London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Regarding the quote from a mining expert (whom I highly respect AND agree with):
"You need good grade in Western Africa to pay for extraction there. There is such a thing as an African cost structure and it is relatively high. To that you need to add the security risk which is increasing annually with the fundamental islamist insurgency. Sure, the comment below about forfeiting 1.4 million ounces may be true, but are they economic ounces? It may well be a case of preventing throwing good money after bad money."
--------------------------->>>
My Thoughts:
Here is an actual statement from Centamin outlining their Wadaradoo rationale:
"Focused capital allocation with clear and frequent investment decision points towards value creation. If those decision points are not satisfied, then there needs to be the discipline to stop committing further capital and instead assess alternative opportunities for the asset."
So is that what management did in the case of Wadaradoo - 'assess alternate opportunities for the asset?'
No.
All the value that was created through exploration and drilling was forfeited. Perhaps $300 to $400 million of value creation. Gone. I hardly think 'not throwing good money after bad' is a good idiom for what transpired. May I suggest (for the UK audience) 'Penny wise pound foolish.' a better fit?
Just think about all the quarterly presentations where Centamin's management crow on and on about how they will find ten or twenty million in cost savings through efficiencies, reducing waste, saving fuel and so forth.
Should they then scoff at a shareholder suggesting Wadaradoo offered value through divesting?
Furthermore, Wadaradoo is right next to Batie West and Batie West is right next to Doropo.
Any issues with security will effect the entire area as it's literally a dozen kilometers separating one from the next and the next. And as far as metallurgy and good grades go - the new owner Altair gives a glowing report. See here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/don-lawson-98619370_gold-activity-6866852365631332352-0pTv
And finally, the mining expert adds this:
"Funny how often people believe that management makes decisions unfavourable to the company and, by extension, them."
Well, people often think the government makes decisions unfavorable to the citizens/taxpayers. Is it blasphemy to imagine a board of directors making unfavorable decisions as well?
Bottom line is I do have an ulterior motive when it comes to my criticisms as a shareholder. And that is to see corrective action taken so our share price can appreciate & Centamin can grow. The board has been sitting on their hands and squandering assets far too long.
Honestly, isn't it those that make blanket excuses for the board's massive failures which ought to be questioned as having ulterior motives? Don't get me wrong, I understand the point of being positive minded - but there comes a time where one also needs to be pragmatic and
Thanks Cowachin
One of the issues in investing in Burkina Faso, is that there are some ongoing security (and I won't post again about corruption) issues in Burkina. So this makes raising money in Burkina difficult, and if a project is marginal, then the security and corruption issues will provide the tipping (down) points, sadly for the average citizens of Burkina
NEW SECURITY ISSUE
"We can establish the following toll: 49 gendarmes dead, 4 civilians (killed). Fortunately, we have found 46 gendarmes" who were missing, said Ousséni Tamboura after a cabinet meeting.
The death toll could rise further, however, as the gendarmerie detachment in Inata, a town in the Sahel region close to the border with Mali, comprises about 150 men, according to local sources.
The detachment was attacked on Sunday by "a large number of armed individuals" travelling "on several pick-ups and motorcycles," according to a security source who described "long exchanges of fire" between the attackers and the gendarmes.
This is one of the deadliest attacks against the defense and security forces since Burkina Faso has been confronted with jihadist actions, which began in this country six years ago.
At the end of the council of ministers, the president of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, deplored "dysfunctions at a significant level" within the army, mentioning in particular problems with food supplies.
"This is unacceptable and that is why I understand very well the different reactions of anger that are expressed," he added.
The government spokesman said earlier that two commanders in charge of the northern sector of the country have been removed from their posts after the attack in Inata.
https://www.africanews.com/2021/11/18/burkina-faso-president-criticizes-army-dysfunctions-after-deadly-attack
There are wide scale and ongoing protests about the handling or lack there of, terrorist threats. I expect these to magnify very significantly in the next few months. I am also suspecting there may well be a regime change. This is not disimilar to Mali, where there have been 2 coups in the last 12 months.
"A convoy of French troops in Burkina Faso was stopped en route to Niger on Friday by a human barricade of protesters opposed to France's involvement in a regional conflict with jihadists. Anger is rising in the former French colony over the inability of Burkinabe and international forces to prevent rising violence by Islamist militants"
Why, when they were going to help?
France continues to deal poorly with the investigation of the assasination fo Thomas Sankara. There is now a trial in motion
The poor will become poorer. Protests and civil unrest will increase
best
the gnome
[hope I do not get censored this time!?]