Healthy perspective, and yet we’re on the doorstep of PRODUCTION. I’m no geologist, but i have confidence MC has thought through such issues as “losing the vein”. It makes perfect sense that could happen, but if you’ve used your time wisely and expanded the number of faces you’re working (and at different locations; e.g. the Merlin, Fortuna, Caren, etc.) it seems to this layman we can stay busy making money while searching for the vein. We have so many opportunities for exploitation, it just seems like the whole thing is a logistical issue at this point.
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I will turn 70 this year. My son told me about this investment in 2006 and I decided to start buying I believe at around 7 cents (I could be way off). My son had a friend whose father was an early big investor and had visited the site. So, bottom line, I have been here through mostly down times but have always been positive that it would turn some day. I continued to add as the price went down and now have a good number to stock in MDMN and some CDCH. I just want to thank the many positive posters that have contributed their knowledge of mining over the years. I’m sure I would have dumped my shares long ago without having some positive input once in a while.
Now we wait! I think, not too long!
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FOR A VEIN DEPOSIT, DON’T CONFLATE THE LACK OF FORMAL MR/MR OR THE LACK OF A BANKABLE FEASIBILITY STUDY (BFS) TO THE INABILITY TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT PROFITS AND AN EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT EPS FIGURE
Management seems to be taking a lot of heat recently on this forum in regards to the decisions they have made in regards to NOT drilling out the DL2 Vein deposit and blocking out MR/MR prior to going into production. They’ve also been criticized for not having completed formal scoping studies, prefeasibility studies (PFS) and bankable feasibility (BFS) studies, again, prior to going into production. The allegation was that unless and until these programs and studies were completed, there could be no VALUE ascribed to a mineral deposit.
These might be valid points IF management were trying to put into production a porphyry, VMS or IOCG deposit that was to be open-pitted. With deposits that are to be open-pitted, a miner HAS TO execute a drill program prior to production because the drill results dictate the most efficient design for the open pit. Since the CAPEX requirements are so large for open-pitable deposits, prefeasibility and bankable feasibility studies are pretty much necessary in order to attract that level of financing.
With extremely high-grade, near surface underground vein projects, like that of the DL2 Vein project, NONE OF THIS APPLIES, especially if the project has already been in production and management is willing to advance the cash necessary to put the project into production. There is no major miner or BANK needing to be impressed or become DERISKED with these expensive programs and studies.
Auryn didn’t need to do what most junior explorers are FORCED to do i.e. spend a fortune on drilling and feasibility studies, in order to attract a financier, and in the process dilute the heck out of either their % OWNERSHIP or their SHARE STRUCTURE or more likely BOTH. Further, if the grades and production rate are high enough and the price of gold high enough, then further financings to RAMP UP production for this DL2 Vein project may be totally unnecessary. When the share price of a future producer is low, because they are still in the ultra-high risk category, you don’t want to be FORCED into raising any more capital than is needed.
When dealing with extremely high-grade vein deposits with low CAPEX requirements i.e. the ideal deposit, THE GOAL OF THE MINERAL EXPLORATION/DEVELOPMENT PHASE, IS TO DO WHATEVER IS NEEDED TO GET INTO PRODUCTION WITH THE HIGHEST OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE OF THE PROJECT AS POSSIBLE, THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SHARES ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING AND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF DEBT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE THAT LOFTY GOAL THAT FEW JUNIORS EVER ACHIEVE. It’s really pretty straight forward, the SUCCESS of a young producer on Day 1 of production, is measured by the % of the project OWNED, the tightness of the share structure and the amount of debt. A junior producer SURVIVES the exploration/development phase; it doesn’t flourish during it.
If you have a moment, review the literature and see how many young mineral producers were able to mine 60-plus gpt gold, while retaining 100% ownership of the entire Mining District and only having $3.8 million worth of debt on the books. How did Auryn/Medinah ever get into a position like this on Day 1 of production? They didn’t get FORCED into spending tens of millions of dollars on drilling and cranking out expensive feasibility studies in order to attract the attention of a financier willing to fund the company all of the way into production. Their CEO was willing to do it for them while charging zero interest. That “review the literature” suggestion was actually tongue in cheek; you’re not going to find any.
Does this approach apply to open pit porphyry, IOCG or VMS deposits with CAPEX requirements approaching $1 billion? Absolutely not. These are two different worlds that necessitate two entirely different approaches.
MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY FOR PUTTING A VEIN DEPOSIT INTO PRODUCTION
First of all, the junior needs to identify a mineral prospect worthy of spending some money on. That money will initially be spent on things like geochemical sampling at surface, trenching, aeromagnetic surveys, hyperspectral satellite imaging surveys (CSAMT), IP/IR surveys, geological mapping and sampling, etc. Once in a great while, HISTORICAL PRODUCTION RESULTS may even be available if the vein(s) had prior mining done on them.
All of this data and all prior historical data available on the area will be kept in a computerized format known as a GIS DATABASE. A certain amount of work needs to be put in on a deposit until a POSITIVE PRODUCTION DECISION (PPD) is made by whatever party is willing to foot the bill to eventually put the project into production. This amount of work is determined solely by the party WILLING TO CUT THE CHECKS.
In an ideal scenario, a financier will be found that does NOT mandate formal scoping, prefeasibility and bankable feasibility studies as well as drill programs in order to DERISK their investment. Good luck with that, UNLESS of course, the financier also happened to be the corporation’s largest shareholder as is the case with Maurizio and Auryn/Medinah. Nobody would be more financially incentivized to PREVENT dilution than the corporation’s largest shareholder. [As an aside, notice how Maurizio had an opportunity to execute what is known as a “cram down”. This involves management funding the company via selling itself dirt cheap shares out of the Treasury for selfish reasons. Note the difference between offering an interest free loan to advance the project all of the way into production and that loan only needed to be repaid IF THE COMPANY SUCCESSFULLY MADE IT INTO PRODUCTION and a “cram down” financing.]
Most financiers need a significant amount of DERISKING because of the distant odds for success in this sector. HAVING ACCESS TO THIS TYPE OF FINANCIER WOULD REPRESENT THE ULTIMATE SCENARIO BECAUSE IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE PRIMARY GOAL OF: “GETTING INTO PRODUCTION WITH THE HIGHEST OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE POSSIBLE, THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SHARES ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING AND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF DEBT POSSIBLE” (from charging no interest).
In underground vein deposits, an exhaustive trenching program accompanied by geological mapping and sampling as well as certain geophysical surveys might suffice to result in a POSITIVE PRODUCTION DECISION by a financier. If HISTORICAL SHIPPING GRADES (the ideal) are available and if the production about to be commenced is in the same area as the prior production efforts, then drilling out the deposit in order to block out MR/MR in order to attract a financier that isn’t needed seems a bit silly. If after going into production, funds are needed to expand production, then the cash flowing from the project might serve to either directly fund the expansion or attract outside financing at much better rates since the financier can see how it is likely to be repaid.
It’s the financier, Maurizio in this case, that needs to determine the amount of DERISKING that needs to be done prior to him being willing to cut the checks needed to put the project into production. The share price of the corporation needing financing to get into production is also critical. If the share price of a junior explorer prior to going into production is de minimis, as is the norm, then funding exploration and development through the sale of shares is going to be hyper-dilutional. This is 180-degrees antipodal to the PRIMARY GOAL which includes entering into PRODUCTION with as few shares issued and outstanding as possible. I seriously doubt that Maurizio would have been willing to advance the tens of millions of dollars needed to fund a massive drill program and fund scoping, prefeasibility and bankable feasibility studies.
I think that the “elephant in the room”, for the ADL Mining District, is the Pegaso Nero porphyry area. I believe that the Auryn/Medinah shareholders should be happy that a deal was NOT entered into with a major or consortium of majors on this deposit until Auryn had put the DL2 Vein into production. This allows Auryn to sit at the negotiating table with an ace up their sleeve. They will probably have an OPTION to fund some of the exploration at the PN out of the cash flow from the DL2 Vein project. There could be some “low hanging fruit” to explore that might greatly enhance the perceived value of the deposit or at least to DERISK the project for a major prior to any deals being cut.
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To be fair, they weren’t actively mining during the past 30 yrs. 
Many of your pessimistic posts over the past 10 yrs (roughly) have offered us valuable & credible info. And yes, you’ve helped keep our expectations more reasonably grounded with your knowledge of the industry… (to be pleasantly surprised later. haha)
But most of your eccentrically negative opinions have been … quite bluntly … nauseating. 
(sorry b, jmho)
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Nauseatingly accurate? I’ll take that as a compliment.
I find it somewhat comical that posters/investors here are actually thanking the more “optimistic” posters for keeping them in this investment. “Thank you for convincing me to lose even more money by holding onto this investment based on inaccurate predictions of gradeur.” Only in Medinahland.
I will admit that it’s probably time for me to take a break from posting until Maurizio produces another update. The conversation has drifted into a nonconstructive dialogue and I fear that the good Doc is wearing out the cut and paste on his keyboard. But, to be clear, I agree with him on the formal MR/MR topic. This was not an option for the company as they were not able to secure financing for a feasibility study (despite best efforts) and raising $ through share issuance would have killed investors. My only point is that without spending the time and money to “know what you own” you are essentially chasing a vein(s). This can be a profitable endevour but the risk profile is considerably higher and its nearly impossible to mine with any sort of volume. In other words, saying that a feasibility study would have been silly while forecasting 100k ounce production is beyond naive.
I look forward to continuining the conversation after the next update.
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Congratulations! You are a man of real integrity. It’s only been 19 posts and 27 days since you said nearly the exact same thing!
I don’t know about others here, but I find that extremely comical and demonstrates
to every one how you value your word. 
Is that how you act in all your business relationships?
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I guess there are three questions:
(1) Can enough ore be brought out by jack-leg and/or jumbo rigs on a daily basis?
(2) Can the gravimetric plants keep up the pace with the ore brought out?
(3) Can the beneficiated ore be delivered to the off-take contractor at the same pace?
Don’t know enough about these things, but it seems if we have the EQUIPMENT, the onsite lab to help us stay with the vein, and the foresight to develop the same operation on the other properties in case of downtime for straying away from the vein on the DL2, we ought to be able to accomplish mining in commercial quantities.
The one question I would have for Bald Eagle is this: If off-takers rely on mine LONGEVITY (presumably on properties that’ve been drilled out like swiss cheese), then why would MC TELL us there are several such agreements under consideration, one of which has a term sheet attached? Is MC a liar? I don’t think so. Maybe what Brecciaboy says about the “luxury” of historical mining data from disinterested third party Enami, Sepulveda-Perez’s hyperspectral imaging survey, Howe’s analysis, and Dr. Sillitoe’s advice (admittedly speculation on OUR part), all REALLY mean something? BUT then, maybe Bald Eagle can fill us in? Just a layman asking.
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Bottom line is Doc is making some lofty assumptions that he is considering conservative while Bald Eagle is laughing at them as being absurd. When you are that far apart, one of them is going to be proven way off on this. I’m guessing reality will fall somewhere in between both of their perspectives. Will it be closer to Baldy or Doc. We shall see. If it falls exactly in the middle, both will still be way off. Example, averaging shipping grade of say 40gpt consistently at high volume is way off from both of their polar opposite perspectives.
It does seem pretty crazy to think that we can be shipping at or over 60gpt in perpetuity for the length of time and tonnage Doc is estimating. And if we can in fact do that, is that provable to an offtaker or equally as important, the market, without a drill program?
Baldy and Doc are two very intelligent and knowledgable posters on this board that have drastically different viewpoints which is disconcerting. I’d prefer the company prove it out to us so that we can stop debating their drastically opposite points of view. The company promised projections. Are they willing to publicly communicate anywhere close to the figures doc is speculating based on historical evidence and near-term production results without formally blocked out MR/MR? Even if they are, is the market going to value this as an adequate substitute or still just speculative? Despite Doc (and perhaps Auryn insiders) believing that the stock SHOULD be valued at $20+ per share, are investors in the marketplace going to assign that value? Without a formal report, one would assume you are going to have to prove it by showing you can scale up and showing a consistent grade for a considerable period of time first.
The other point I found interesting that Doc made recently was that an offtaker would be precluded from buying shares in the open market if they are privy to non-public material information. Once an agreement is inked and the terms publicly disclosed, will the word spread and opportunists jump into the market to buy shares as Doc also speculated SHOULD happen? This is the first thing I will challenge Doc on once that information is publicly disclosed if it is not shortly followed by significant increase in share price.
Nobody wants to be sitting here for another two years without significant share price appreciation. We need to start at the very least slowly but steadily increasing on the share price front. That is a minimum expectation all of us should have in the very short-term, as in beginning in the next couple months. Even better, we should be expecting quite a pop here soon if we have anywhere close to what Doc is posting about.
Time for Auryn to finally execute on the monetization stage of this operation. No more delays. This needs to be pursued swiftly and agressively now. Im assuming that is indeed what is happening.
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Because the property has not been drilled-up, this is what I expect. But, I think if/when the first dividends get paid to RETAIL shareholders, that event itself could change things quickly.
Otherwise, all fair points.
Hopefully all these questions will be answered in 5 weeks.
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Baldy recognizes the positive advancements of Auryn, just not as much as we do. I recall a few productive posts from baldy after Auryn hit the DL2 while the rest of us were opening our favorite spirits and doing a happy dance, lol!
As someone who appreciates both baldy & BB’s insights, I just can’t see Auryn crashing at this point. BB offers a disclaimer before he provides facts & his optimistic opinions. Baldy pokes holes at any overflow of optimism using his knowledge to keep expectations grounded. Lately he seems to draw less blood (BB’s) when he pokes his holes. Thankfully.
Maybe this investment won’t be as grand as we hope; but it could possibly blow baldy’s mind. 
We’ll soon see the results through either a 
, or an 
.Take your pick! Either way, I’m banking on Dancing with the Shareholers. 
Just keeping it light, no jabs intended.
NOTE: baldy is the one cursing, lol (jk)
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Baldy,
If that’s your interpretation of what I said, I’m fine with your spin on it, but I do think plural use of “gravimetric plants“ does have a greater significance than what you lightly attribute to it. After thinking it over a bit, I think it possibly has to do with two different grind specs on the concentrate that will initially be direct shipped to ENAMI. One spec for coarse gold and a different spec for recovering fine gold. It may just be needed to process a greater volume of ore. Perhaps it’s anticipating expansion of operations at a site distant from Fortuna. Whatever the reason, AURYN’s statement was very clear in what it is saying and not necessarily tied to an immediate off take agreement:
- Develop and complete a comprehensive metallurgical study to evaluate the viability of using gravimetric plants for the concentration and recovery of gold in AURYN’s ore, with the aim of finding a higher margin alternative for processing and sale. Based on the results of the study, we can make informed decisions regarding the most efficient and profitable method of gold recovery and concentrate production.
Shareholders do parse through the details of the PRs precisely because they indicate management’s objectives of things to come. However, it is bizarre for shareholders to disregard communications from management of what the company intends to do. As much as shareholders would like to hear it, the timeline is not specifically specified. Shareholders have been disappointed when announced timelines have not worked out to expectations.
I do think direct shipment of ore concentrate directly to ENAMI will allow for full production to ramp up and hasten free cash flow for further expansion. Any off take agreement(s) may just be a future project that results from a demonstrated consistent and growing exploitation starting at the Fortuna. We’ve talked about and considered Sepro Falcon concentrators to increase efficiency and reduce transportation cost to a processor/refiner mill for many years. AURYN will have to base decisions on which model(s) to acquire based on how the assay results coming back can best be optimized. I found this generalized information from Sepro’s iCON i350 model can be applied to a much larger range of other models. AURYN management may eventually decide upon different models or different manufacturers, but the Sepro Falcon had been highlighted as having already been tested with better than a 90% gold recovery. Below are some excerpts and a link to a new line of lower cost, easy to operate concentrators:
Falcon UF and C models require no additional process water to operate. The Falcon SB Gravity Concentrator does use fluidization water in limited amounts, but our R&D team is working to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, any additional process water consumption during operation.
Hard Rock miners around the world have historically recovered as little as 30% of their free gold using mercury amalgamation. The iCON process is being used to scavenge/reprocess old tails without using mercury. These miners are now recovering more gold reprocessing tails with iCON than the original miners recovered. They are also recovering significant quantities of Mercury.
The i350 is a family member of the Falcon Gravity Concentrators Gold Mining Equipment which has revolutionizing the world of alluvial gold mining and dredging the same way its little brother, the i150, has impacted the world of hard rock mining. This is a gravimetric mineral concentrator that uses enhanced gravity (G’s) to concentrate the ‘free’ heavy minerals. It is also known as a centrifugal concentrator because of the centrifugal action of the spinning bowl.
This equipment lets you Recover Gold without Chemicals with a process that uses only water and an electric motor to concentrate the precious heavy minerals from a slurry.
At a capacity of 10-15 tons per hour solids, the i350 is commonly used for:
· Alluvial / Placer Mining
· Dredging
· Hardrock mining within a grinding circuit
- Gravity Recoverable Gold (GRG) refers to how much gold you can recover based on how fine you are grinding/milling your ore.
The GRG (Gravity Recovery Gold) testing is available.
The number 1 application for iCON i350 worldwide is Hard Rock. The 10-15 TPH capacity and the ability to recover fine, flat milled gold are ideal for iCON. The major mines of the world use gravity concentration in their grinding circuits. The concentrators can recover over 90% of the overall production of major/professional mines.
A typical Hard Rock application would involve a crusher and ball mill. The material would be size classified using a cyclone in closed-circuit or simply a screen in semi-closed circuit milling. After the mill the material will pass through the concentrator. The major mines have a ‘recyclic load.’ Their processes are designed for the feed to pass through a concentrator multiple times before passing to the tails.
A Hard Rock operator may choose to run 15 tons per hour of a high grade ore. He may choose to rinse the bowl every 20 minutes. Here, he would have run 5 tons in 20 minutes and collected 10 kg of concentrate. That is a concentration ratio of 500 to 1.
I especially liked this passage under “GENERAL COMMENTS ON MINERAL PROCESSING”:
For example, one miner improved his recovery from 40% to 70% simply by screening his feed from 8mm to 2mm. No gold was lost, because his largest gold was around 0.5mm. The iCON method will improve your process by screening your feed to the proper size (reducing the volume of feed) and increasing the percentage of gold that you recover.
iCON uses a 2 step process; classification and concentration. Your feed will be screened to 2mm (or less based on your results) before processing in the concentrator. Any material larger than the screen will pass over the nugget trap. This will give the user confidence that they are collecting the BIG gold while minimizing the feed to the concentrator and maximizing its efficiency.
(Gold Mining )
As shareholders, we are captive to how and where management expends it’s limited resources. I’m grateful for the efforts of bringing together the talent over the past several years to carefully evaluate the best course forward in conservatively planning for success. Having come this far on less than $4M in expenses is remarkable. Building out the infrastructure and needed equipment expenditures is sure to increase that figure substantially. Once the new equipment arrives I anticipate the next phases will progress rapidly as concentrate is sent to ENAMI. A 500 to 1 concentration ratio, or better, will see an economic return on investment sure to put the project on a path to positive cash flow in the quickest way possible. That is what I’d like to see happen for all that are invested with this company.
EZ
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston Churchill
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So, what I’m reading is this:
Switching to a jumbo drill rig + using the optimal gravimetric concentrator could vault production in ways the artisanal miners (or we) could never imagine.
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Looks like another Chilean winter we have to sit through.
Where are our AUMC shares? I can’t find Mdmn website?
Yes I looked for MDMN website also
looks like they have not payed for there renewal.
I sure hope we get our shares converted soon. Been over 2 years since they said they were going to convert them.
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Was told decision was made not to pay for it and use OTC Markets for any public disclosures.
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From Auryn’s April, 2023 update:
OUTLOOK
Communications
"AURYN will continue to publish required financial disclosures at OTC Markets.
" Quarterly shareholder updates will also be released on OTC Markets and on our website during the first week of each calendar quarter along with a gallery of images and videos."
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That’s for Auryn and not for MDMN.
MDMN mgt is holding our Auryn shares
Is there a place we can see Mdmn mgt?
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The names can be found on OTC website in
https://www.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/financial-report/370930/content
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