I cannot stand all that talk about extending LOM because it indicates still trying to solve problems of the past. The verdict has been spoken, LOM of current ops is very limited and there is just one way to prolong LOM: alter the pit designs once gold price is high enough.So there will be maybe a year in increase because Larken and Spearpoint may have more potential then currently shown and there will be some improvements at Smarts, maybe even 10 or 20k very high grade ounces from underground ("partial underground mining").
Smarts underground would be a new mine. LOM limitations do not apply. But is Troy ready to tackle that one now? Do not forget there is no undergound mining in Guyana. Once Guyana Goldfields is mining underground for several years there will be trained labour available for hire, so maybe an advantage to start mining undergound then.
Goldstar ressources are something completely different, but I would put that into the exploration category.
The LOM problem is more likely to get solved by finding an additional 1-2m oz deposit. Troy essentially became an explorer. I think that is one of the reasons why the share price is so low. We have a lot of old investors onboard. They invested in a mining company where you could calculate value using basic math skills, reserve and margin figures etc. Now that has become impossible and employing such an approach will lead to a low value. At the same time those guys do not see a lot of value besides Karouni. The Casposo stake. The royalties. The corporate shell and the carried losses. That is why I repeat to mention those assets. Not worth much if you had to sell now. Considering we get a gold bull market the Sandstone royalties could be worth a double digit figure in the millions. Of course all that pales in comparison what is possible at Karouni. Maybe there is an Omai-sized deposit. Chances are not that bad because Troy has multiple world-class targets. Another Omai would btw. imply a share price of more than A$4 if margins stay the same. If all of those targets fail and only part of Goldstar would be feasible at lower grades, let's say 500k ounces at $1000 AISC, even that would bring back the share price in the 30s.
So exploration is key and must not be compromised in the future. At least capital should not be the bottleneck.
I hope Troy will get out results of the current 4000m rc drill campaign at Ohio Creek before the AGM.
