Rainbow Rare Earths Phalaborwa project shaping up to be one of the lowest cost producers globally. Watch the video here.
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Hi All,
As we didn't get any feedback from the PC meeting last week there's been little to discuss. However, there's an RNS today which is of interest. Here's a link to the supporting doc: https://www.tungstenwest.com/aim-admission-document.
As an aside (and if you were unaware): There are just under 20Mn additional Founder Shares split equally and allotted to the four Founders. The amount in the latest RNS represents a third of the allotment to one of the Founders; which one I currently don't know.
It's these Founder options that make up the difference between the number of shares reported at Companies House (soon to be 188Mn) and the 200Mn figure seen elsewhere such as on the LSE site, here.
Let's hope the EA coming through with a speedy decision, this has dragged on long enough IMO.
@LB - if you're reading this, any feedback from the PC meeting would be much appreciated, even if that feedback is that you didn't attend. Thanks.
ATB
Hiya croissant and all . Sorry for the delay in replying. Currently away in Greece on holiday. Wife's had one too many ouzos tonight so got a pocket of time for a reply. 🤣.
I've had a few too so hope this makes sense...
I did make it to the meeting but nothing major to report. 8 councillors.... I was the ONLY public person present. Certainly no hoards of protestors waving placards outside. All very low key. TW was certainly NOT the focus on the meeting. Much more emphasis on parish issues like planning for example . The council is made up of very reasonable people imo. They kept stating in relation to TW that they are only seeking reassurance they there's not going to be a repeat of wolfe... My take is that the incumbent left quite a scar on the local community. This is where there is the most local concern.
They (the PC) were slightly p!££ed off that tw weren't there on the day . They were invited to present a progress update but no one from the company bothered to attended.🤷. Thus 2 agenda items were written off.
There was some concern that the EA had dumped a whole load of additional info at the 11th hour (known about here - hence the extension ). They seemed generally overwhelmed by the EA report. The size of it the biggest concern. The additional info exacerbating the task of review. They minuted a request for a further extension. I'm not sure they will be successful. They previously requested a 8 week extension (again we know about this) this was turned down and they got 4. They didn't seem hopeful that a further extension would be granted. That's to say an additional extension to the current one.
Interesting that they mentioned (volunteered) cash flow. They seemed to think TW were running on fumes. One guy said there were only a dozen staff on site. They indicated that if the process could be stalled they may just run out of money and the problem might just go away. I took this as they viewed this route just as a potential easy way out.
Take aways... They are reasonable and fair. They are neither pro or anti TW. There was however a sense of general distrust toward TW... This seemed mainly aimed at the previous board JMcF et Al. (not the recent refresh). They kind of admitted that a restart at some point was a fait a complet. They seemed aware of the size of the resource and it's global attraction.
Just my view > although the parish council wield considerable power in principle.... they seemed resigned to the fact in this case bigger wheels were turning. Wheels that they probably couldn't stop. Please note this is just my opinion.
All in all it was pretty uneventful. Other than the outside chance of a further extension into June.. I didn't really learn anything new. Certainly nothing that isn't known to LTH here.
I'll check back in in a few days to see if there are any questions. I'll try to answer if I can.
ATB LB
PS. If I hadn't of gone I suspect the parish council would hardly of discussed it.
@LB - Thanks for the update. Nice to hear you're on holiday - that's given us all a boost here back in Blighty.
From your description of the PC meeting, it's as suspected. Apathy, the hallmark of the British public, wins hands down again. The general public will not, are not opposing this application. As for the PC itself, they can (and unfortunately it looks likely they will) try to delay proceedings, but that's it. That's all they have.
The large last minute document dump to the PC from the EA is an insight into the fumbling inefficiency which seems to occasionally plague the EA particularly during public consultations, which inadvertently result in further delays. And if you have a jaundiced eye, as I do, you could be forgiven for seeing this last minute doc-dump as an invitation by the EA to the PC to extend.
Conspiracy theories aside, my take-away from all this is that neither the PC nor the EA want to approve the project, as they'll both be in the hot seat if the deafening clanking starts up again, but neither body can oppose this application on technical grounds as the case made by the TW Team is so very strong. That's why we're seeing these delays - they're firing blanks.
My best guess would be, in the worst case we'll see a further 8 week extension requested by the PC reluctantly agreed to by the EA and after fierce negotiations reducing to 4 weeks (- e/o June); then a 4 week review by the EA (- e/o July); and then finally, over two and half years later than it could have been, the EA will through gritted teeth, issue that MPF permit.
Two other points to note:
TW: They must review that permit before accepting. In a comment by NG at one of those PC meetings he stated that "a permit that’s not workable is not a permit". So the permit must be reviewed as the EA could try and pull a fast one even at the very end.
CLN Holders: I think these guys are solidly behind the project. If TW need more money, and they likely will before Jan 31 2025, Tranche E will be forth coming. I'm guessing another £1M will be needed and requested (circa 08/2024), but be aware that this would be asked for in any event. Tranche E is no drama, the drama will come only from further delays. They (the EA and the PC) have one extension left, if they choose to use it, then it's done.
ATB
Lovelyboy and Croissant
Thanks for attending the meeting LB and reporting your findings. My understanding is that a junior member of the EA team forgot to post some documentation and as a result the EA had to extend the consultation period. I would be surprised if there is any further extension which I think would only happen if something new is brought up; -unlikely.
On the finance side, I think the CLN buyers are very unlikely to stop at this stage and the next tranche if needed will be provided. My conclusion is that we are almost out of danger and soon be thinking of the timeline to a re-start.