Hi MCertainly disappointing to see circumstances where more...

Hi M

Certainly disappointing to see circumstances where more folks can buy a share of the assets at a big discount to the true value as a fully utilised going concern.

We were only funded to get to about 20% capacity and were relying on strong profits flowing from a copper price of $13,500 (plus if costs rose) to fund the ramp up development costs.

Instead we find ourselves with prices down and cost certainly rising with a reversion to the bad old days of collective bargaining before Bob Hawke sorted out enterprise bargaining.

Unfortunately the assets are only worth a multiple of what they can earn on the day and the folks who stump up the seed capital to increase the earnings need to earn their reward. Fortunately we rise with them.

If your right about Lachlan knowing he needed to raise capital he did a sterling acting job at the Fremantle conference trying to boost the price up before the announcement.

If he had been successful he would have lost a few new friends who would have every right to think they were dudded. I hope he isn't that devious.

Whilst long term shareholders are rightly disappointed to learn that the forecast profits are now not sufficient to fund the ramp up and more capital is needed to achieve that, we have at worst been given false hope by omission I don't think we have been dudded.

There is always a silver lining.

The share price that capital is available at has risen from 3.1c to 5.1c to ?? c in a couple of years. Which is a pretty good result, thanks in a big way to the injection of the needed capital.

Imagine where we would be if we were sitting on $40m of debt. Doesn't bear thinking about. The people who provided the fresh equity deserve their rewards.

Hopefully we will, after a bit more capital is raised to offset the loss in forecast net earnings, get another step up in production from 20% and be back into strong free cash being generated even at current prices.

The shorter the time taken to get the plant full the better.

At least we are generating positive cash flow from operations at 20% capacity but not enough to fund the expansion unfortunately.