Hi GalvaniseThanks for posting that. Its interesting those...

Hi Galvanise

Thanks for posting that. Its interesting those comments are getting a run again as they were trotted out only a week or two ago.

Of course technically Iran is not a producer yet - but the reserves are there and what a whale Mehdiabad is. The beautiful thing is that the known reserves may not even be half of what is actually there given how open the resource is. This article suggests to me there is the desire to get Mehdiabad moving as soon as possible (read politically possible?).

The Iranian political background is the key to keep in mind here. Currently investment is drawing back from Iran, the economy is suffering high inflation, unemployment is at dreadful levels etc. There is growing pressure, apparently from Supreme Ruler Ayatollah Khameini down, for the President to promote genuine investment in economically stimulating projects. Mehdiabad fits the criteria beautifully and it is, in reality, the confused policies of Ahmadinejad's administration that have held it back to date.

Last weekend most of the board and Rob met in Tehran with Imidro to hold the dispute resolution meeting. I have rung the company today about the outcomes of that. Naturally they are very discrete about confidential discussions so there is a limit to what we will get at this stage. Compromise and agreement is not in place yet but it appears that things are moving forward albeit slower than we would like. Developments around Ahmadinejad's reign will help hasten progress.

From what I can generally gather the project is not far off being able to present to the parliament for release of EL. I suppose a vote there could theoretically go either way. My best guess, from all the press we have been seeing out of Iran, is that the parliament has the will to embrace genuine development projects - in fact they have been calling out for them this week.

There is still a lot of work to be done while we wade through this political weight but I am maintaining my support for the company. Delays now may even present further good buying opportunities for those with long term vision. Good luck to all.