Wonderful Report; Great Tactics: Dustin has proven that even with lower prices for gold, the Pine Cove Mine can still be very, very profitable. He is showing me a lot of creativity and ingenuity in the manner in which he has increased the throughput and production at the Mill. His hedging program paid dividends and his restructuring of the crusher etc. will add to more production, especially during the winter months when operations are greatly impacted.
Tractorboy: let us be a bit more precise here regarding your concern over Dustin's statement regarding that 1.89 grade. What he said precisely was: ..."the budgeted grade for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 is expected to be 1.89 grams per tonne with the average grade for the full fiscal year budgeted at 2.12 grams per tonne...", or possibly greater, as could be inferred should the Western Extension and the Romeo and Juliet mines come on stream this fiscal year. I think that he is expecting something closer to 2.12grams or greater this FY than the 1.89 grams he is conservatively predicting for the first quarter OR something closer to an average of the two grades that he mentioned. It could also be a lot higher than the 2.12 grams should the Romeo and Juliet deposit mixed with both the Western Extension and Pine Cove turn out to be compatible with the circuit already in place at the Mill Facility, based on upcoming analytical results, expected out in July 2013.
Good show Dustin!.. Dustin cannot control the trading but he can control the rate of growth of ANX and that he is doing, without any doubt in my mind. This malaise in the gold prodction and precious metals sectors will pass, but we must be patient and believe in what Dustin is doing to build this great Company. I think that in only a few years, Dustin has accomplished what other companies like Mountain Lake etc. have taken a decade to attempt to reach, without any material success yet. Their assets and profits are all still in the ground while we are producing and turning a profit at the same time as we continue to grow and develop. Companies like Mountain Lake are still all stuck in the mud; owing tons of money; and producing NIL.
FatCharlie: with respect to your statement: ...for the herd to run to some stability like gold". For me, gold has been anything but "stable" taking swings of up to 30$+/oz at a time or dropping over $300/oz from where it was at the end of 2012. You need nerves of steel to be in the gold sector. This was a record quarter. Let's be happy about this and be proud of the work that ANX is accomplishing to grow into a mid-tier producer: the stated goal of this Company.