requirements for funding, page-18

I don't think PP has an agenda. I think he's a bit like me: sees the potential but is worried about if we'll get there.

I don't think directors tell the unvarnished truth either. Of curse they're going to put the best possible light on things. That doesn't mean they've done anything illegal or that they're lying.

Let's remind ourselves of what they said in Feb 2010

Copper production ~5,000tpa
Capex US$12.4M (pre-production US$2M) US$120M
Total revenueUS$57M *
Cash flow US$51/t ore 86c/Lb Cu**
FOB at smelter cost US$1.7/Lb Cu***

And they were looking at 24 month turnaround time.

So, more or less, they could have been mining by now, or close to it. With only a 12M capex spend funding would have been easier and Antas North would be "phase 2" not "phase 1".

And the money that they would have made would make up for the Vale fiasco. For fiasco it is. Just think: they could be funding their 50 million dollar plant expansion from the profits of phase 1.

Didn't happen did it?

So just because AVB published an announcement saying "positive feasibility study" doesn't mean they're going to build it does they? Because they already haven't.

Kalenn, nothing you've said explains why they couldn't pursue both options. If you've got a bigger pot of gold in the distance that doesn't stop you from taking the smaller pot right in front of you does it? I think BlueTurtle's earlier comments that they hoped for a two prong approach and one of the prongs fell off seems much more likely: maybe AS looked good to start with but when it all came together was too risky and marginal.

Anyway if they're going to pull out a result now's the time to do it, with copper maybe improving.