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Hi AVB, while I agree with your statement in principle, I believe investors are more shrewed and will have a very good guestimate of the cost of extraction and will invest accordingly. All the information to come up with a number is in the PRs, and as I have said that is why the pilot plant is so important as this will then give an accurate average. The cost per oz of recovery will inevitably rise and fall with the grade of materials from different locations being processed through the same plant. It will therefore take sime time for the company to give accurate averages of actual recovery from throughput of various grades of materials.
I for one always do my own numbers before investing or working for any company, after all if I am taking a punt I am not going to do it blind.
Dredgemaster
Plenty of facts in Sney PRs that would enable the numbers to be done for the Black Sands that have already been sold.
Material Dredged per hour.
Black Sands % in ton of material dredged.
Hours per day dredge worked.
Dredge type and engine type = fuel per hour.
Local Labour x 4 Dredge Crew.
Percentage of gold in Black Sands.
Average overburden Depth.
To name some of the statements above put out by Sney management and On Site Crew who are not faceless nameless people.
HOPE THAT HELPS.
Dredgemaster
The problem is in Write Downs if I remember right. Depends on how much creative accounting a company can get away with and is mainly directed at BIG mining companies.
SNEY is not there yet and if you look at the PRs and do the maths you will get a good enough idea. I tend to find that the smaller the company the cheaper the recovery and finding a happy medium between Size of processing plant and g/t. The companies with low g/t 0.5 will go for Massive Plant in order to get the throughput of raw materials.
Sneys numbers are 5 to 18g/t. So maybe you see where this is going. Thats why the pilot plant is so, so, so important.
Dredgemaster
Hi scuba, as far as I know, Sney has not produced any gold. The first oz they produce will have cost ALL the money that has been invested to date. Thats Mining.
There are too many variables to put a universal price on processing gold per oz.
g/t of material to process, type, access, transportstion, size of procesding plant, msnagement, etc, etc, etc.
Just think if you run a plant that can process 100 ton per hr for, 10g/t? 15g/t? 0.5g/t?
Dredgemaster
Hi JYD, good DD and I like to point people in the right direction as it will confirme what I wanted to say but seem to get accused of being positive by some and negative by others.
I first met Mr Mahdi in 2003 and was introduced by a Mr Tomah Nabay who has now moved on to The Department of Petrol or something like that.
The key is University of Durham so you know hi is the real thing.
Sorry to have given you some homework, enjoy the weekend.
Dredgemaster
Perhaps you may look at Mr Mahdi and conections to other mining companies and in particular Australian. This gentleman has more contacts in the mining industry in SL than anyone else I know. Geo Resources GoSL respected and renowned Geologist.
I did post about Australian Company in SL a long, long, long time ago.
Dredgemaster
No Probs, JYD, I believe it is basic business that you continualy improve your product.
Lets face it you save the best till last. SNEY, imho, have been cautious in this first sale.
I posted a long time ago that it is common practice for mining companies to GRADUALY increase reports on g/t so as to be able to plan ahead. The reason being is that it makes for a feasible overall average over a period of time. This keeps EXPECTATIONS, at a realistic level for if you reported a massive g/t for one months operations and nil for the next month then you can imagine the outcome and would only attract short time speculators.
Dredgemaster
Hi scuba, my post as you can see was IN MY OPINION.
If I was selling concentrates for the first time to a buyer I had no previous dealings with then they would get concentrates that ONLY had fine, and flour gold, that had been dredged from a location on the concession and did not contain any Free gold . Then l would know if I was being treated fairly.
If the deal worked out ok then they may get higher grade concentrates untill my own processing plant came to site. Otherwise just keep selling them low grade blacksands that I can not process.
Hope that helps
I would think that the 14g/t is the fine and flour gold left in concentrated black sands after the free gold has been extracted. That and the REEs would be the estimated price agreed at sale and the bonus would be made if g/t is above that number. It is plausable that only 27.5 tons has had the free gold removed but the process sney was useing was not good and slow. Therefor a new processing plant is needed to speed up extraction so they can sell more of the stockpiled blacksands/REEs.
Dredgemaster
Hi, risk, thanks, sorry to be late getting back to you but been stuck in aircraft hangar in Lincolnshire. Had one of those majical thoughts( hope it does not die of loneliness lol) you know the one when you wake up at 3am and have to write it down and the next thing you know its getting light, so had to come and see if it will work and have been testing it.
Uses back axe with crown wheel and pinions as crusher, drive for shaker table and wash pump and the best thing is does not look like mining kit so no inquisitive prying when it is shipped or may just make one in SL. Easily portable and can run off any engine.
I dont have SNEYs Investors so slowly slowly.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
Hi S, not only are Paramount Chiefs Loyal, they are also wise, I have met several who have been educated in, UK, USA, RUSSIA, CHINA AND ITALY. AS HAVE THIER SONS AND DAUGHTERS. They understand western culture, business as well as thier own and speak several languages.
Never ceases to amaze me the perseption people have native Africans. I guess they watch too much TV.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
SMART, I LIKE, SMART A$$, I DO NOT.
If as you say you have been there then you will know that the life span of a mobile phone, palm top or laptop is not very long due to HEAT, HUMIDITY, DUST, THEFT, AND ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE. I invested in a new fangled almost unbreakable palmtop about 7 months ago and have had it repaired more times than I care to remember.
Sneys Concession is on flood plains and contains part of a river not a good Idea to take your phone or laptop on the dredge or anywhere near water.
Dredgemaster
The Largest cost in mining any minerals in SL is Transport and Fuel, nice of someone to ease that burden for Sney and increase profits of materials when shipped, 1000/2000, 4000/8000 tons a month is a lot to transport and ship. Sney would have realised a lot more than $1200 a ton if they just had to put it on train freight to docks. But what do I know, not a lot
Dredgemaster
When talking to people in SL it seems that the railway is a big must and is well backed by tha Chinese and Major Mining Companies.
If you look at map of SL and find African Minerals, and London Mining and Sneys Concession then Bo, then perhaps you will see the bigger picture. They are going to run a railroad through the centre of the country and Magburaka is in the Centre of SL.
Find a map of old colonial railway in SL before it was privatised and then sold for scrap and perhaps you will see the significance.
Dredgemaster
Hi scuba, what is to the point is that Sney is now takeing a LOGICAL AND PROVEN approach to mining this concession. Plant and equipment will be dictated by the type of materials found on the sites to be terraced and mined. The materials may and will vary in density.
The distance and access to water and pumping gradient.
A hired D8 from local source will give acess to designated sites, Initial hire of 360 could be used for excavating and loading and stockpiling amd it could all happen within a month if you know the right people. Everything is negeotiable on SL. Remember that the geo is the man who dictates where to explore and mine and to what depth and the amount of dirt moved. So if he gets it right then the money saved on time, labor, fuel will more than offset the Consultants Fee.
Also hire of equipment in SL is no where near as expensive as in the west. SL is a developing country and there is no shortage of plant.
Ultimately the size of opps will dictate the equipment required but when you think that locals are doing land opps with shovels, buckets, 2 inch pumps and wash pans, equipment can cost as much or as little as you want to spend.
The reason I sited AMR gold was that they do support mining for locals to mine on thier concession with thier own licences and then get cheap gold and information on the mapping of gold on the concession. No Brainer.
Dredgemaster
Sney licences will not expire until the GoSL say they have.
In the case of Olympus, the licences were held open for over 9 years.
The locals and Chiefs, will not bite the hand that feeds them. They will support SNEY as the will respect them for the goodwill that has gone on.
Sney, through AMS sierra leone ltd is also a Sierra Leone Company and will therefore know the culture and customs of business in SL which work different to the west.
Sierra Leone people do not forget those who have helped them.
My previous posts stated Sney would have no problems with licences until April, May at earliest. Mr Hale has gone to SL and is going back this will show to GoSL that there is no problem with payment. Everything is NEGEOTIABLE in SL.
If you do some DD then you will see that there is a clause in the Licence that says there is a (SMALL) fine for late payment which many companies take advantage of.
Sney Licence was for 4 years, not 3.
We do not know what Mr Hale negeotiated while in SL but I believe in previous PR that Mining Licence was mentioned. This will mean a new application to MMR new mapping of area of concession by GoSL Geo Surveys and specific Area to be Mined inserted on Map.
If Geo Surveys is working on Africa Time then there will be no penalties as it is not SNEYs fault that the time taken is excessive.
I believe that Mr Hale will return to SL soon as when Parliment Closes for the holidays it will be hard to do business in a timely manner.
Hope that is of some help.
Dredgemaster
more than 10 times more gold on terraces and flood plaines than in river channel.
Logical to land op and work year round.
Dredgemaster
Hi falon, no dis, but do the numbers, pilot plant is for the black sands concentrates which retain 80% of gold in fine and flour particles. If the pilot processing plant is runing all year long at a rate of even 1 ton an hour then IMHO you are way low on your estimate and if they are getting 1000 ton going up to 4000 ton a month of materials then they will soon need to upgrade as the pilot plant wont handle it.
GLTU
Dredgemaster
Think Mr Hale said he is going back to SL soon and two weeks or so sounds good to me if they want to set up some testing sites before the weather gets bad. If the sites are set up then that is the hard part.
Dredgemaster
I know you have asked the question before but as I was critisized for responding to PM I did not answer.
Let me put it as I see it. There will be many areas of potential land opps identified by previous exploration. More than likely pockets of quarts schists that will be intermittant, and some that extend in some length and depth (quarts with gold attached has and is dredged from this part of the Pampana and means that it has not travelled too far) and these areas may not have easy access.
There are lots of areas to terrace where the river has changed course over the years and several tributaries entering the Pampana. The geo will re evaluate all the newest data he has and will map out the concession as to depth of gravel, g/t, depth of overburden, thickness of gravel. He should then instruct the crews where to land test again, dredge, or mine.
The size of opps dictates the cost but a small land op could be started up within weeks as equipment is available in SL and is not expensive.
I would say that there is a tendancy for most mining companies to err on low g/t so that they can show improvement as if you give a high g/t it is hard to show improvement.
As for the black sands and concentrate the geo will establish where the least overburden is and that will ensure recovery costs are kept down.
So the geo is the lynch pin and the opps manager and geo work together to get results. The company, SNEY and its shareholders reap the rewards of the hard work of the people on the ground and everyone lives happy ever after. lol lol.
Sorry, I could not resist the previous line as having read this before submission it sounded like a story.
Hope I habe not been teaching my graandma to suck eggs, but think I posted something along the same lines a long, long, long time ago
Dredgemaste
Hi, I believe I have advocated all year mining in my posts for about 2 years. I have also said about on site geo/mino for the same amount of time together with the need to prove up the claim and not just rely on Historical Reports.
The whole world these days seems to be run on debt. It is how you manage that debt that matters.
Dredgemaster
COME ON SCUBA!! credit where its due. Mr Hale has listned to his advisors. He is going back to SL in a couple of weeks, they are going to test and mine all year round, they have finaly got a full time geo and his team directing opps. They are going to carry out land opps. Where I may not agree with the wording of Mr Hales previous report, I do not see that he has lied in any way and has been a man of his word. I believe after his visit to SL he was probably very excited and that was reflected in his report. It was probably the first time he had physicaly seen raw free gold and watched it materlise out of concentrate.
I like it better when you have constructive critisism that gives me something to think about.
Lets see this new CEO, follow through and then perhaps we will see a Gold Mining Concession and A Management Company (SNEY) that compliment each other.
GLTU
Dredgemaster
Solar lit streets, SNEY?, I am sure something was PRd about sney providing this and the president has noticed and mentioned it in his speach. Local good will goes a long way.
Dredgemaster.
Good find ant, I have been both there and Sneys concession and the concessions are not dissimilar. Terracing? Swampland, Surrounded by Hills, Greenstone Belt. Sound Familiar?.
Dredgemaster
No ant, but what you have found is is the son of a chief who resides 15 miles north of Magburaka in a village called Mabunto. I have no doubt that Mr Tayibb will know him quite well. The old chief at Mabunto likes to show people a gold nugget the size of a chicken egg. He has a problem with his voice box and uses an aid.
Have visited and talked to a lot of chiefs in SL and still try to visit when time lets me.
Good Find.
Dredgemaster
Hi ant, I used to drive a lot from Magburaka through Yele and Mongeri over the Noisey Bridge and into Bo and the old railway depot is along that route If I remember.
Sneys concession is so strategicaly positioned for easy, cheap and fast transportation of product to market. With the sugar factory in Magburaka and the town being upgraded so fast and also being situated central in SL great things could happen in the future.
Chief Alimammy Bangura Bright Star of Kamakwie, do you remember?.
Dredgemaster
No, but looking at Mr Hales report, He says all season mining and that he will go back soon.So why go back soon unless to organize all season mining, imo.
There is a lot going on at Magburaka, and the President was at the boys school and talking about the Railway that is comeing there and will follow the route of the old railway.
Easy and quick way for SNEY to get product to market. Perhaps someone is looking at the bigger picture here. Also check out AMR gold sierra leone limited and thier concessions and you could pick up on something, as ant knows I can point you in a direction and like to see if you have any opinions.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
Hi scuba, perhaps what needs to be considered is ALL SEASON MINING as posted in PR and the fact that Wilf is in SL at this time when he would probably be elsewhere.
It looks to me as if they may be going to start terracing or processing during the rainy season otherwise why would Mr Hale say he was going back. Perhaps he wants to see faster progress. IMHO You cant have plant on down time and not earning and a central processing site being fed from three locations will take some organizing. Maybe even a couple of feeder roads or boats/barges.
GLYU
Dredgemaster
Hi Fangster, I think you may have missed the point. Nothing shady in the transaction imho.
It is what I have said needed to be done for a long time and is common practice.
What ever it takes. This concession has a great history and I posted most of it on this board over the years. Perhaps I was expecting too much in too short a time from Mr Hale as were some other people. No one seems to havepicked up on the most positive part of the PR and I had hoped someone else would point them out.
All Year Mining. Mr Hale going back to SL. Wilf is not in the Congo. Wilf has the confidence to take some ownership of this company. Some times the only way to get answers is to provoke a response. Now I will be accused of pushing Sney. Well you cant please eveybody.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
Hi Fangster, thanks for putting me straight on REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE.
I am sure that when I say to HMRC that I I told people that I recieved money from the sale of goods but it was not revenue then they will say it is OK. When I tell people that the company does Not and will not in the forseeable future have EMPLOYEES and the next thing is that Wilf has agreed to work for wages and shares then it will be interesting to see the next balance sheet.
Dredgemaster.
I believe your post has said what some others may be thinking.
CEO, CFO, and Accountant and auditor. ????.
A spade is a spade and a shovel is a shovel. A sale is a sale and constitutes revenue, unless you are Mr Hale. This guy sounded as if he may have been able to what was needed, but his actions do not seem to jive.
Dredgemastet.
Hi Scuba, and PMs, Whether about the concession, previous and present management, SL, or mining, I have always posted as I SEE it, and been open to alternative views.
I do wish all shareholders well and believe that they are old enough to make thier own decisions based on thier own DD. I was once told that my posts make no difference to share prices by Risk I think, and I now wonder what the fuss is about.
You have been here a long time and if you feel that any info regarding SNEY or Concession has not been fair then that is for you and others to decide.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
No, I do not have a personal with SNEY or any individual there. Nor Have I ever worked for SNEY or AMS.
Dredgemaster
Hi Rothstein or should I say Hale, this board is not about me, It is about SNEY.
Your personal attack on me is completely unwarrented. To say the least.
Perhaps you would do better by keeping your posts on topic about SNEY.
Perhaps you could point out anything that Mr Hale has stated that is indeed Specific.
There is a saying in SL, Boucu talk, Boucu Lies.
WHERE IS ALL THIS FREE GOLD?
WHERE IS THE EXPL AND MINING LICENCE.
WHY DOES WILF NOW HAVE TO WORK FOR SHARES AND WAGES.(SNEY HAS NO EMPLOYEES OR WILL HAVE IN THE FUTURE AS THEY WILL TAKE ON CONTRACTORS) is this not what was said in a PR.
As you, and I have said on many occassions I know nothing about stocks and have never said I did. I think most people know a good story when they hear it and that is all we have had from Mr Hale.
Redirecting a poor PR into a personal attack on me is a farce.
I do however wish you well but would say that your assumptions about me are full of it.
I have always said it as I see it and if YOU can not answer on topic ABOUT SNEY then that alone speaks volumes.
Dredgemaster
Realy? Mr Hale has said a lot about nothing.
He said he left all previous companies when they were successfull. What about AMS.
He said he saw Free Gold but did not say how much and who owned it.
He said he saw REEs, NOT Possible.
He said the dredges are working, FOR WHO?
He said they have sold concentrate so it must be income and therefore revenue, try saying its not to the Tax Authority in SL.
This guy should have been a poet. (Butterflies).
Better to keep quiet and let people think you are a fool than to open your mouth and confirme it Mr Hale.
Dredgemaster
Hi Play, the wording of the report was not very professional IMO.
Its what was NOT in the report that needs thinking about.
I dont want to hear about butterflys emerging not running a butterfly farm. I want to hear about Gold being recoverd, bills paid, workers and contacts happy concession safe from encroachment. The heavy winds and rains have started here in SL and I dont believe that sney will be able to do much before xmas.
GLTY
Dredgemaster.
PS Back to UK in next few days.
Yes I remember, but you may be wrong imo.
GLTY
Dredgemaster
Hi Fangster, Mrv Hale went to SL as he said he would.
Working all seasons is not a new concept.S L has two seasons, wet and dry.
Wilf working for wages and shares, was he just working for shares or wages?
If he saw plenty of free gold then is it Sneys?
He may have seen lots of black sands concentrates but doubt he saw REEs.
Takes a half day to get to Magburaka, considerable time to see a concession the size of sneys, a day or two to meet some contacts and meetings a day with the chief, a day with dredges, and all this done on a flying visit, THIS MAN IS GOOD.
No mention of Lease, Mining Licence.
Just thought that a 12000 mile round trip might have warranted a bit more time on the ground. IMHO. Mr Hale,s report lacked specific substance or numbers and has only confirmed that there is a place called Magburaka that sney has a compound, that dtedges are working but not specificaly for sney, That he has seen free gold but not specificaly sneys, that he has seen REEs but I think he means black sands concentrates.
So whats new except MR HALE WENT TO SL.
Dredgemaster
The PR needs to be taken for what it is.
(Visited the family, they are in better health than I had thought. Saw as much as I could in the short time I was there. Met the landlord and have an extension on the rent, the workers seem happy and willing to take a drop in wages and have a share of the company.
Will try to find finance to keep dredges afloat and have a plan to mine all seasons.
Will go back,(but only if I have too). The crops have yet too be harvested but at least they wont rot.
NOT VERY IMPRRSSIVE. IMHO.
Dredgemaster