I agree with you re the 'where would we be now if...' comments and can't for the life of me understand why none of that has happened. It really does look as though they were distracted by Xstrata and PB as the DSO was dropped like a lead brick from that moment on; Management really need to come clean on this one because, as Poet's projections based on earlier Anns indicate, we'd be a far healthier company than we are right now and unlikely to be staring down the barrel of another CR or even TO.
FYI.. if a buyer for the oxide ores couldn't be found then the heap leach SX-EW could have been (still could) undertaken without too much fuss. Contract mining and crushing to <5mm (depending on porosity of the value minerals), pile up onto a HDPE lined pad and add acid via garden sprinklers (yep, get them from Bunnings!). SX-EW plants are modular and pretty much off-the-shelf items. Some capital would be required but not as much as for a float plant and the running costs would be miniscule: no ball mill and, other than a few small pumps, no moving parts at all. Payback can be a little slow to begin with due to the initial percolation time (up to 8-10 weeks!!) before the copper begins to flow. After that it's money for old rope. Given the grades the Heap would be small, acid requirement (ie volumes) low, and yields consistently high and for a long period.
However, if AVB had gone ahead with the above 18, months ago we'd be a MINING Company by now and, as Poet has intimated, our SP would be a long way north of where it is now. Sure, there would have needed to be a minor CR ($15-20m tops) to fund the hardware and initial operating expenses (contract mining/crushing) until the copper begins to flow. If this had been done when we were at 18c the dilution would have been minimal and the market respond favourably.
All my own opinions of course, .. DYOR
BT
AVB Price at posting:
7.7¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
