Realistically, pits the size of Admiral / Butterfly, with the grades that exist there, can be mined with a reasonably small SMU (selective mining unit). Even though the main lodes dip at ~ 30 - 40 degrees, their true thickness is nearly always greater than a couple of metres, and so 1.5 metre(ish) flitches can be taken with minimal dilution. At the grades they are talking about sending to the mill, they should be right. That which they do dilute at the edges of the lode can be sent to mineralised waste / heap leach for virtually no dig cost, as it would have been shifted as waste anyway.
I'm no engineer, and bucket size / bcm rates vs fuel will have an impact on their resource conversion and reconciliations, as will long haul costs. Knowing Ken, I can't magine he would not have considered this in commissioning a feas. study however.
Just a few more things to think about. It's not necessarily doom and gloom on a shallowly dipping orebody.
As Always, remember I'm a punter like the rest so DYOR. Only an idiot would make financial decisions on a comment made in a forum by a guy they don't kow and have never met.
NME Price at posting:
13.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
