I asked Michel Bouchard a few questions today. It was a pleasant conversation. Here is a summary:
Q: What are the plans for making this years
payments due to the previous property owners?
A: Currently as things stand today, CFO is required to pay $22 million in December. We are currently in talks with the owners on negotiation a change to the current requirements. While we don't have anything finalized, we are pleased to report that we have made a proposal and talks are going in the right direction. We still have the Osisko option available to us and that is also still on the table. Q) Since the XMET property is sandwiched between CFO properties, are there any plans on merging?
A) We have known the people on the project for the last 20 years. We keep an open channel with them. They have a nice asset. In the future in might make sense to have one regional mill.
Q) Does it make sense to send the tailings to the
Xtrata mill that is located nearby for an immediate cahs infusion? A) No, to send the tailings to
Xtrata would require permitting. It makes more sense to get permitting for the project as a whole, there are other reasons for not processing the tailings on their own. The PEA is still on schedule for later this year. We'll see how they fit into the bigger picture at that time. Q) Will the PEA consider the existing under ground infrastructure from the previous mining operation?
A) The focus of the PEA is actually on the open pits. The above ground mining most likely will be the first source for the mill. The underground is something that will be considered, but it will most likely be secondary.
Q) What is the current exploration on the property?
A)
There are two drills with 11 people supporting this effort. The drilling is both for infill and for additional exploration. We are expanding to the east. Q) What is the current cash level?
A) We are well financed with $13 million.
Q) Anything else of interest?
A) We have several interested parties in a possible JV deal. Again nothing to report just that we have interested parties and that there are several options that may develop for CFO.
-Alex