biscuit,The whole delay saga has taken it's toll on one and...

biscuit,

The whole delay saga has taken it's toll on one and all.

Nov AGM presentation definitely stated first pour in January while an early release on 29 July stated 6-9 months.

If the AGM projection was for the start with the existing 350k CIL plant then the only reason I can think of for the delay is that they may have made a late decision to expand the plant capacity to 700k/tonne pa from the original 350k from the outset of production rather than wait until production had started. This may have meant more work than originally planned which saw the commissioning having to wait until the expansion was complete??

Just my musings but this may have accounted for the "unexpected" cap raising too, get the expansion done now and then have uninterupted production.

Sometimes it's good to get capital under your belt considering the current credit markets, it all seems rosy atm but with Europe and the US having ongoing fiscal issues, credit could come to a screeching halt in a short space of time. If it means we can increase the oz we produce sooner rather than later then it might end up being a good move. Not running any debt means they might not run a hedge too, so they may be able to get some good leverage on the increasing POG.



Agree though mate, silence can be deafening at times and I think we all would have appreciated some sort of ann to explain any delays. Maybe they were scared to spoil Pato's party of late.

On a brighter note, here's a fairly positive article on where gold stocks might go, just another pro gold bug's view so always consider counter opinions.

What Does $1,500 Gold Really Mean?