Pretty much all I know about mining and ECU have come from lurking and learning on this forum for the last 15 months or so, so forgive me if the answers to any of these questions are obvious.

My first question is about the new mill. It's been referred to as a 500 tpd mill, and on another post I learned that it will process the au/ag concentrate from the existing 1500 tpd mill. Does the size of 500 tpd refer to how much ore, or concentrate it can process per day ? If concentrate, what is the ratio of ore to concentrate ? It greater than three to one, then shouldn't the the new mill, on an ongoing basis once the existing tailings have been processed, be more than sufficient to process all the existing mill 's output ?

The second question concerns investor relations and this site. I've read many times that management is very open and will quickly respond to investor's questions. I've also read that this site is the premiere site for ECU investors, and inferences that a number of regular contributors are close to management. Wouldn't it make sense for management to monitor this site and directly respond to the various concerns, such as their reasons for purchasing the new mill now, for how much, and how they raised the money ? If there are not regulations forbidding such direct feedback, perhaps some of those close to management could suggest they do this, or even that management might respond directly to " questions to management " posted on this site.

My third question concerns ECU's ability to continue as an independent entity. When I first learned of ECU, primarily here, I bought in and envisioned a retirement with quarterly dividends coming in from ECU as it found and produced even more and higher grades. Then I read that management's short term goal was to prove up as much potential as possable, as soon as possable, which would enable a higher selling price when one of the majors snapped it up. Although this seemed to be a valid strategy, I was disappointed as ECU's quality would be diluted over many more mines and among many more investors. My question is, does the acquisition of the new mill make it any more likely that ECU can continue as an independent entity ? Is life as an independent entity even the best outcome we can hope for, or was my vision a product of ignorance ?

My fourth question ( OK I got carried away ) concerns dore bars and refiners. Will ECU sell the dore bars to a refiner, presumably at the comex price, or would ECU pay the refinery to further refine the metal enabling ECU to sell the bars ( perhaps in consumer sizes ) itself, thus capturing the spot premium ? I recall a post from 6 to 10 months ago asking if it were possable to purchase silver bars or rounds with ECU stamped on them. I'd love to purchase or receive a dividend in ECU silver. Is this another newby pipe dream ?

Thanks Wannabe