Michael Kiernan is a cluey bloke I've watched for a long time,...

Michael Kiernan is a cluey bloke I've watched for a long time, so it was interesting that he should mention Batavia in an aside to other issues in this interview ... the inference being that Batavia is very much alive:

Monarch cash aim

Speaking of ConsMin, its former boss Michael Kiernan is looking to raise up to another $10 million from shareholders for his latest venture, Monarch Gold, after buying up $3 million worth of shares for himself last month.
Monarch needs the cash to get its Dayhurst project up and running at about 100,000 ounces of production a year. But Kiernan's aspirations for Monarch don't stop there.

By 2009 he wants Monarch to be producing 500,000 ounces a year. And not all of that growth will be organic. "We're always talking with people about mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures," Kiernan told Xchange.

Talks with troubled Tanami Gold fell over last year, but he notes Batavia Mining has some good ground near Monarch's tenements. And when asked whether he might consider a tie-up with ambitious Melbourne miner St Barbara, which has the goal of producing 1 million ounces a year by 2010, Kiernan says it could be possible once Monarch gets into production in about six months.
"They do have similar goals," Kiernan says. "[St Barbara managing director Ed Eshuys] knows where I am. I know where Ed is."