Ahead of the decline reaching the LCA, depressurisation drilling has commenced and groundwater is being pumped to the surface. This water management has indicated potential for greater volumes of water to be managed at surface than originally modelled. In order to increase the confidence in water management from the LCA, further hydrological drilling, data collection and evaluation will be completed.
To allow this work to occur prior to the decline intersecting the LCA, development will continue to advance in the short term before a temporary pause in decline development prior to entering the LCA, commencing later this quarter.
5th March 2024 Half-Year Report
There is no mention of when the dewatering will be completed.In October 2023, Greatland announced a pause in development of the main access decline prior to development through the lower confined aquifer (LCA) ...
5th March 2024 focusIR webinar
From my recolection, so correct me if I'm wrong, Shaun said the dewatering of the LCA is expected to continue into the second half of this year.
That's more than six months longer than expected. He didn't seem particularly bothered by that and didn't think it will be completed any earlier or later. Progressing the decline through the LCA is considered a de-risking event. While Shaun appears confident the LCA will be dewatered, and it probably will, until it is the decline has to be considered at risk. It doesn't look as though the end of the dewatering can be called with any degree of confidence. Do they know how much water is expected or do the just keep pumping until the pressure drops and it stops?
The share price at the beginning of 2024 was mid 9 pence and is now down to mid 6 pence. Is this because of the LCA?