It seems there's a glitch in this on-line conference as we haven't had any answers yet. I can take a stab at this one though.

TMM is not hedging their gold. Not in the classic sense you are thinking about. They are going to pay back Sprott in gold ounces. There's an important difference. Hedging is locking-in X amount of gold at a fixed price for the lender -- regardless of whether gold goes higher or not. Companies in the past have hedged a ridiculous amount of gold, seriously impeding their profits. That is why Barrick is getting rid of its hedge book.

But TMM is simply going to pay back their loans with a relatively modest amount of gold ounces (about 20K ounces) -- no price fixing. Just a clean way to pay back a debt that gets you into full production. Obviously, this is a good deal for Sprott as gold is rising and they will get back signficantly more than the 15 million they lent. But it's also good for TMM as it gives them more certainty.

Here's an exerpt from their Oct. 8 news release:

"The Notes shall be repaid in 12 equal monthly installments commencing on the seventh month after the advance of funds. Each payment shall be equal to the value at the time of payment of 1,667 ounces of gold (20,004 ounces total)."

Plus, they'll be giving Sprott some shares, but this is overall a very good financing deal in my opinion. For a company that will be producing 80,000-100,000 ounces of gold annually for at least the next several years -- this debt will be erased in no time.

Hope that helps a little.