RE: ORR interview14 Feb 2025 12:11
I’m curious about the support for continuing to drill at MB01-S with a single drill rig when a second rig might be available.
Is it because that’s the company position and taking your time to do the job properly seems reasonable, which is fair enough, or do people have any specific insight on how the programme is best optimised with a single rig.
I assume that the company may use the incoming data to review, and perhaps tweak, the subsequent drill locations, azimuths, angles and perhaps even depths.
The only downside I can see is that the first hole with Rig 2 might start before all the (visual) data from the ongoing Rig 1 hole is available. From that point on you have twice as much data coming in to ‘optimise’ the next holes and the programme progresses at twice the rate. If they need the assay results then there is a bit more of a lag but you end up in the same position of more data coming in to optimise subsequent drills.
It could be that Oriole are resource constrained In terms of geologists to review the data, but they were drilling at Bibemi at the same time as Mbe… and BCM have geologists. Anyone know how long it typically takes for geologists to review this kind of data and update models, or whatever.
I’m not suggesting that the company should be rushing the drill programme but I’m not clear why this isn’t being done. As is probably apparent I have no expertise here and would genuinely like to understand.
In the last RNS Martin commented that we are 25% of the way through the Mbe drilling programme. That could be the total programme including preparatory work and mobilisation etc but if you assume it means that 6 holes have been completed then that’s 86 days since we were told that drilling had commenced. If the remaining 18 holes are drilled at the same rate then that’s another 258 days, provided no breakdowns, rainy season problems or other snags. Add on a month for the final results then, say, 290 days until the programme is complete and all result available. I’m perhaps being overly pessimistic but my point is it’s potentially going to take a long time.
I say all this in the context of the Lanstead deal which, other that BCM and any surprise money from legacy assets, is our only income.
Right now the 20 day VWAP is around 0.232p which is below the Lanstead benchmark price. If this remains the case at the time of the next settlement (18 Feb I think) then we ‘loose’ money this month.
I don’t know where our funds are going to come from after the Lanstead deal so I think it’s crucial to try and squeeze as much as possible from the remaining 7 payments. To this end, if there is gold in the ground at Mbe, then the quicker the drill results come in the better. I accept that there is a bit of a balancing act here and, while I do have confidence in the team, I’d like to understand it better.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
