@Davisite, I have to disagree with your hypothesis on the reason for the”sudden” increase in inventory. On April 28 the inventory sat at 73,000cts. Then the funding package was announced on June 28, along with a big jump in inventory to 47,000cts. So there was no real slowdown due to financial restrictions prior to the finance package. In fact
after the funding package announcement things seemed to slow a bit, with the next number only rising to 132k on July 20. Then up to 147k on Aug 16, then a nice jump to 176k on Sept 4.
The CN funding had already become available on or after July 24, so there was absolutely no reason for the AM teams to hold back their rubies, as cash was available to pay them then.
This recent huge jump has come about from the last update on September 4 till now. The comapny has had access to funding since July4, so nothing to do with artisanals hoarding rubies because a lack of cash! The company has given their reasons, and there are many more clues embedded in previous announcements. In fact back on June 7 they said this:
June 7, 1017 – Inventory 73,000cts
"Initial manual test pitting by Mustang across a broader area of 8245L (new lease) has generated strong results, with 11.75cts (9.45ct ruby and 2.30ct corundum) recovered from 2,726kgs of gravel (from seven manually dug pits) processed through Bushman Jigs….The increasing throughput means Mustang is also on track to achieve its target of building a ruby inventory of 200,000 carats
ahead of its planned initial auction in October this year. This will provide an opportunity to
increase the volume of rubies available for sale in the October auction."
So they were already predicting a jump in inventory above the 200k goal back then!
Also:
"To date, 5,692 m3 (8,823 tonnes) have been processed for 4,445.3 cts., including
consistent recovery of high quality stones larger than 3cts (classified as “Special/Premium Stones”)."
So not only increased through-put, more productive yields, but consistent better quality "special" rubies are being recovered in the new area!
Also on
Aug 16, 2017 – Inventory 147,000
"Mustang has now accumulated a
70,000-tonne gravel stockpile sourced from nine different pits. With a large supply of gravel in the stockpile, sample processing activities can now focus on
optimising plant throughput and maximizing ruby recoveries in the lead-up to the October auction.
Processing of gravels excavated from the bulk sample pits is a key focus leading to the October auction.
The new secondary deposits located to the South East of the plant are
proving to be lucrative in yielding high-quality secondary rubies from the near-surface colluvial/elluvial gravels."
Sept 4, 2017 – Inventory 178,000
"The latest increase follows a
record month of production in August, during which the plant at the Montepuez project in Mozambique delivered 15,613 carats from the 34,561 tonnes processed."
Another factor is the increase in the AM teams. This cant be underestimated. We know this has grown now to over 200 men. Why? Well these teams are the people from the local villages. If you know Africa, and any indigenous people for that matter, you will know that they are fiercely territorial. So moving onto this new lease, you cant just take you AM workers from one area and relocate them to this new one! There would be war!!! We know there were many AM's there already, so they would have had a team there negotiating with the local chief, villages, and AM's and convincing them to come into the MUS team. Hence the big jump in workers reported
We also know they have always had a "Bushman's Jig there because it is used to process the drill samples on site. But now they report:
"strong results from the Company’s artisanal miner development program (AMDP) following the
implementation of “bushman jigs” and sorting tables."
So they have started to supply multiple jigs into the AM areas! If you go on to YouTube and look at the videos there on the artisanal workings, it is horrifying! They manually dig pits and dangerous tunnels to find a few rubies to sell for pittance for a mere existence! MUS trains them, equips them, provides safety guidance, and has now mechanized them, maximizing their efforts .... this is HUGE!
So all the info explaining the huge jump in production is all there in front of us IMO
