The scoping study of Feb 2010 held promise of AVB becoming a...

The scoping study of Feb 2010 held promise of AVB becoming a producer in the short term, even if on a modest scale. Being a producer of course generates a market re-rate upwards.

With 25,000m of exciting drilling planned for Antas South and looking at its progress to date, one certainly needs to ask is there a company policy of not mining until drilling is concluded?

If so, then it is possible that there will be no real mining until 2013... even with extra rigs! (Those extra rigs also have to work Serra Verde etc so not all Antas South.)

That is to say Antas South drilling will occupy this year, and certainly most of next year.. and then with the wet coming on, mining is unlikely to start until the following year. Ouch!

I note that both recent appointments were exploration geologists... with no responsibility for overseeing the commencement of mining operations whatsoever.

So... is AVB a pure exploration play for now??

The Vale deal is fine but it may only bring in $40m which is a mere 4 cents per share, and even that is years away.
The operating profit of the (High Grade only ) mining was suggested as $57m, but as everyone knows copper has gone up and the resource (let us say) has at least doubled!

So maybe it now has a notional attributable value of 12cps
4cps plus say 12cps confortably underpins todays share price of 16c.

What I would dearly love to see, and what would (deservedly) cause a significant SP rise I believe is for commencement shortly of the promised DSO operation, which after all only takes out and direct ships a modest quantity each year.

Can the people who are employed at great expense to oversee exploration, also be tasked with the job of planning their exploration such that an area is drilled and released for mining and direct shipping of very High Grade Ore.

That is, actively plan to get going and run both operations CONCURRENTLY, instead of dragging it out unnecessarily. Not wishing to be a cynic, but it seems extending things out instead of reacting to some sense of urgency, furthers the lucrative employment of company personnel, and does not help shareholders. In any case by commencement of shallow mining one can also get a better idea of what is there and it can itself form part of the exploration program.

An announcement that AVB is enthusiastically firing up its mining operations, procuring equipment etc and not just sitting back and observing the constant mixed and periodic drill results (which is after all the easy stuff), would really boost this fantastic stock I suggest!

Patience is ok.. up to a point.