Hi there all - I went on a trip out to West Whumbal and Mt Carbine today. Do I have any news breaking stories about RAU - sorry no I have not.
I did have several hours with JK visiting sites and chatting from everything to RAU to the cricket and AFL, Rugby and anything in general plus a nice cold beer.
I will say though that he seems to be a genuine nice honest bloke who knows his stuff and knows RAU inside and out as a good manager should. He confirmed information about the international visit from a Chinese company recently and that plans are underway for a return visit by these investors in January. He seemed confident and enthusiastic about this return visit as the Chinese folks are already making plans to come back and chat.
This was as JK had already indicated in the ASX announcement and BRR that the first meeting was very very positive and the Chinese guys were very keen to have follow-up discussions with Republic to explore any possibility of future working relationships between the companies. I thought that was extremely positive and Republic are keen for the next trip as well.
The Mt Carbine site is huge - very very huge and a bl%%dy big pit already there and to progress to start mining the ore is a matter of pumping out some water and get into it. Obviously I am not a miner but power and water already there and a bitumen road past the front gate and functional quarry business and machinery, dozers, trucks, fences, plant, signage etc etc etc plus business contracts was all there. Negotiations are still happening so the question is will it happen - I do not know so ask JK but from talking with people in and around the region most seem to think it will. Republic seem keen to get it as well.
Had a bit of a chat with a few other people who had some history with the mine and they indicated that when Mt Carbine was operating before as a Tungsten mine the mining operations was a little hit and miss and the mine did not use technology or drilling results to find ore to then process it. The mine decided on which ore to process by simply looking for certain types of rock and especially quartz formations. They would not process the other ore and throw it to the reject ore dump.
One of these guys at the Mt Molloy Hotel quipped (he must have heard about running the ultra violet lights to find surface samples of Tungsten) that some of the roads around here might glow in the dark under an ultra violet light from road base used from the quarry - they used rock and mix from the reject ore dump to make the road mix for many of the roads. There is still 15 or 16 million tonnes left in the reject ore dump. Those drilling results may be very interesting
With new technology and drilling the mine could possibly be run far more efficiently that is was previously. I think it ran for 17 or 19 years hit and miss so a good mine manager and experience of Neb and JK and the RAU crew may also be a huge difference - irrespective of Tungsten increasing in value 4 or 5 times in the last couple of years - so I think it’s a great mining site
What else can I tell you about the visit? It was pretty hot and the tenements that RAU have are bl%%dy big. We did not go out to Tregoora and missed many parts of the RAU sites but it was still over a 4 & 1/2 hour round trip.
Would I trust John Kelly - yes I would -I think he is a good operator. Will RAU get Mt Carbine - look I do not know but many people that live in the region tend to think that it will happen but that is not up to me to guess or say - that is RAU and the Nicholson Group's decision. Yes, I do have a bit of a punt and yes I would put some hard earned on RAU clinching the deal. Do I have any reasons or anything substantial - no just a gut feeling? When will it happen - Far North Queensland closes down this time of year like the NT where I come from so my guess is January and yes I would also love it to happen next week but that would be unlikely in my humble opinion as this joint is a tad remote but who knows - I don't
Fire some questions to me if you want and I will try to answer as best I can but I do not know much – however seeing the sites and chatting with John made me feel a lot better and comfortable and I have a bit better knowledge in my head of the area. I may get on line tomorrow (50:50) during the day or pretty late in the evening to give me some time to get badck to you
Hoges – this is a bit long sorry but such is life and the above is my interpretation of the visit and trip so all just my opinions and views and nobody elses
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