The Old Mill DanceFrom Artemis Oct 23, 2017 NR:
The Radio hill complex offers several key advantages for getting into production earlier and more cost effectively than would otherwise be possible:
- The site is permitted for operations;
- There is a permitted tailings storage facility on site;
- Existing infrastructure for mains power supply has been well maintained;
- Strong water supply from an existing bore field with proved capacity and quality;
- Radio Hill is only 35km from Karratha so there is no need to establish expensive camps
and associated infrastructure for the work force.
The existing Radio Hill plant, which has a nominal capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum, has been well maintained since it was put on care and maintenance in 2008. it consists of a two-stage crushing plant and a tailings thickener. A plant laboratory and fully equipped workshops have been maintained on-site.
The thing that strikes me is how inadequate Radio Hill will be if there's massive amounts of ore to be processed. At 500,000 tons per annum, you get 1 million ounces per year if the first bulk sample results apply throughout. Say after tax profit of $250 an ounce Canadian split two ways and you have Artemis with a profit of $125 million per year or $0.21 per share - a fantastic return of 38% on investment per year. Artemis SP should go to $1.25 based on investors accepting a 10% per year ROI. If DL can get to 1 million tons per annum, then Artemis SP goes to $2.50. If Artemis processed its own ore and didn't have to split with Novo, then the projected SP based on above numbers in $5 per share. Now imagine if the mill were expanded to 2 million tons per annum (5,479 tons per day). Then Artemis SP potential from Radio Hill is $10.
Which raises the question, why isn't Artemis trenching and drilling its own tenaments with conglomerate outcroppings? It seems DL is clinging to Novo for dear life with no long-range plans of his own. Maybe it's a shortage of money at this point although in the NR he stated he had mill financing available. DL's tweeting and releasing NRs on almost a daily basis but saying nothing about breaking away from Novo smacks of desparation to me. I think he'll have trouble paying for half the exploration costs at Purdy's while trying to upgrade the mill. Maybe the Sheik will help him out but at a steep price. Things look like DL is being slowly but surely forced into some kind of arrangement with a major.