RE: Q&A - directors talk interviews12 Apr 2021 14:48
slow news day.... just a reminder of what we have to look forward to since there's "going to be a series of constant news flow going here until production, which is all positive."
Q2: Now that shipping has started, what are the next steps?
A2: Well, the critical next step and the obvious one that we’ve talked about clearly in that announcement is that we need vest 20% and how does that occur?
Well, it really works by, in essence, us reaching a settlement agreement with the secure bank creditors, once that’s occurs, that is a precondition of the creditor approved JRP – Judicial Review Process. Once that occurs, we reach a settlement agreement, our $2.5 million exists in escrow will be released and we will get our 20% of the assets.
From there, once we’ve got our 20% in the asset, that process of taking it from what is going to be shipping its iron on a regular basis over 18 to 24 months, that iron ore being utilised for the redevelopment of the asset and carrying out studies to feasibility study levels. That will then allow us to finance the project, either through partly a debt project finance, through the stockpiles that are occurring and some equity. After that, once you finance the project, you construct it, you look to production.
Now, from when we get our 20% to when we go into full-time production, i.e., not from the stockpile, we estimate that it’s going to be around 24 months or thereabouts to get to that point.
So that’s an aggressive target but we hope to be able to achieve it once we put our 20% so those are really our next steps.
In the short term, obviously assuming that we get our bank settlement done, with both parties are aligned here to get it done now, we will then be looking at scoping studies to show the value of this asset to our shareholders. That’s going to be a series of constant news flow going here until production, which is all positive.
I think one thing that we’ve really noticed, we should notice, is this asset now, as soon as the shipment has occurred, is effectively profit making and will be so, all things being equal, all the way through to the end of this mine life now.