Expecting/hoping the quarterly comes out this week.
Given stamp duty payable of around $7 million payable, lower gold price and higher capex may be looking at around $20 million cash for the quarter rather than the greater than $30 million we've had for the last few quarters. This should be a one off I expect as the proceeds for Andy Well to come in the Jan-Mar quarter, grades at Karonie to improve and lower priced hedging to start rolling off as the year goes on so SLR should continue to pump out over $30 million a quarter going forward.
Obviously in terms of operational performance the last 12 months have been outstanding. Having said that I am frustrated by the lack of drilling that has been going on. We've basically only had one drilling update from Mt Monger in the last 12 months (excluding one off drill result in Sept). Deflector drilling has been outstanding but I would have liked to see Spanish Galleon or King Solomon drilled out as well along with a number of prospects. I've attached some prior slide figures showing the numerous options SLR has at it's disposal. With over $300 million in the bank, my first preference for the cash is to ramp up drilling. Only 20% of SLR resources are reserves so why not expand and define more resources and reserves so that the company can be re-rated in terms of mine life.
I'm also hoping that further hedging has been locked in - SLR shouldn't haven't have any problem reaching $400 million by the end of this calendar year with existing hedges and gold still delivering almost $1000 per ounce.
Also looking for details on the Santa Fe open pit and the new mine profile at Deflector which should hopefully increase reserves and lower ASIC. That sort of news would be a welcome counter price to the gold price doldrums of late.
During these times of bankstering of the gold price its important the company keep up its communications and lays out a plan for growth. With over $300 million in cash, it resource size and grade plus its numerous brownfield options there's plenty to be excited about but unless you do your own research (which most don't) investor's aren't going to know the quality asset the SLR is.
A lot of the smaller exploration stocks haven't come back as much as the mid-tier miners (thanks to stock lenders who don't invest in small caps and therefore can't facilitate shorting) so no real bargains out there - but obviously if gold keeps going lower opportunities will arise - the cash balance is only going to keep rising.
GLTA/IMHO
