Adrian Day: Yes. Good afternoon. I’ve actually got two questions to follow on from Heiko’s. The first one is, can you quantify the cost of the exploration that you intend to do this year?
Douglas Tobler: Yes. Hi, it’s Doug Tobler here. It will be in the range of about $200,000 as part of our planned spend.
Adrian Day: Okay. That’s not a lot.
Douglas Tobler: Yes. Well, it’s surface work. There’s no drill rig, so similar size and scale.
Frederick Earnest: Yes, you can get a lot of surface soil sampling done for $200,000, Adrian.
Adrian Day: Okay, good. Let me just type that. And then the second question, so it’s been a little over a year since the definitive feasibility study. And I’m wondering if you can reflect or let us know the reactions you’ve had from companies or reaction you’ve had, I should say, both to the DFS and also to the scoping study? Are there things in the reaction that have pleased you? I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but the number of companies, the variety of companies, or whatever? And are there things about the reaction that have frustrated or disappointed you?
Frederick Earnest: Well, that’s a very interesting question, Adrian. From day one, we have dealt with a headwind of people who remember Mount Todd from 1996-97 when it was operated in a gold price environment that the gold price was in the range of $300. And the operation shut down and the company who owned it went into bankruptcy. We’ve made a very significant investment. We very systematically and methodically completed test work and drilling and engineering. We’ve obtained all of the permits. We’ve worked hard on our social license. And I think that the gratifying thing for everyone here in the Vista team is that as we’ve gone through the due diligence process with a number of companies, the work that has been completed has been validated.
The technical designs, the process flow sheet, the work that we’ve done to address how we crush and grind the hard rock that Mount Todd is so widely known for have all received very strong endorsement from companies who have taken the time to look at the data and review the test work. We’ve had companies come in and drill at their own expense to obtain fresh rock for their own metallurgical testing programs. And they have essentially confirmed that with our proposed flow sheet that the numbers — the recoveries that we’re proposing are quite reasonable and achievable, that the process flow sheet should function as we expect it to. Companies with much greater, larger resources, more people have been very complementary of the work that we have done in the local community to garner support for the project and to earn our social license.
They are very respectful of the work that we’ve done with the Jawoyn Aboriginal people. And so the process that we’ve gone through has been the confirmation that has happened over and over and over again has been very pleasing. Now you asked if there was a disappointment. Well, obviously, the disappointment would be that we’ve done this and the market has been such that we’ve not to date reached that conclusion of being able to announce a transaction that would recognize the value, the full value of the project and appropriately reward shareholders who have been patient with the work that we’ve done over so many years. We started the process with CIBC Capital Markets a year ago. And within weeks of kicking that off, all we read in the headlines was news about interest rates going up and inflation.
