Several years of operating experience of over 100 gold recovery operations on the West Coast has provided a database from which the basic operating costs of these types of operations can be characterised. Using figures generated from the averaging of plant operating costs throughout the region and financial modelling using Lotus spreadsheets has been developed to analyse both existing and proposed developments. This type of modelling has several uses: 1. Identification of the impact on profitability of changes in management practices, finance costs, operating costs and revenue streams._x000D_
2. Project evaluation and planning._x000D_
3. Profitability projections for development financing._x000D_
4. Troubleshooting with existing operations._x000D_
5. Valuation of existing operations and properties.