Howdy Boys, just back to Fort Lauderdale after flying from 7:00 AM this morning. Long day, Boise - Denver, Denver - Houston, Houston - Ft. Lauderdale. Ouch. Pic, my prayers go out to your Brother, I hope he pulls through.

I got a lot out of the meetings. The mill looks good, all is going pretty much as planned. Let's start with the bad news first. Mining is a tough business. It is slow and methodical, and just when you think things are starting to roll, something will fly right out of left field and bite you right in the ass. Mistakes have been made, miscalculations admitted to, and now we lace up the boots and press on.

I was impressed with Pierre. He is energetic, driven and extremely dedicated to getting this thing going. He looks healthy and strong. Regardless the mistakes and mis-steps, he is moving forward and I believe he will get it done. In a private moment, he shared these sentiments. He is 74 years old. He's made lots of money in his life and done lots of different things. SF is not just another notch on his belt. It's the final act in the play. It's his last deal. He's gonna give it everything he's got. I believe this mine is in his blood. He wants this as bad as we do. I believe it.

I also had a private conversation with Allen Simon. He's covinced as well. He told me he never makes mistakes where his money is concerned. He told me he sent a team to the operation before he committed one penny to the Falcon. They inspected every inch of the operation from the front gate to deep inside the Sinker. After their report, he opened his wallet. This was about 2 months ago. Yesterday, he opened his wallet again after seeing the progress that's been made in the ensuing months. For him, this looks like a two year play. He thinks this will be a "Major Score". I like the way he's thinking.

Timelines:

November 1, drill program begins. This does not mean drilling begins. This means advance prep work in the Sinker begins. Rock bolting must be finished to the satisfaction of Bureau of Mines. Blasting within the tunnel will need to be completed as well as other preliminary items to allow for drilling to begin. This will probably take us through January. Optimistic expectations are for actual drilling to begin on or around Feb. 1. I would imagine we could expect some initial drill results to leak out around April or early May.

More to come, but I am tired and need some winks. Remember, mining is a tough, tough business. Maybe the toughest business on the planet. But we truly have a gem in War Eagle Mountain. I believe the boys will get this thing done. They are the team we have in place and not much will change in that regard. It's very possible that SFMI may start gaining some traction just as the PM market begins to heat up in earnest next year. We may be swept up in a perfect storm of positive developments. This has been a long tough road so far for me, and I'm sure we'll stump our toes a time or two before this is all over. But I'm truly in this thing for the long haul. Best get'em while they're cheap. The upside here is scary good.

Best to all the longs,

Great to meet all you guys this weekend, Rich, Jim, Dave, David, Don, Nadine, JoAnn, Tamara, Bobby Joe, Tom, Lewis, Pierre and Allen.