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Yes Jackbal as I have said many times we have a ho hum CEO who is a Geo who doesn’t seem to realise what a CEO is supposed to do. Just to remind folks here that you do not have to attend an AGM in person to voice your displeasure, just make sure to take the trouble to vote and ensure that your nominee will actually do so! I voted against Brad’s re-election last year but almost no-one else appeared to do so. Our pay day will hopefully come despite a lackluster management team. Will they optimise the opportunity, doubtful as I do not believe
that they have the skills ( minimal evidence to date) and the majors will probably run rings around them as they often do with junior partners. I do still believe however that our modest market cap has considerable upside despite the negatives so will hang on for a little bit longer, but it is a tough hold for me atm.
Well I will certainly be submitting a number of questions ahead of this meeting. Normal tactics for AIM companies is to provide ‘sweetener RNS’s’ ahead of the meeting to ensure that shareholders vote for all resolutions including re-election of directors. Not sure if Brad ‘ above my pay grade’ George will be up again ( perhaps every 2 years) but I will vote my wedge against him once again. Too many retail shareholders are inert when it comes to voting. I spent a lot of my business life attending AGM’s and there is a world of difference between the behaviour of institutions at these meetings probably as RI’s think their relatively small holdings will not move the dial. It is that which allows poor performing directors to continue to perform poorly and award themselves rich option packages. Perhaps a South American based, Spanish-speaking geologist would serve us better. The attractiveness of the Colombian assets will be of interest to a capable individual with experience of the topography of this part of the world with awareness of regular, apposite communication and the importance of leading and promoting as a CEO with a view to attracting investors.
Well this was a pretty pointless interview IMO not helped by an inexperienced interviewer. Perhaps she could have asked when the new JV will be finalised allowing the company to receive $2m and why is it taking so long to finalise when it is clear to all and sundry that it will proceed? How will the relationship with our major partners change with the new JV given that our interest will drop to 49%? How about giving us some info on how the JV committee will operate and who will sit on it? Do we any plans to pursue other projects with our healthy cash balance? What more can be done to attract new investors into OMI on the back of spectacular drill results? I could go on but aren’t interviews supposed to be an opportunity to create new investor interest, clarity on outstanding issues, strategic insights etc etc? I continue to listen to Brad with an overwhelming feeling that he is like a consultant, one step removed from what is going on in his business and waiting for some crumbs rather than sticking out his elbows and driving our agenda. Perhaps I should only invest in £400m + market caps which have higher quality executives? I will bear that in mind going forward! At least it seems that our CEO is aware that his 2 vanity projects are not exactly revered by retail investors so let’s not waste too much money until we are further advanced on our Colombian prospects. I will resist from posting for a while as, like this interview there is very of substance to speak about on here. Oh and why would I make a 1000mile round trip to an AGM to hear what we have heard today?
NN - at the last AGM I voted against Brad ‘ above my pay grade’ George as his statutory re-election came round. Most voted for him, sadly. He is an average Geo IMO who has recently committed the company to 2 vanity projects in Brazil and Argentina so that the $5m in the Bank gets a decent workout as he jets to and fro collecting airmiles. I suppose in his eyes it will give him something to do as our partners spend $20m over coming years as they ramp up the drill bit. What else would he do? He has little in the way of capability ( it would seem) to force Monte Aguila to get on and formalise the new JV asap. Let’s hope that it is taking time due to his insistence that the new JV agreement will allow us proper and timely access to all drill data in good time and will not impose handcuffs on us as we communicate the increasing value of the assets underground. My biggest fear is that OMI are being played and that we will be acquired cheaply without much of a fight by our directors. This may appear harsh but after watching and listening to our CEO over the last 3 years I can see why our market cap remains so low as we are simply not credible enough for bigger investment flows in here despite the terrific prospects. And so we wait……
JohnB - I tend to agree. Brad ‘above my pay grade’ George is a CEO by name only. His behaviour typifies that of many on AIM. He is a geologist, and no doubt skilled in that discipline, but sadly lacking in the other crucial skills that a proper CEO should exhibit. I invested a couple of years ago, like so many, due the the presence of 2 majors and an attractive series of prospects and the recent results continue to support this. Whilst he has some challenges in ensuring that he does not upset the majors, he appears to be ultra subservient and that leaves us floundering about waiting for them to decide when they plan to complete the documentation or release drill results etc. I have no pressing need for cash so will continue to wait for the majors to throw us some crumbs and allow this to reflect in a re-rating but it is more than a little frustrating. Best outcome is to sellout to one of our partners at the right time and let experienced management teams monetise the asset.
Pleased to read this RNS today and I sincerely hope that Brad knows that he needs to up his game in terms of communication. The next stage of negotiations will be key for me in determining whether Brad has what it takes to lead OMI as it grows. As those with experience of JV’s with a minority interest it is critical to use leverage at this point whilst we still own 100% to negotiate a structure to ensure that we have access to all information at the same time perhaps through monthly JV committee meetings and an understanding and agreement that we, as a junior partner are able to inform OMI shareholders of progress updates on a regular basis. If he fails to do this we will be at the mercy of speculation and uncertainty which could weaken our share price etc. So, over to you Brad, don’t let us down and time for you to show that you have the minerals.
Newmont and Agnico would prefer that this wasn’t ‘out there’ for many reasons - yes to avoid artisanal miners illegally mining but perhaps also to avoid the interest of other big boys who may want a cheap entry into this highly prospective part of the world. We all know that the majors are very adept at snapping up very attractive prospects for a song and have no desire to see their JV partners share price and market cap rise as they may want it all in the fullness of time for peanuts. Brad needs to negotiate harder at this point whilst he has leverage to ensure that he is in a stronger position than he has been hitherto. A good day and more to come I am sure. I feel a little nervous about the experience of our CEO so hope he has employed very experienced advisers to hold our partners to account.
I do wonder how many people on here actually understand what is required to take a quoted company private. If this was the intention, those who want to do so, perhaps the Kumani’s supported by private equity, would have to make a cash offer to all shareholders. So, the institutions and private shareholders (all of us) would have an opportunity to vote on the offer. If it is too cheap we vote against it. Bearing in mind that most shareholders are significantly under water here how many would vote for an offer of say 100p which would be a substantial premium? I suspect not that many but there would be some who have either had enough or bought in more recently. Any offer would most likely mean that the short funds would scramble to cover, pushing the price sharply up meaning that expectations of an even better offer would arise. Additionally, there may be trade buyers sitting in the wings who feel that BOO is worth significantly more than say 100p and would join the fray. So, whilst I would certainly not rule it out, to ensure success it is not as simple as making a ‘paultry’ offer with say a 30% premium to current price and win the day as the Kumani’s don’t hold enough stock to force it through. I would like them to try as we would re-rate on the back of short covering and make flush out others in the process.
Jerry S. Borelli has 13m shares and 51.5m options. Our new CEO has 1m shares and 5m options. So, a large holding relative to the other directors to be precise. Allow me to embellish to help you understand my inference. When a relatively new CEO with almost no skin wants to raise at the year’s low, he must bring the other directors onside including those with much larger holdings who will be impacted in the pocket, short term. So, for Borelli to support this given his position as Chair for a number of years should be acknowledged in a positive way. Hope that helps with your understanding.
This could be a case study of what is commonplace on AIM and absolutely nothing will/can be done about it. Those on the inside ( and there will be many people) in Sprott, Cannacord, lawyers, their marker-maker friends and hedge funds friends etc who will have sold from 15p or even higher and are now buying around 8.5p to make hundreds of thousands £ and more. The blame needs to be apportioned in the direction of the regulators and not Shaun Day who has done what he considers best in the circumstances he finds himself in. Don’t forget that Borelli the Chairman has a big holding and will be feeling a little less flush and don’t forget our friends, Five daggers who recently agreed to a lock-in. So, many people today will be feeling slightly bruised at the ease with which some can slam a share price with inside information in the knowledge that they will be able to exit with ease. Those who said that no shorts could exit as the placees were restricted were wrong. So, time will tell if SD will be revered for his strategic and tactical skills. Like others I have been here many years with a plan to hold until production when clarity as to our free cash flow will make it so much easier for the market to attribute fair value. In the meantime, days like this will hopefully be forgotten quickly if we start to see the remaining 45m + shorts cover in the next few weeks at an ever-increasing price so at least we may feel that we have something to show for this Placing.
Archways - I do wonder if the MSCI global small cap is rebalanced today which has an impact on the UT we see today in round numbers as you have noted previously. I know that this is the day ( quarterly) in which we see additions and deletions. This won’t affect us this time around but not sure if today is one of the 4 quarters they rebalance without us realising. Either way, good to see a modest rise on the back of the Juri JV drilling RNS and let’s hope we can develop some positive momentum after such a torrid 12 months. Those who understand the value of free cash flow from our 30% share of Havieron will know that with a fair wind in 2 years from now we will be a completely different production and exploration company making investment decisions with the luxury of a strong revenue stream. The blatant manipulation we have seen here for some time will be not be possible in the same way 2 years henceforth which is why we are seeing it now IMO.
It seems that this Mac individual provides a lot of research and information, a bit like a librarian. This can be helpful for those who do not have time nor the inclination to do so themselves. He/she does appear to have a blind spot here, in denial perhaps which is understandable. What is much more valuable is experience in situations like this. I have been involved in large M&A transactions throughout my business career as will have others. It is typical for multi-billion £ cross border deals to be done in months, not years. Of course, the integration can take years but in our case it is clear to all apart from a few, that the BOD or the other side have shifted the goalposts on many occasions here over the last 2 years and the communication , along the way from them has been, understandably, framed to support an ailing share price due to a failure to deliver on promises/timescales. I would like to see an unambiguous RNS as others have called for, explaining what, if anything is going on. At least, long suffering shareholders can make a decision to either hold on for the end of the war or preserve their capital. Oh and I am here posting because people like Mac with his rose tinted glasses needs to called out from time to time. No more.
No - everything including the share price has changed and to say otherwise is misleading and disingenuous. Like many I sold out at a significant loss a few weeks ago to preserve capital. I may reinvest in the future, who can tell, but I suspect that the transactions being contemplated have been at best put on ice. I would hope that if they have been shelved completely we would have received notification in accordance with listing regulations. The blue chip lawyers and bankers on both sides would never countenance proceeding in line with any pre-war negotiated agreement IMO. The BOD will be trying to keep alive the transactions which have taken literally years to conclude but sadly, in the midst of what we have seen and about to see with a Russia which will be brought to economic ruin, who can anticipate with any certainty what the future will look like for entities operating in Russia? Sadly, this is yet another promising company which will struggle to deliver what the BOD have promised for much too long. Is it their fault? I would say no, it is the fault of a meglamaniac, but the BOD must be acutely aware that to take 2 years to do a fairly modest deal in corporate terms has been their downfall.
I would like Shaun to provide an update ( as much as he can) on progress re funding. Let’s assume for a moment that arbitration favours our valuation which is higher than SB is prepared to pay for the 5% and he passes up the opportunity. ( perhaps unlikely that he would but not impossible given his tactics to date). We would require significant funding to complete our share of the development costs backed of course by 6.5m oz in our MRE2. How long before he accepts the funding offers he had on the table?
Fair piece by Ian King at Sky. Ask yourself the question - why did the Evraz Board refuse to denounce Putin when it would be an easy thing to do were this is a commercial business with no political influence or interference?! I think we all know the answer with the eclectic mix of directors/ mates of RA. At least the hope could be that the new BOD when it eventually happens ( who will accept a directorship?) will have an opportunity to salvage what is left of the order book and client list. My view is that Evraz plc will never re-list in UK, but continues on Moex in trading mainly in roubles. For those who think that business with Russia will return to what we have been used to after the war ends, need to think again IMO. Russian business will be restricted to China, India and a few others in the Middle East. Sad state of affairs but communism/authoritarianism seems to be back with a vengeance IMO.
Some will say that these awards are to incentivize, others will say that they reward failure. Brad is underperforming in my book. Some of us have many multiples of his own holding bought for cash. I failed to establish his personal holding before I invested so on me I know. All I can say is that he better get his act together across 2022 otherwise long suffering shareholders will get their act together in good time and ensure that votes at the next AGM cannot be ignored as they were last time. Over to you Brad!
Mac4671 espouses bold statements that all could be over soon and LO and behold we are back to normal. That is misleading IMO. Putin is so unpredictable that he could do anything. As he faces economic ruin he is likely to capture privately owned assets without giving it a second thought. To suggest that we should ignore those who have a negative dynamic is irresponsible. You will disappear into a puff of dust of this happened and all those poor souls who were prepared to go along with your guff will have to suffer. This is as high risk as it gets so let’s not kid ourselves it is anything less. All IMO.
Redhamfisted. We are all entitled to our opinion even you, however misguided that may be. My advice to you is to use these bulletin boards to try and learn from your investment decisions. The outcome here may be good or bad, the reality is that no-one knows. We are all trying to understand the consequences of these horrific actions by a meglamaniac who has stolen billions from his taxpayers. The simple point I am making is that when your country is on the brink of financial destruction due to sanctions and the only way to recover the monies frozen is to pass new laws taking ownership of private assets, you will do so. It is a lot easier than going to war and he took that decision only 2 weeks ago. Good luck to you.
I posted yesterday that Abramovich and his concert party could take the company private by making an offer. The news today clearly supersedes that potential outcome and is not a great surprise and IMO this suspension will last for a considerable period of time and may never re-list. A concert party where Abramovich has effective control probably applied to Evraz yet they deny it today which is predictable of the Board who are close friends of Abramovich. What else could they do? He probably told them to issue that statement today, which they will deny, but would in itself confirm the existence of a concert part. Evraz have benefitted from money acquired vis RA from the Russian state and the only person to blame for this sad situation today is his close friend, Putin, and not the UK government. Legal action will do nothing in the short term as no-one is interested within this jurisdiction of hearing the pleadings. I agree with others here that the assets will most likely find their way into the hands of ‘new’ shareholders in the future within Russia which is a incredibly sad for the employees who are of course innocent bystanders. All IMHO.