Member Info for addicknt

sometimes being somewhat ill-tempered, I for one, have found the grade debate very interesting.
A question for FR: What, in your mind, are the implications of your opinion?

It wouldn't please me. We need every penny to develop this project and I don't want to see an artificial boost of the share price by this method. Sure, when we've been in production for a couple of years and the profits are flowing in, but not before.
In any event, there's no way on Gods Earth they will exercise the authority.

mrc, I only mentioned the book as an off-topic comment. It is not specifically relevant to KDNC, but is a great guide as to what to look for in trading businesses. It focusses on things like accruals, stock, goodwill and capitalised costs and does so via the examination of some of the most egregious recent examples.
In fact, when you read his analysis it makes you sit back and ask, how on earth did people miss that? Essential reading.

That's all frightfully interesting, Mr Secker, but unless you get your finger out, our lithium will remain exactly where it's always been...in the ground.

Yes, it was an odd announcement. It appeared to say; "we've dug-up some rock and it looks as if it may contain some interesting bits".
The reaction on their bb has been hysterical...in both senses of the word.
For me, this is exactly the type of company announcement that gives AIM such a bad name, and I say this as someone who once worked with Alex Borelli and liked him a lot.

yes, they announce the overall result. HL will also confirm that they've followed my instructions.

VCKP, in this instance, HL.
Not sure I understood your other question.

Funny you should mention this; I've just put the phone down to my broker to tell them to vote against resolutions 8 through 13.
If you share my opinion of these options and I know some do and some don't, cast your vote. If you don't, there's no point complaining after the event.
We won't win, but I want my dissatisfaction registered.

Please don't start talking about new cars...it's the kiss of death!

Agreed, schlemiel; something like a PEA and or BFS are all essential components of dd.
I think something some people may underestimate is just how difficult raising billions of dollars actually is...particularly for a start-up mining operation.
Lending institutions are hugely conservative, especially in the current environment. And despite what I have no doubt will be the stunning economics of this project, there is still one major risk that will preclude certain institutions from going anywhere near it...Sovereign risk. Of course, there are those that specialize in the market, but nevertheless, this will not be the walk in the park some people assume. This is another reason why I see us exiting.

If you're are intending to sell a business you have a number options; 1) broadcast it to the world and market the company accordingly, 2) tell everyone it's not for sale and that you intend to continue running it, or 3) do what NM is doing, which is a hybrid of 1 and 2.
Personally, I don't feel for one moment that the potential buyer pool believes option 2. There will be endless discussions going on at a number of companies about how to play this and I'm sure various different strategies are being evolved.
NM's task is to maximise value and quite clearly part of that process is kidology.

jerry, I didn't say he shouldn't be making them, just that I don't understand why he is. And I'm not sure about institutional shareholders, our register is already rock solid.

Agreed, zeus, there has been a really good level of debate over the past few weeks.
I can't make up my mind as to which way I think this will go, as I think there are compelling arguments on both sides. The BHP situation is confusing; yes, they have the standstill and were clearly happy to grant it. This alone may indicate that they are not planning a bid at the moment and feel they are in a strong enough position to mount a reactive bid if needs be. But why haven't they appointed their nominee board member? We've talked about this on several occasions, but their failure to do so (referred to by NM on Wednesday) certainly leaves the door open for us conspiracy theorists.
And why has NM been spending so much time engaging in endless presentations? He has no real need to do so as it's not as if we are below anyone's radar, and nor do we need to raise any cash. Do we really need another unpredictable institution(s) on our register? No, we don't.
This is such a difficult call, but one thing is absolutely for sure, and that is, whatever you feel about the short and longer term prospects, you'd have to be pretty mad to consider selling at the moment.

we spend quite a lot of time on here thinking about SOLG's positioning with regard to a takeover, but less so with the other side of the equation...the bidder.
As they sit in their boardrooms planning their future, what are they saying about us? How do they view the shareholding of BHP and Newcrest? Do they attempt a friendly approach now, or do they wait? Or do they simply accept that the bird has flown and they will have to find something equivalent elsewhere? What would stop them bidding?
It's inconceivable to me that we would not be a permanent fixture on the Any Other Business part of a board meeting agenda...indeed, we may feature further up the agenda. Who knows?
The one scenario I struggle to accept is that someone sitting on those boards asks the question; " Has anyone heard of this outfit in Equador called SOLG?"

jerry, in my paean to NM yesterday, I forgot to mention another key strength that came out in the webinar; his emphasis on the team and the fact he bowed to their superior knowledge of the 'front-end' of operations. This is yet another sign of a top-notch leader. By the way, I like his low-key presentation approach, but guess he raises the game when he's in front of institutions/banks.

strider, that's exactly the point about NPVs and I've raised the issue on the BCN board.$1.25bn in no way reflects the value of the asset. And no, the majors aren't really into it, which, given its strategic importance, is strange.
If one believes in the renewables story, and I do, a portfolio of copper and lithium seems to make sense.

Strider, agreed, but lithium is every bit as important as copper and BCN has it in spades.

as you know, Schlemiel, broadly I agree with you, but arranging a finance package will provide a useful 'backstop' (dare I actually use that word?) in any sale negotiations. It will strengthen NM's hand considerably. He needs to prove that we're ready to go it alone, so if anyone wants to bid, they really are going to have to pay top dollar.

strider, what was your opinion of his very interesting comments about NPVs? I agree with everything he said; they are a very poor indicator of value.
So, the conundrum is; do you prepare a PEA on the traditional basis of an NPV, or do you use a different form of valuation?

and bang-on cue, Mike Lynch of Autonomy fame, has just been charged with fraud for false accounting, specifically as it relates to accruals.