today the company held a conference call to discuss operations and performance. we have already covered most of the financials here, but they mentioned that the $12 million loss on the abcp was the best estimate available at this point for fair value, and they are waiting to see if the assets are restructured.

the company's cash position is extremely strong after the issuance of convertible bonds and the sale of silver bullion. the bullion sale was decided by the board of directors to take advantage of the current very high silver price. as as result the company has enough cash to complete pirquitas and fund the exploration of its other projects.

pirquitas is going very well, and if anything is ahead of schedule. all of the equipment orders have locked in delivery times, and commissioning is scheduled for the 4th quarter. there are already 165 workers on site, and will have 450 in two months.

the infrastructure should be complete by mid-year, and already the earthworks are 70% complete, the concrete 60%, and the pre-fabricated steel 30%. the mining fleet is complete and on site, and was used to help with the construction. there are no technical issues to delay or prevent the completion of pirquitas.

a new resource and reserve estimate is due in the 2nd quarter. as of now they are projecting almost 11 million oz./yr over a ten year life, but that is the initial mine life. there are another 47.2 million oz. of resources, so i expect with these high silver prices some of those ounces will become reserves, and mine life will be extended.

the expansion upgrades are one of the reasons the cost estimate for pirquitas increased from $146 million to $220, so that is actually a nice problem to have.

otherwise the personnel is there, with department managers in place, they have hired a commissioning manager, and are building teams for the start up, with commissioning in the 4th quarter, and pouring concentrate in the 1st quarter of 2009.