Some observations
I asked Merle the following question back in October: "Are the Hawke Zone and SE Zone considered as separate areas, such that an NI report is required for each? Or, is it allowed for the Company to add what is found in the SE zone to the existing NI report for the Hawke Zone."
His response:
"They are seperate ore bodies"
So, let me throw out these thoughts.
1. OntaREEo and Bullrun2004 both mention in their dispatches from PDAC that the company will be putting out an NI report in the near future, but do we know if it will be an updated NI report for Hawke, a new report for the SE zone, or an all encompassing NI report for the entire 9000 acre property? Anyone have any insight into this?
2. The company owns 9000 acres comprising - depending on how you slice it - of potentially 4 distinct ore bodies: Hawke, SE1, SE2, and the Lake. There is nothing to say that they can't get part of the property like the Hawke zone proved up to a higher standard and then J/V it, while still continuing to drill the rest of the property.
3. Recall that it has already been reported that Keevil may have received and turned down J/V offers. It may be his plan to update the NI report or keep drilling to get a better terms on a potential deal, but there is nothing saying that the right deal couldn't be presented to him today that he would refuse. Say the Chinese offered him $100 billion right now to buy the entire complex at Nemegosenda. Would he turn that down? Not saying that will happen, just illustrating the point that a deal could come at any time.
4. To answer your million dollar question below, I doubt it affects the timeline for the updated NI report, because I believe from Merle's response that the company has treated these as separate ore bodies. Also recall that the NI report is considered to be an open book that you can add to and update. So, they could put an updated report out this summer, and then still update that sometime in the future.
5. With respect to the feasibility study, I think it would be helpful to get clarification from the company if the $25 million figure is for the Hawke zone by itself or for the entire property. It seems to me that the feasibility for mining an open pit site is going to be radically different than the feasibility of mining under the lake, but it could be a ballpark for the entire property and with all these sorts of considerations taken into account.
6. Keep in mind that the company already was talking about the 13.9km during the PDAC conference, so this PR is just making it official. So, there is no delay with respect to any of the timetables that might have been suggested to our intrepid journalists attending the conference. If Keevil suggested that a J/V would occur sometime in 2010, then he said that already knowing the property is 13.9km.
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