To: loantech who wrote (167994 ) 7/6/2009 11:31:35 AM From: E. Charters Read Replies (1) | Respond to I queried (albeit briefly) their mining team leader who had recently been hired. It was not a long convo, but I have a bit of mining experience so I could get a feel to whether they had solutions and hope for better economics quite quickly. It was extremely encouraging. He provide quick responses to "interrogation" that did not falter, and furthermore was convincing that there was a new broom, and their new techniques would work. Chief areas of concern were paste fill method, which they mentioned in the past was a problem. dilution, mining rate etc. The reasons the fill methods were slow or did not work was explained. (lack of access chutes to stopes in new development areas. You have to have overhead high angle raises from which to pump concrete down into a stope. From the same level this is difficult because you have to pump the stuff sideways. Too many twists and turns and you get blockages. I had worked on cut and fill at the Kerr so I knew the problem. I suggested they use at level stope-specific high pressure machines, move dry materials by car, mix and pump slurry vertically a short distance.) The new direction of the new staff on tackling problems of this sort and their predictions of the time frame to economics lends credence to the supposition that an implementation of a solution was in hand and on track. KGI has high grade, a fairly intensive exploration program, impressive widths, infrastructure in place and expansion planned. A good, profitable operation should be in the offing. I would keep checking their operations that such milestones that lend confidence are being met, to continue to give comfort that going long such producers who have upside written in is a good strategy in an expanding gold market.
