I would not say that the quarterly was terrible but does show that there is a long way to go still. The underground mining is going in the right direction with the 65% increase but we were all hoping for more.
I certainly do not see SH hitting the 60,000 tonnes quarterly design capacity in the September quarter especially after the last production stop. I beleive the issues are mostly now related to the labour tensions and I hope that the discussions with the DMR have highlighted to management that they must prioritise this.
What can we expect for the next quarters production? Provided there are no further production stops and labour unrest it should be reasonable to look at 10,000 - 12,000 Oz.
On the growth strategy I would be hoping that even though less profitable due to the higher Australian cost base PLA can fast track Panton. This will diversify the political / labour risk away from South Africa.
The share price should stay around current levels in my view until we see the next quarterly or have some clear indication on improved production at SH before then.
BR Max
PLA Price at posting:
30.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
