Just imagine that you are SD, it's Friday the first of November and the deal has finally been completed.
13Bn shares in issue. 1400 Employees (including contractors) in the company - majority at Telfer. 1 Mill is running and processing the ore pile while more is being mined. Circa 9 Million Ton of higher grade ore which you can process at just under 1 Million Ton per month using one train. 20 Million ton of lower grade ore available. Havieron Partly developed. West Dome deeps being explored. $750M bank revolving credit available. And Oodles of tenements waiting to be explored (including Ernest Giles and Scally). Oh and you have a variety of LTHer's in Blighty (now minority holders)who are pretty disgruntled at the listing price and the dilution.
What would you do? And in what order?
1. Continue to let the mill process the Telfer ore?
2. Start up the second mill and process more of the Telfer Ore?
3. Decide how much of your forthcoming production you need to hedge?
4. Look for ways to streamline the Telfer operation and reduce the AISC further?
5. Increase the production at Telfer having identified the higher grade areas which were previously uneconomical?
6. Try to appease the disgruntled LTHers? How?
7. Issue the Havieron DFS?
8. Consolidate the shares? What ratio?
9. List on the ASX?
10. Generate your company policies, procedures and corporate governance?
11. Ensure that you have all the correct permits and permissions for what you are doing or want to do?
12. Reorganise your organisation to recognise your are now a miner?
13. Determine how to spend capital?
a. Hell for leather on Havieron dewatering and decline?
b. Build a Hoist at Havieron to enable extraction rate to double?
d. Build a conveyor from Hav to Telfer recogniising you have 2 years before transportation is required and that the payback for investment would be maximised for what looks to be a 40 year mine? (IMO)
e. Continue the West Dome deeps exploration and development?
f. Investigate the viability of the O'Callaghans project?
g. Spend money of exploration? Where? Scally? Ernest Giles? Widlcat drill across the 3600 square kilometre estate in the Paterson?
h. Look to pick up even more tenements?
14. Have discussions with Antipa and Rio about their future in the Paterson?
15. Look for other opportunities for M&A?
16. Consider how much of a dividend to pay? 1p per share would require a distribution of £130M of profits
A cornucopia of stuff to do and decisions to make. Some with quicker payback and some with better payback, some very risky and some less risky.
And that is before he decides whether he is going to have one or two sugars in his coffee.
What would you do and in what order?
