the aussie pioneers of west africa gold, page-2

Yes, interesting read, buts it been very obvious for a long time

Newcrest without Ridgeway at Cadia would have been under the water well and truly by now.

Look at the MINEX presentations by Richard Schodde (you should be able to find this by google)

The abysmal discovery record

High cost of discovery for anything except Iron Ore as it is still sticking out like the proverbial, even when it is under a bit of cover...but all else its a long time between drinks, and most die of thirst.

Long lead time to make a discovery, ...

and then longer lead time to do the various negotiations, jump through the myriads of red tape...to get a mine into operation...

The ever growing environmental regulations, even just to do basic exploration, greenfields.

Ever growing HSC regulations...

High cost structures...

Difficulty in raising money for Australian Exploration because of the Australian track record ....If the average cost of fining a 1 m oz deposit is $70 per ounce, then this means a company has to raise continually about $70m. Most Juniors start with $5m IPO raise, so they then have to be able to raise another $65m to make their discovery without diluting shareholders...a tough ask, with no gaurantees...


Off to West Africa next month!