RE:RE:RE:hey aggmanGod and devil is in the detail firebug.
I think the HBK team - does not have aggregate experience - they have metal mining experience and these are 2 completely different skill sets. Only someone who has done intimate work around ore bodies, metals, aggregate will know the differences. Even to an engineer - crushing may look similar - but trust me - there is a difference.
For a start - there is no need to a have a professional geologist of the staff - because this is screen material at the surface.
Secondly, marketing material particularly in a new market is no easy undertaking. There is risk in rock - its chemical properties, its absorbic qualities, does it past muster for DOT work, can it be used in public projectes, in concrete roads, if the material is of poor quality - you get a bad reputation and closed down quickly. You need educated sales people who can sell the rock to different customers, it is a technical sale.
Then there is the marine risk - see Polaris. Not easy. Granted if HBK are serving a local market the marine risk is lesser.
I think the HBK team are explorers and developers (and very good at it) and this is their well understood skill and expertise (and they derseve a comendation for they have done at Swamp creek - with permits, set up, a business case, and working with all stakeholders).
By their own adnmission - they have not run an aggregate operating business, nor do they really want to. Ideally, they would like to sell and cash out, but the last 6-12 months has informed them that they need to prove a market, a customer base, a reputation, a volume, a pricing strategy, a marketing strategy - before a suitor would think about considering to look at the business, as an acquisition opportunity.
My skin is in this game; but I like to be fair and firm in my commentary.
My bias: yeah, I want it at $1.50 too. I feel by being criical, thats the best way to get management to perform in the correct shareholder-driven manner.