has the ox come of age?, page-10

re: research out!! Personally have a very high regard for the quality of management and operations.( As to work ethics, reckon they are under managed (!) and the incumbents are actually probably working too hard given the projects on their plate.)

Golden Grove takes the pressure off in terms of cash flow in the short term, spreads commodity risk, allows for senior management rotation between here and Laos to a greater degree, and offers brownfield exploration targets which has developed into a forte for this team.

Quo vardis? The balance sheet is sound, operations are in the lowest quartile in terms of global cost. So which is it ,acquisition or exploration?

I would be punting consolidation for the next twelve months-expanding existing operations, chasing nearby targets in Laos, maybe clean up the Thai exploration position, much more exploration in the Prominent Hill region and southern China, not too much on the acquisition front.

Unless one of these exploration punts brings home the bacon the stock is looking a bit of a yawn at the moment. It has had a superb 5 years plus, but it may be time for a continued long, deep breath. (It has been an underperformer ,if anything, since the rights issue last year!)

Still rank the management highly and they are always capable of surprising.

Cheers,TAS