Tomato,
uthor: WillP -- Date:1999-02-18 09:07:15
Subject: Mine, mine...all mine!
Well...that sounds like a pretty strong vote of
confidence!
I don't share it. Nor does anybody with cash.
Let's face one thing...the tonnage is trivial. I'll
gladly concede Dr. Bob his cone for the
purpose of this post. You've now got 100
million tonnes of 'stuff'.
What is this stuff? Well, it's diamond
bearing...probably between 1.0 and 1.6 carats
per tonne. It has a lower than normal
distribution curve, so there are more larger
stones than the grade would imply. Good so
far. Of course...we don't know that, yet.
It's got gems...real live gems. If you want to
buy the 'salting angle'...there's way too many
problems with the theory. Too many labs...too
much core logging...too many JV partners with
JV partners with a rep to worry about.
Lakefield Research *is* an independent lab,
after all, and most if not all of those larger
stones were embedded in the core. The
Kennecott plant at Mirimar's Con mine *is*
owned by Diavik...and hence RTZ, is it not?
So it's got gems. But how many? And what
value?
Hence...not only is the bulk sample
necessary...and possibly a larger one after this
one for full 'bankable feasibility'...but so is
peppering the minimum required mine area with
fairly closely spaced drill holes. This has
already been started over the NW peninsula. If
it starts in other areas as well...you might start
to see a vision of a grander scheme at Snap
Lake.
Could it be that your Dr. Bob really wants to
see this property producing in his lifetime? The
slow methodical approach of Winspear is
apparently (if you believe rumour) miffing it's
JV partner. A 2006 startup is a long time off.
Short answer...Winspear would need to raise
about $100 million (all on their own) to fully
implement the MRDI study. How? Not by
debt financing. Certainly not out of the blue like
this. Equity? At what issue price? $1.50 to
$2.00 per share? Possibly. That won't support
a $3.30 share price.
Actually...airstrips can be burned in pretty
quickly. They already know the prevailing
winds there...just need the equipment to carve
it out. And a few other things. ;-)
Regards,
WillP
Top
Reply
Author: teevee -- Date:1999-02-18
09:40:10
Subject: do you get the drift?
WillP, George Albino may well be
correct in his statement that Winspear
will need a substantial underground
program to sample the cone sheet in
several blocks in order to establish the
value of the diamonds to a bankers
satisfaction.
Here is a hypothetical scenario for you
too consider.....Imagine if Winspear
bought a 100 tonne per day portable
diamond plant (they are available for
about $1million bucks)? This could be
set up on site (probably a couple of flat
bed trailer loads) under an inflatable
structure in a very short period of time.
A decline could then be driven right
down the cone sheet, to cross cuts
heading off to individual blocks for test
mining and grade evaluation (as an aside,
subject to finding the feeder zone, they
could ramp down the cone sheet through
payable rock all the way to the pipe).
The rock could be run through the
portable diamond plant and likely
provide substantial offsetting cash
flows(maybe even positive ones),
assuming the grades stand up.
A portable plant would also be very
handy for processing samples from any
new discoveries from the adjoining
hilltop claims where 8 indicator mineral
trains are being followed up. There is
good potential for a new pipe cluster to
be found here.
regards, teevee
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