, more than doubling our sp. Certainly a significant part of it would be added instantly to the mc.
The added benefits are two mines reduces risk, with OP we move to 150-200koz per year (net to abu) making us a more significant producer and it turns us into a long life producer.