text:
Wesdome Announces 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX: WDO) announces fourth quarter and full year financial results. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Record full year production at the Eagle River Complex of 101,403 ounces
Decreased Eagle River cash costs by 6%
Increased revenues and cash margins by 22%
Increased operating cash flows by 28%
Increased Eagle River reserve grade by 15%
Increased Eagle River resources (exclusive of reserves) by 25%
Kiena Mine embarked on a construction and mining ramp up as per the May 2021 Pre-Feasibility study – fully funded from internally generated cash flow
Successfully restarted Kiena in Q3, producing 22,440 pre-commercial ounces
Increased Kiena Measured and Indicated Resources (exclusive of reserves) by 7%
Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, "Q4 2021 demonstrated strong operating and financial performance with total gold production of 41,559 ounces and 37,544 ounces sold. Operating cash flows increased by 274% to $48.2 million or $0.34 per share1 (Q4 2020: $12.9 million or $0.09 per share). Net income and net income (adjusted)1 for the quarter were $24.8 million or $0.18 per share (2020: $8.5 million or $0.06 per share).
We are very pleased with both our operating and financial results in 2021. Total gold production of 123,843 ounces was pre-released, and both cash and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") of $990 and $1,408 respectively, within guidance of $900 – $1000 and $1,300 – $1,450 per ounce. Operating cash flows increased by 28% to $131.0 million (2020: $102.3 million) and cash margins increased by 22% to $145.4 million (2020: $119.3 million). We successfully restarted the Kiena operation fully funded by internally generated cash flow, spending $99.6 million during the year and producing our first ounces in Q3 2021. Kiena precommercial production generated $17.6 million of cash margin. We ended the year with $56.8 million in cash, sufficient to carry out all exploration and project work in 2022.
We have determined the 2021 year end resources using a 3D block model, in accordance with the industry best practises and standards. At Eagle, current reserves stand at 524,000 ounces of gold from 1.1 M tonnes at an average grade of 15.3 g/t Au. Reserve ounces declined modestly by 10% after depleting Eagle's record year of production, but saw a significant grade increase of 15% compared to 2020, which will improve mine margins going forward. A record Inferred Resource inventory of 255,000 ounces, an increase of 24% compared to 2020, provides a platform for potential increased Reserve replacement for YE 2022. Near term infill drilling is expected to increase confidence of current resources which could be deemed economic for reserve inclusion next year."
At Kiena, the Kiena Deep geological interpretation was improved on from the PFS model with additional drilling and silling along the zone in 2021, the new interpretation provided higher confidence in the Resource and will add to the successful mining of the zone. Due to successful infill and step out drilling the MI&I Resource (inclusive of reserves) increased 11% from the 2021 PFS, with a 7% increase in M&I leading to an overall Reserve increase by 8% with a very small decrease in grade due to bringing additional material from A1 and A2 zones which are lower grade compared to the A Zone.
Full MRMR data can be found in the Eagle River Complex and Kiena reserves and resources section below.
In 2022, production guidance is 160,000 – 180,000 ounces, and consolidated cash cost per ounce sold guidance to range between $875 – $970 per ounce (US $700 – $775), and AISC to range between $1,270 and $1,400 per ounce (US$ 1,015 – $1,125), slightly lower than 2021's results."
Key operating and financial highlights of the full year 2021 results include:
Gold production of 123,843 ounces, which includes 22,440 Kiena pre-commercial ounces, is a 37% increase over the same period in the previous year (2020: 90,278 ounces):
Eagle River Underground 228,759 tonnes at a head grade of 13.8 grams per tonne for 99,120 ounces produced, 13% increase over the previous year (2020: 87,560 ounces).
Mishi Open Pit 36,508 tonnes at a head grade of 2.4 grams per tonne for 2,283 ounces produced (2020: 2,718 ounces).
Kiena 68,470 tonnes at a head grade of 10.4 grams per tonne for 22,440 pre-commercial ounces produced.
Revenue2 of $262.9 million, a 22% increase over the previous year (2020: $215.5 million).
Ounces sold3 were 116,708 at an average sales price of $2,250/oz (2020: 91,229 ounces at an average price of $2,360/oz).
Cash margin1,2,4 of $145.4 million, a 22% increase over the previous year (2020 – $119.3 million).
Operating cash flows2,4 increased by 28% to $131.0 million or $0.93 per share1 as compared to $102.3 million or $0.74 per share for the same period in 2020.
Free cash outflow of $21.3 million, net of an investment of $99.6 million in Kiena, or ($0.15) per share1 (2020: free cash flow of $29.0 million or $0.21 per share).
Net income2,4 of $131.3 million or $0.94 per share (2020: $50.7 million or $0.36 per share) and Net income (adjusted)1,2,4 of $69.9 million or $0.50 per share (2020: $50.7 million or $0.36 per share).
Cash position at the end of the year of $56.8 million.
Cash costs1,4,5 of $990/oz or US$789/oz, a 6% decrease over the same period in 2020 (2020: $1,053/oz or US$785/oz);
AISC1,5 increased by 1% to $1,408/oz or US$1,123/oz (2020: $1,396 or US$1,040 per ounce) due to higher sustaining capital, corporate and general expenses and lease payments.
Eagle River Proven and Probable reserves of 1.1 M tonnes at an average grade of 15.3 grams per tonne for 524,000 ounces
Eagle River Measured and Indicated Resources (exclusive of reserves) of 465,000 tonnes grading 10.2 for 153,000 ounces
Eagle River Inferred Resources (exclusive of reserves) 596,000 tonnes grading 13.3 g/t for 255,000
Kiena Proven and Probable Reserves of 1.8 M tonnes at 11.1 g/t for 651,000 ounces
Kiena Measured and Indicated Resources (exclusive of reserves) of 734,000 tonnes grading 4.8 g/t for 113,000 ounces
Kiena Inferred Resources (exclusive of reserves) of 4 M tonnes grading 5.9 g/t for 761,000 ounces
Other Achievements for 2021 include:
Combined revenue from gold sales of $262.6 million (which excludes an additional $3.9 million from a bulk sample at the Kiena Mine).
Published Kiena Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"); IRR 98%.
Monetized Moss Lake via vend-in transaction with Goldshore Resources for aggregate consideration of $57 million including $12.5 million upfront in cash and 30% of issued and outstanding shares at closing
Included in TMX 30 recognition program for the third consecutive year. This flagship program showcases the TSX's 30 top-performing stocks based on dividend adjusted share price appreciation.
Key operating and financial highlights of Q4 2021 results include:
Gold production of 41,559 ounces, which includes 16,929 Kiena pre-commercial ounces, is a 108% increase over the same period in the previous year (Q4 2020: 20,006 ounces):
Eagle River Underground 56,159 tonnes at a head grade of 13.7 grams per tonne for 24,267 ounces produced, 23% increase over the previous year (Q4 2020: 19,667 ounces).
Mishi Open Pit 6,215 tonnes at a head grade of 2.1 grams per tonne for 363 ounces produced (Q4 2020: 339 ounces).
Revenue of $85.5 million, a 77% increase over the previous year (Q4 2020: $48.4 million).
Ounces sold were 37,544 at an average sales price of $2,275/oz (Q4 2020: 19,889 ounces at an average price of $2,430/oz).
Cash margin1 of $47.7 million, an 89% increase over the previous year (Q4 2020 – $25.2 million).
Operating cash flows increased by 274% to $48.2 million or $0.34 per share1 as compared to $12.9 million or $0.09 per share for the same period in 2020.
Free cash outflow of $3.2 million, net of an investment of $35.5 million in Kiena, or ($0.02) per share1 (Q4 2020: free cash outflow of $8.8 million or ($0.06) per share).
Net income and Net income (adjusted)1of $24.8 million or $0.18 per share (2020: $8.5 million or $0.06 per share).
Cash costs1 of $1,005/oz or US$797/oz, a 14% decrease over the same period in 2020 (Q4 2020: $1,162/oz or US$892/oz);
AISC1 decreased by 10% to $1,412/oz or US$1,121/oz (Q4 2020: $1,567 or US$1,203 per ounce).
Refer to the Company's 2021 Annual Management Discussion and Analysis section entitled "Non-IFRS Performance Measures" for the reconciliation of these non-IFRS measurements to the consolidated financial statements.
FY 2021 excludes $3.9 million of revenue from the Kiena bulk sample, which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021. The incidental revenue was credited against the cost of the Kiena exploration asset.
FY 2021 excludes 1,793 ounces from the Kiena bulk sample, which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021.
Includes a $0.4 million charge for product inventory costs from the sale of 1,793 ounces of gold from the Kiena bulk sample, which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021.
In determining the Cash cost per ounce and AISC per ounce, the total ounces sold includes 1,793 ounces of gold from the Kiena bulk sample, which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021.
Eagle River Complex Reserves and Resources
MINERAL RESERVES – EAGLE RIVER (see notes) December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
(000s) Grade
(g/t Au) Contained ounces Tonnes
(g/t Au) Contained ounces
Eagle River Proven 116 11.3 42,000 370 12.6 150,000
Probable 951 15.8 482,000 982 13.7 431,000
Proven + Probable 1,066 15.3 524,000 1,352 13.4 581,000
Mineral reserves are founded on measured and indicated mineral resources with an effective date of December 31, 2021
The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserves estimate as per NI 43-101 is Gary Poxleitner P. Eng, SRK Consulting, and independent of the Company
Mineral Reserves are reported using a 5.5 g/t Au cut off
Mineral Reserves demonstrated economic viability with the following parameters:
gold price of C$1,820 (US$1,400) per ounce for the Reserves, with a USD:CAD exchange rate of 1.3.
a 1.5 m minimum width,
1.0 m of external dilution (0.5m in HW, 0.5m in FW),
90% mine recovery,
mining cost of C$161.7/t,
milling cost of C$64.3/t,
surface and G&A cost of C$78.2/t,
Royalty of 2% of gold sold,
selling cost of C$7.65/oz and
metallurgical recoveries of 97.0%.
A bulk density factor of 2.7 tonnes per cubic m (t/m3)
Mineral Reserves have been estimated in accordance with the Standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and metal content
(Exclusive of Mineral Reserves)
(see notes) December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
EAGLE RIVER Measured 126 13.4 54,000 23 12.1 9,000
Indicated 339 9.1 99,000 320 9.0 93,000
Measured + Indicated 465 10.2 153,000 343 9.2 102,000
Inferred 596 13.3 255,000 510 12.5 205,000
The effective date of the estimate is December 31, 2021
The estimate was prepared by Sandeep Prakash, P. Geo., Senior Resource Geologist of the Company, under the supervision of the André M. Deiss, BSc (Hons), Pri.Sci.Nat. of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., who is a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101
Mineral resources are reported exclusive of mineral reserves; mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability
Mineral resources are considered for underground extraction and have been reported within potentially mineable volumes without external dilution. Must take material inside these volumes below the stated block grade cut-off has been included in the total.
A bulk density factor of 2.7 tonnes per cubic m (t/m3) was applied
Resources have been reported considering mining progress as of December 31, 2021
Resources are reported using a 4.22 g/t Au cut-off grade
Economic parameters for the determination of the cut-off grade include:
a gold price of US$1,500 per ounce, a USD/CAD exchange rate of 1.30 (resulting in C$1,950 per ounce gold price);
mining cost C$107.6/t milled;
processing cost C$64.3/t;
G&A C$78.2/t milled;
97.0% mill recovery
Royalty of 2% of gold sold, and
selling cost at C7.65$/oz
Mineral resources are classified in accordance with CIM standards
MINERAL RESOURCES (Exclusive of Mineral Reserves) (see notes) December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Open pit Indicated – – – – – –
Inferred 2,300 1.6 120,000 2,808 1.6 147,000
Underground Indicated – – – – – –
Inferred 373 5.4 65,000
MISHI TOTAL Indicated – – – – – –
Notes – Mishi
The estimate was prepared by Dr. Lars Weiershäuser, P. Geo., Director, Geology of the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101
Mineral resources are amenable for open pit extraction and have been reported within a conceptual pit shell.
Resources are reported using an in-situ marginal cut-off grade of 0.52 g/t
Ounces are contained ounces
Mining cost C$5.00/t;
Processing cost C$21.00/t including base processing, sustaining CAPEX, variable and G&A
Refining and transport cost $7.65/oz gold recovered
Royalty of 2% of gold sold and
82% mill recovery
Assumed pit slope angles between 36.8 and 52.4 degrees
Kiena Complex Mineral Reserves and Resources
MINERAL RESERVES – KIENA (see notes) December 31, 2021 May 26, 2021 Pre-Feasibility Study
Kiena Proven 71 13.2 30,000 95 4.1 12,000
Probable 1,758 11.0 621,000 1,387 13.0 577,000
Proven and Probable 1,829 11.1 651,000 1,574 12.0 602,000
The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserves estimate as per NI 43-101 is Simon Fontaine P. Eng, Mining Engineer at Kiena Mine and employee of the Company
15% external dilution in the A Zone, H1ZA1, BZA1, BZA2, S50, and Martin, 12% external dilution in the VC Zone and 25% external dilution in the A1 and A2 Zones,
S50 considers a dilution grade of 0.7 g/t Au, all other zones consider 0.0 g/t Au dilution grade.
selling cost of C$ 1.59/t, and 97% metallurgical processing recovery for the S50, VC & Martin Zones and 98.5% for the Kiena Deep Zones
Kiena Deep incorporates, Zone A, A1, A2, H1ZA, BZA1, BZA2
Mineral Reserves have been estimated in accordance with the Standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM")
Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and metal content.
KIENA Measured 21 9.6 6,000 – – –
Indicated 713 4.6 106,000 643 7.6 157,000
Measured + Indicated 734 4.8 113,000 643 7.6 157,000
The estimate was prepared by Karine Brousseau, P. Eng., Senior Engineer – Mineral Resources of the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101
Mineral resources are considered for underground extraction and have been reported below a 100m crown pillar and within potentially mineable volumes without external dilution. Must take material inside these volumes below the stated block grade cut-off has been included in the total.
Resources are reported using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade
mining cost C$85.7/t milled;
98.5% mill recovery and
Production and Exploration Highlights Achievements
FY 2021 Eagle River underground ore production increased by 13% from 2020 to 99,120 ounces of gold, due to a 16% increase in total throughput; offset partially by a 3% decrease in head grade. Head grade at Eagle River in 2021 averaged 13.8 g/t.
FY 2021 cash cost of $978 (US$780) per ounce of gold sold1 decreased by 7% or $74 from FY 2020 primarily due to a 10% increase in ounces sold.
FY 2021 AISC of $1,456 (US$1,162) per ounce of gold sold1 increased by 4% or $60 from FY 2020 primarily due to higher mine development and infrastructure spending; partially offset by a 10% increase in ounces sold.
Generated $127.7 million in cash margin in FY 2021 compared to $119.3 million in FY 2020, despite the average realized Canadian gold price being 5% lower at $2,250/oz (2020 – $2,360/oz).
Current mineral reserves at Eagle River as of December 31, 2021 are 525,000 ounces of gold from 1.1 Mt at an overall grade of 15.3 g/t Au. Measured and Indicated resources were impacted by reduced definition drilling and a revised, more conservative classification criteria, leading to a slightly smaller, higher grade reserve estimate for YE 2021. Reserve ounces declined modestly 11% after depleting Eagle's record year of production, but saw a significant grade increase of 15% compared to 2020 further improving the mines margin.
A record Inferred Resource inventory of 255,000 ounces provides a platform for potential increase Reserve replacement for YE 2022. Near term infill drilling is expected to increase confidence of current resources which could be deemed economic for reserve inclusion next year.
Current strategy for the corporation is to have production from the Eagle River operations to be in the 100,000 ounces per annum range by focused exploration and development of the Eagle River Mine thereby generating higher margin tonnes. This is supplemented by a growing production profile at Kiena.
Underground exploration is focused on extending the high grade 300 E and Falcon zones and targeting parallel zones in the volcanic rocks. Additionally, drilling is planned at the recently discovered North Contact zone.
Surface drilling is ongoing with 2 drills both east and west of the mine to follow up on anomalous values returned from the regional drilling program in 2021.
Kiena
In Q2 2021, based on the positive results of the Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS"), a Kiena restart decision was made. In H2 2021, Kiena produced 22,240 pre-commercial ounces. Total throughput was 68,470 tonnes or 372 tpd and the head grade averaged 10.4 g/t. The mill start-up in July went according to plan with no major issues. Mine operations were halted for 18 days in September for upgrading of the hoist system which has now been completed. Progress on the paste fill plant and tailings management area construction is on schedule. All key mobile equipment has been ordered and the mine has already received four underground haulage trucks with the remainder of the equipment scheduled to arrive by Q2 of 2022.
Despite the planned low pre-commercial production levels, FY 2021 cash cost was $1,052 (US$839) per ounce of gold sold1 and AISC was $1,138 (US$908) per ounce of gold sold1.
Generated $17.6 million in cash margin despite the high cash costs of $1,052 per ounce of gold sold1 due to planned low pre-commercial production levels.
Successful underground exploration at Kiena resulted in a 11% increase in the 2021 MI&I Resource (inclusive of reserves) from the 2021 PFS MI&I Resource at a slightly lower grade on average. An increase in the Measured and Indicated resources lead to an 8% increase of Reserves.
Current mineral reserves at Kiena as of December 31, 2021 are 651,000 ounces of gold from 1.8 Mt at an overall grade of 11.1 g/t Au.
Kiena Deep continues to show potential to add additional ounces in the resource base and additional ounces are planned for conversion to reserves with 2022 drilling, particularly at the Footwall Zone where an inferred resource has been defined.
The discovery of a new Footwall Zone was initially announced in March of this year. To date, the Footwall Zone is defined by new intersections of gold mineralization located within a 50 metre ('m') wide corridor adjacent to the footwall of the A2 Zone. The Footwall Zone corridor remains open laterally and down plunge. The location of new gold intercepts in recent holes suggest that the Footwall Zone extends over 300 m along plunge. The deepest hole returned 41.2 g/t Au (uncapped) over 51.2 m core length.
Ongoing drilling also continues to better define and expand the Kiena Deep A Zone predominantly along the lateral extensions of the zone. The high grades intersected will be included in future resource updates. One hole returned 132.1 g/t Au over 7.4 m core length (27.6 g/t Au capped, 3.9 m true width).
Initial surface drilling has focused on the Presqu'ile and Shawkey areas located northwest and southeast of the Kiena Mine, respectively. Since July 2021, two drills on barges have been testing the continuity of some gold anomalies in the Jacola Formation which host the Kiena mine. Recent drilling at Presqu'ìle zones returned 1515.0 g/t Au over 0.5 m core length.
Wesdome finalized the purchase of the Tarmac Gold Property from Globex Mining Enterprises. The Property consists of 6 claims covering 94 hectares located entirely within Wesdome's Kiena Mine Complex and less than 2 kilometers northeast of the Kiena underground mine, all located beneath Lac De Montigny.
Technical Disclosure
The technical content of this release has been compiled, reviewed and approved by Jacqueline Wheeler, P. Eng, Director, Corporate Development and Technical Projects and Michael Michaud, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of the Company and each a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 –Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome is Canadian focused with two producing underground gold mines. The Company's goal is to build Canada's next intermediate gold producer, producing over 200,000 ounces from two mines in Ontario and Québec. The Eagle River Underground Mine in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold at a rate of 92,000 – 105,000 ounces per year. The recently re-started Kiena Complex in Val d'or, Quebec is a fully permitted underground mine and milling operation Wesdome is actively exploring both underground and on surface within the mine areas and more regionally at both the Eagle River and Kiena Complex. The Company also retains meaningful exposure to the Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario through its equity position in Goldshore Resources Inc. The Company has approximately 141.9 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange"


A new standalone novella set after the traumatic events of STRANGER OF TEMPEST.
Lynx and the rest of the mercenary group he has reluctantly tied himself to find themselves with a little time to kill. Luckily, the city they've ended up in is holding a festival. And nothing spells fun more than a group of bored mercs and a lot of booze.
But Lynx has his own plans. A quiet evening with Toil, a woman he hasn't quite worked out yet. Nothing difficult or serious. No fights. No trouble.
Bridging the gap between novels, but entirely stand-alone, this novella throws Lynx and his companions into a plot which threatens them all.


The URBN VINO Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 has just been released, plus a few cases of the Reserve remain, but not many... Email me directly to check availability.
The second vintage of URBN VINO Pinot Noir. This wine remains a blend from two of my favourite vineyard sites in Central Otago, one in Bendigo and the other in Bannockburn. Hand-picked, hand-plunged, unfined & unfiltered. Very limited volumes available from a small but exciting vintage.
Produced from a single block within a single vineyard, and only in exceptional years. 2016 was all Clone 114 from Bendigo. Only two barrels were selected for this blend. A wine that will reward cellaring for 5-8 years. Unfined and unfiltered.


text:
a week in wireless
Written by The Informer
In recent times, over the top providers have been billed as the operator's nemesis. The message has been rammed down their throats: Skype is going to erode your voice revenues, WhatsApp will signal the demise of your SMS offering and YouTube is going to put tremendous strain on your network, offering you nothing in return. They are the Goldfinger to your James Bond; the Joker to your Batman, the Crystal Skull movie to your Indiana Jones trilogy.
But the world's operators laugh in the face of danger, and seven out of ten of them have defiantly declared that they're not afraid – they don't even see OTT players as a threat at all. In fact, they perceive the "OTT threat" as an opportunity, according to a series of telephone interviews conducted by research firm Coleman Parks for revenue management firm Amdocs.
Exactly what this opportunity is and how they aim to capitalise on it appears not to have been discussed in a lot of depth on these phone calls though. The idea of providing faster speeds to high value subscribers of OTT providers appears to be a non-starter, due to regulators' net neutrality policies in certain markets.
In the Informer's view, the real opportunity could be in direct operator billing. Skype recently integrated direct operator billing into its offering, and although at first, this was seen as a final death knell to operators' voice businesses, the move actually means that operators find themselves at the heart of an OTT player's business model. Morten Brøgger, CEO of Mach, the vendor that equipped Skype with its solution, argued that operators can now start to win market share from the major credit card brands and companies. The firm even sees opportunities beyond digital goods and services and reckons there could soon be space for them in facilitating the purchases of physical goods.
The Coleman Parks survey also revealed that almost half (42 per cent) of the operators surveyed even believe that they could offer any service an OTT player can deliver, but better. However, the Informer suspects these operators may have gotten carried away a little, sipping away on some Dutch courage during their phone calls.
In other news, there's been a lot of back-slapping and celebration in the UK regarding the earlier-than-planned arrival of LTE services. Peace talks held by regulator Ofcom with the country's operators, chaired by the UK Government's newly appointed Culture Secretary Maria Miller, resulted in the announcement that the 800MHz spectrum being cleared and ready for 4G mobile services from spring 2013. This is five months earlier than previously planned.
It transpired that Ofcom had held discussions with TV broadcasters and the transmission company Arqiva and managed to secure the early release of the 800MHz frequency that was previously used for digital-terrestrial broadcasting. The auction itself still remains on course to be held in early 2013 though – a good while after EE launches its commercial LTE offering in the UK, which it has now announced will happen on October 30, 2012.
Francesco Radicati, analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, credited Ofcom's decision to give in to UK operator Everything Everywhere's demands to refarm 1800MHz spectrum as key to this success.
"Ofcom has navigated this problem pretty cleverly – by giving one operator a headstart, it succeeded in getting the others to settle down and agree to speed up the process. It's just a shame that the process took so long, and looked so precarious at times," he said.
Others remained cynical though. The research firm's chief research officer Mark Newman questioned whether the current situation does indeed take the UK's operators a step closer to a level playing field, as the auction will only be for 2.6GHz and 800MHz spectrum.
"It's all very well saying that O2 and Vodafone can come to market more quickly now, but is rolling out LTE on 2.6GHz as valuable as the 1800MHz spectrum that EE and 3UK has?" he asked.
"Looking at the global perspective, 1800MHz is the preferred LTE spectrum as it manages to strike that balance between dense urban coverage and more extensive national coverage."
Bengt Nordström, co-founder and CEO of consultancy firm Northstream, thinks that the problem in the UK is that we're just too polite; too mild mannered. He believes Ofcom could learn a thing or two by adopting the ruthless streak demonstrated by its counterparts across Europe.
"If the regulator acts in a stringent way, operators understand," he said. "They might have their own views about the moves taken by the regulator, but by and large they would agree with them and know that there is no point in complaining or delaying the process."
One person who is not known for being mild mannered is Steely Neelie Kroes. This week, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda issued a rallying call to Europe's telecoms operators to help lobby for the release of funds totalling €9bn earmarked to support digital infrastructure projects including faster broadband roll-out.
"Are we going to take our place as the connected, competitive continent? Or are we going to stay antiquated and analogue?" she roared. "We need to persuade MEPs and national governments of this case – and urgently".
In other news, the CDG (CDMA Development Group) is now heavily pushing the 450MHz band as a significant opportunity for spectrum- and capacity-poor mobile carriers.
At one time, the group was pushing the rapid adoption of CDMA2000 in what many perceived as rivalry against the 3GPP's WCDMA standard. But with so many CDMA standard bearers migrating to LTE, the group has changed its focus to stay relevant.
One of the biggest problems facing an operator today is spectrum availability. But when the world's last NMT network was switched off, in Poland, in June of this year, Orange found itself with a swathe of spectrum and an opportunity to offer something its rivals couldn't.
The CDG reckons other operators could learn a thing or two from what Orange is doing with its CDMA450 network in Poland. The network is currently upgraded to Revision B, phase one only, which was a software upgrade to the network. A second phase hardware upgrade, where the network cards are swapped out in the base stations, could pump the network downlink peaks up to 14.7Mbps.
Meanwhile, Skype has set up a public wifi network in the UK and Ireland in a bid to diversify its offering. The service enables shopping malls, retailers and other businesses to deliver public internet access to customers free of charge.
Free Skype WiFi will allow Skype users to log in to any participating wifi location with their Skype ID using the Skype WiFi app. Users will be able to browse the web, engage with social media, access and send emails, shop, compare prices and download special deals from participating high street retailers.
The VoIP firm's co-founder Niklas Zennstrom has also given his backing to a US start up which this week has launched the beta version of its service aiming to disrupt the wireless broadband market. FreedomPop will be offering 500MB of free 4G data usage to each of its customers using US wholesale operator Clearwire's WiMAX network.
The firm will sell excess data beyond that at $0.01 per MB. Users will be able to trade unused data capacities with each other on a social network. FreedomPop said that it aims to switch the service onto Sprint's LTE spectrum sometime in early 2013.
And finally, the Informer can hardly believe that today marks a full year since a man responsible for taking the telecommunications market to its next frontier passed away, and found an interesting interview with Steve Jobs from an issue of Fortune magazine in 1995, in which he said:
"You know, I've got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can't say any more than that it's the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But nobody there will listen to me."
Thank goodness they eventually did.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
HomeBusiness Energy NewsImporting Icelandic Power
Importing Icelandic Power
An ambitious project conceived by an Icelandic economist aims to connect Iceland and the UK with an undersea power cable, exporting electricity to Britain.
The idea has been in the works for many years but has had its fair share of logistical problems.
Both Prime Minister David Cameron and Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson have assembled separate expert groups to weigh the pros and cons of the plan. The results of the investigations are expected to be released within the next six months.
The project courted controversy in Iceland where it was feared the cable would lead to increased energy prices in Iceland and decreased jobs of Icelanders. However, Sigmundur was quick to assure people this would not be the case. Investor and economist Hreiðar Guðjónsson believes that Iceland might not even have to pay for the project at all.
"[The British] are potentially ready to finance this and be like any other lessee," he said.
Hreiðar added that colder winters in Britain could lead to the country increasing demand for exported electricity "just like [Iceland] sends [Britain] fish."
The idea of the cable has been around for some time and former British Minister of Energy Charlse Hendry commented on the plan in 2012.
"We will be dependent on imported energy", he said, adding that cables "are an absolutely critical part of energy security and for low carbon energy."
Despite this, constructing a cable between the two countries would be a huge undertaking. The cable would end up being around 1,000 to 1,500 kilometres long, making it the longest in the world, while also laying 1,200 metres below the surface of the sea.
In 2013, Iceland's Minister of Industry Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir voiced his concerns about the huge cost of the project.
However, the government estimates that as much as 75% of Iceland's energy resources are undeveloped.
Hydropower accounts for about 73% of electricity production in the country, while the rest is tapped from geothermal sources. Only about 39% of the available geothermal energy is used to make electricity.


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Il castello di Lisignano è un fortilizio situato a Lisignano, località del comune italiano di Gazzola, in provincia di Piacenza.

Il castello è situato sulle prime propaggini dell'Appennino ligure, sulla sponda destra del torrente Luretta, nei pressi del punto in cui la val Luretta trova il suo sbocco in pianura, a breve distanza da Agazzano, capoluogo dell'omonimo comune confinante con Gazzola, dove si trova, sulla sponda opposta del Luretta un altro castello.

Storia
Lisignano è, probabilmente, il Licinianus citato all'interno della tabula alimentaria traianea, il quale era un fondo adibito ad attività nell'ambito dell'agricoltura. In seguito, Lisignano viene citato all'interno di un atto di cessione risalente all'800 nel quale il giudice Albizzone donava al monastero di San Savino di Piacenza una superficie di 800 pertiche comprendenti alcune costruzioni e campi atti alla coltivazione della vigna.

La prima citazione riguardo all'esistenza di un castello a Lisignano, costruzione che, tuttavia, doveva essere stata edificata in precedenza, durante il XII secolo, risale al 1203, mentre nel 1244 vi è documentato il soggiorna del marchese di Hohenburg, il quale, vicario al servizio dell'imperatore Federico II, compie diverse incursioni nel territorio compreso tra la val Luretta e la val Tidone con scopi intimidatori.

Successivamente, un nuovo castello viene costruito nella zona per volontà della famiglia Arcelli. Alla metà del Trecento l'edificio è di proprietà di Giovanni Pagani il quale, dopo la sua morte, lo trasmette ai figli della sorella Pellegrina che aveva sposato un membro della famiglia Anguissola. Alla scomparsa della signora, l'edificio, che si trovava in condizioni precarie a causa di un incendio, viene venduto dal marito, che lo amministrava in qualità di tutore, Giovanni, Giacomo e Guglielmo Figliagaddi. Nel XIV secolo l'edificio entra tra i beni dei condottieri e Nicolò e Jacopo Piccinino, prima di ritornare in possesso degli Arcelli.

Dopo essere diventato di proprietà dell'ospedale grande di Piacenza nel 1630 dopo la dipartita dell'ultimo proprietario Maurizio Baldini, nel 1632 la costruzione viene comprata da Giuseppe Rizzalotti, al quale succedono, prima la moglie Ortensia Leoni, poi, i nipoti Melchiorre e Francesco Leoni, i quali vantavano origini catalane e che, nel 1680, vengono investiti conti, dopo aver completato l'acquisto del territorio di Lisignano dalla Camera Ducale farnesiana.

Negli ultimi anni del XVII secolo gli interni del castello subiscono diverse modifiche in modo da essere adattati a residenza nobiliare: le modifiche, il cui progetto viene redatto da Ferdinando Galli da Bibbiena includono lavori all'esterno dell'edificio, con il lato orientale che viene decorato con diversi elementi architettonici e affreschi i quali danno su una corte ad arco, mentre a sud dell'edificio viene creato un piccolo boschetto al cui centro viene posta una scultura rappresentante Ercole intento a uccidere il leone di Nemea.

Le trasformazioni continuano nel XVIII secolo quando viene realizzato un doppio porticato a quattro fonici di gusto barocco, nonché la grande scala che permette l'accesso al piano nobile dell'edificio.

Nella seconda guerra mondiale, nell'ambito della resistenza partigiana, il castello ospita il futuro storico e scrittore Angelo Del Boca, membro di una formazione delle Brigate Giustizia e Libertà il quale si era rifugiato a suo interno per sfuggire alle truppe nazifasciste. In seguito, Del Boca, sposando Maria Teresa Maestri, diviene proprietario dell'edificio.

Struttura
Il castello si presenta come una fortificazione isolata circondata da un fossato le cui acque provengono dal corso del Luretta e che viene sopravanzato da un ponte levatoio con bolzoni in materiale ligneo e catene che, originariamente, poggiava su di un battiponte. La pianta del forte è rettangolare con 4 torri angolari di forma rotonda. Sul lato nord-orientale dell'edificio è presente il portico barocco, aggiunto durante i lavori di rifacimento settecenteschi, mentre sugli altri tre lati sono visibili i resti di alcuni affreschi che riprendono il motivo del loggiato. Pur caratterizzate da lunghezze simili, le quattro diverse facciate del castello presentano alzati diversi: mentre i prospetti nord-occidentale e nord-orientale si presentano della stessa altezza delle torri angolari, la facciata sud-orientale si presenta più bassa, mentre quella sud-occidentale è caratterizzata da uno sviluppo su due livelli.

Sul lato meridionale, di fronte all'ingresso, si trova, all'interno di un boschetto, un ninfeo dove è presente la statua di Ercole vincitore sul leone Nemeo, la quale venne aggiunta alla fine del XVII secolo. Gli interni presentano stanze di grandi dimensioni con l'ampio utilizzo dell'illuminazione naturale, mentre i soffitti sono realizzati a vela e con lunettoni. Al di sotto della torre principale si trova un angusto locale che, originariamente, aveva la funzione di prigione e che era accessibile unicamente tramite una botola aperta nel soffitto dell'ambiente per mezzo della quale i galeotti venivano calati dall'alto. Secondo la tradizione, a partire dalla prigione partirebbe uno stretto cunicolo che, sottopassando il torrente Luretta, metterebbe in comunicazione il castello con il maniero di Agazzano.

Note

Bibliografia

Voci correlate
Castelli della provincia di Piacenza

Collegamenti esterni

Lisignano
Architetture di Gazzola
Castelli italiani con fossato adacquato

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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They are my coolest toys. I would sleep with them if I didn't have a pretty lady, so instead I dream about them. Like Mitchell dreaming about Pepe the Spanish-speaking shark in Airborne (see clip far below).
This is my current board, a 7'6 white and blue learner board. It's not custom made or even brand name. As near as I can tell it was made in a factory with about 1,000 others.
We call her Toffler after a friend on Twitter (World Future Society) suggested the name. It refers to Alvin Toffler the American writer known for his work on the digital revolution.
This is Amy's current board and it's a boat. So called the Barnstormer because in the surfing world 'barney' refers to a very inexperienced surfer and the board has 'Wavestorm' written across it.
It's 8 feet long and you really can't do anything with it except float. Which is perfect for the beginner who just wants to feel safe. It gives you a chance to learn the basics like paddling, sitting on the board, learning how waves break, and catching the crumblers (small waves).
My very first surfboard, called Chuck, although Dent might be a better name. I bought this way before I was committed to surfing and even then it was a piece of junk.
Dents all over it, nose previously broken and repaired, and already turning post-white yellow (the picture doesn't do the yellow-ing justice).
It stands 6'5 tall and could probably still shred. I'm gonna have to take it out one of these days and see if it still floats.
Where would we be without surfing memorabilia everywhere. Here is one piece from my house…maybe I can practice my pop ups on it..
Surfboards are pretty fragile. I'm always denting, scratching, and cracking mine. After all they they are just shined up pieces of fiberglass. This is where the padded surfboard bag comes in. Great for garage storage and for the surf trip (will I ever take one of those?).
From the movie Airborne, where Mitchell is a kid from California who moves to the midwest and has dreams about the ocean, specifically about Pepe the Spanish-speaking shark.
Here he is introducing himself to the class.


text:
Q: How to undo fastboot disable and CSM enable option in BIOS? currently have no display. Is clearing CMOS my only option? So I just disabled fast boot and enabled CSM boot in order to try and get a windows 10 install USB to boot. The system won't boot now and I have no display.
Is CMOS reset my only option in this case? If I go that route are my SSD's in risk of corruption? Should I disconnect them before the CMOS reset? Also I have applied a BIOS update using the EZ update utility provided by ASUS a while back. will I need to re-apply this update upon reset?
I am currently using a gtx 770 gpu which has it's own UEFI BIOS, could this be the problem that is preventing the display from initializing and the system from POSTing
Because I am trying to dual boot with an existing windows 7 install,  I made the USB using Rufus, and I selected the MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI. The windows 10 install USB would boot from the UEFI option using the f8 menu, but I need to use legacy not UEFI. When using the legacy option from the f8 menu, the windows 10 install USB would initialize, and say "press any key  to boot..." ,  but when I would press enter, it would say "failed to start, press ctrl+alt+del to restart".
So like I Already mentioned, I disabled fast boot, and enabled CSM boot, to try and get the windows 10 install USB to boot/start. But now my PC/bios fails to POST. I have the ASUS Maximus VII Hero Z97 chipset motherboard. The mobo includes a Q-led display that displays startup and error codes. On a successful boot the code displayed is "AO" , which stands for "IDE initialization is started". As of now the system powers up but I have no display, and the code "92" is displayed, which stands for "PCI"  bus initialization is started" but it doesn't make it past that.
In Comment to @Rich Manson,
My motherboard is the  ASUS Maximus VII Hero with Z97 chipset. I was messing around with my windows 7 system a while back, and it failed to boot. I used the MBR repair option on the Rescatux live GRUB/MBR repair CD and it worked. Everytime I boot I see the letters MBR flash, then the loading splash screen for windows 7 comes up. That is why I believe my Windows 7 install is using the MBR scheme, and not the GPT scheme. Also when I initially installed Windows 7, the option I chose didn't say (UEFI) beside it on the boot options screen, so I thought choosing the other option means you are using legacy boot, which uses MBR instead of GPT. And I'm not trying to install a hybrid system, I am trying to install windows 10 with legacy boot/MBR since I supposedly already use the MBR scheme.
Update, It was indeed my graphics card that causing the system to stop on initialization of the PCI-E bus. I pulled my GPU's out and used the on-board graphics to revert the BIOS settings. CMOS reset wasn't necessary. And I had gotten the boot options that I changed confused. I had indeed disabled fast boot before the problem, but I had also disabled CSM boot, whereas it was actually already enabled beforehand. I was previously stating that I had enabled it. If I had left it enabled then I believe my display still would have worked.

A: Resetting the CMOS may not fix your issue or garner the results your looking to realize.  Also, resetting the CMOS should not effect data on an SSD. But to answer your other question, Yes you can unplug them if it worries you. Resetting CMOS just resets the system setup to default.
You mentioned your gpu has its own UEFI and that you enabled CSM boot after it was installed. It sounds like you set up the gpu in UEFI mode and you then switched to UEFI/Legacy/CSM mode. This would prevent your graphics from initializing and the display to not be working. Your particular system board, ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO, has on-board graphics. To get you gpu to show a display or initialize, you could try pulling out the gpu and see if on-board graphics work to get into setup. UEFI boards have a basic graphics driver to enable on-board graphics.
Make sure you set your system up in one mode
You will need to set up the hardware and software (OS) in the same system mode. You can't set up part of your system in one mode and switch to another mode since this would imply trying to get the system board to run in both modes at the same time, which it will not.
Windows 7 is documented to be able to install in UEFI mode. You are getting the "failed to start, press ctrl+alt+del to restart" message because it is not finding some boot files either because there are not where they should be or corrupt, or they appear to not be there because the system is looking in the wrong place. This could be simply a setup setting that is wrong as this can also generate this message.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: how do I disable random play order on the windows version? my playback options is in the screenshot below.
On my mac, I have the same settings and vlc plays my playlist in order.  On windows, the app does it in random order.
Thanks

EDIT1: I tried the to disable/enable the randon icon (the last one to the right). no effect.