WJ-

If you indeed have done all the DD you claim and have kept up with the PRs, you know as well as we do that SFMI has not reported the name of the smelter that they are using, for which there are a number of very possible good reasons. Reason one- Can you imagine the number of phone calls that smelter would have received in the last two months inquiring about the status of the shipment? Frankly, I don't care what arrangement they end up using (though having their own smelter would solve a number of problems), but there are a number of investors (as well as non-investors) who focus on minutiae rather than the big picture. I saw a PR from another miner recently who actually had to append a request that investors not call up the equipment supplier they were using- evidently someone found out, spread the word, and callers were creating a real problem.

And since you know that we don't know, don't keep on asking, because if you are a long term investor it doesn't matter. If you're a trader, stick to TA. Do you also think you need to know where they bought their mill equipment? Frontloaders? Staplers? And what difference would it make and what would you do if you knew what smelter they were using and where it was? Would you call them up asking about the shipment, or maybe go there and ask them about their security measures, or even ask to see "our" gold? Think about it- there is any amount of information that you can ask for that simply doesn't matter in the long run. If this smelter doesn't work out (as seems might be the case), then they will either use another smelter, or buy or build their own. But they will work it out.

And as far as whether the results (grades) of the first shipment make any difference, they don't. SFMI stated a number of times that the ore they used to get the mill running was low grade stuff, and that they would switch to high grade stuff once everything was working OK (which they by all reports have done). I'd like to know the numbers as much as you, but I realize those numbers (whatever they are) are now in the past and don't really matter. The share price might get a bump if the numbers came out, simply because the numbers would put a floor on revenues. But it will be the numbers from the high grade ore that really determine what the revenues will be like for the next year or so while they work to get into the mines. And those are the numbers I really want to see. I'll be holding my shares anyway, and while I'd like to see the price go up right now, I know that the price when I sell them (which will be a while) will not be determined by the numbers from the low grade ore.