Member Info for BenAlder

RachT2 - Come on, you have to forgive the guy. ES probably did not know what hat he was wearing and what company he was representing at the time! The acquisition is coming Bjay's way so it is inbound isn't it? Just like the shares in Bjay to WF shareholders. ES's literal understanding may not be the same as Aston's. Definitely inbound though, lol. Got themselves out of the fire. The kids want helium, we'll give them helium. Anything to lift this balloon. 80 miles high. Think Rob needs a change of name too.

When's the next fund raise? Yeah he said not this year, but he also said we were digging for tungsten, nickel or was it copper a couple weeks ago.

Or is it more likely a transfer between accounts?

Orange Trust, BVI or Acacia must be selling as those two sales total more shares then Orion own. I don't think SPR would be selling, unless they have achieved their aim and are bailing. Should get a TR-1 tomorrow or Monday.

No, that would be incredibly stupid when you look at the facts/odds here. But I do hold some for some insanely perverse reason I cannot fully justify except perhaps to keep an interest here. I might swop them for lottery tickets. Better odds of a return.

@HarChris - I'd say it needs to be much higher at +$35 just to tread water. BMN now has a smaller output to service the large debt burden. I dont see Craig persisting in a loss making environment for too long before he pulls the plug on it all.

@BMT - They are still no where near sorting out the electricity problem and now the ANC does not have a majority, nothing will get done except arguing. Years away from being an attractive place for business imo.

Vanitec propaganda.

"demand for vanadium in energy storage reaching record highs, surging 60% year-on-year in 2023."

60% growth from such a small base is negligible. Probably installed 2 in 2022 and 3 in 2023.

Niche product.

@ reteps - Its a bit lengthy. Try this:-

www.transfernow.net/dl/20240518ISeOQkb4

- or, Highlight the link and right click to bring up a list. Click 'go to www...' not search,. Or copy and paste it into your address bar. Click download once there.

Thanks 0308966. Well worth a read.

Between this and Portillion's letter, it is pretty damning of Craig and the BOD, making them look like SPR stooges or just outright incompetent. Glad I'm not alone in my thinking.

I dont usually bother but I will be voting against the deal. A token gesture perhaps, but it will help BVI and Portillion with needed numbers to counter SPR. You should consider voting (against) too. BMN's future is f@cked on this path.

Apart from a possible bounce on the completion of this deal, there is no reason to buy or hold this stock while V prices are loss making. BMN is in a death spiral with low V prices and its $95M debt, and only Vametco to service that debt . Even if it survives to the good times, the BOD will sell us out cheaply to an insulting offer.

AIM is like a casino, and the longer you're in it, the more you lose.

Did you spell that right tiger? Missed a 't'.

Marc, If you've invested £160,000 as you claim then you should really know your company and markets better than you've demonstrated recently. Might as well go to the races or casino!

Mind you, if theres one thing about AIM is that research means little. How often are shareholders reassured before it all goes titsup eg HZM for one.

You are a gambler. This share is a lesson on averaging down. Throwing good money after bad as the ship sinks and hoping for the best against the odds. CC actually warned investors to wait in his last conference call, but you bought another million shares at c0.76p after the Vanchem sale RNS, which you did not understand. If you hold, fair enough, hold and hope, if you are prepared to lose it all like I am with my remaining 100,000 shares, but you are risking a hell of a lot on a sick horse. I lost a fair chunk here too but I at least salvaged some to spread the risk and not rely solely on this to make it back.

Sorry for the sucking eggs speech, its your money after all. The answer to your question is BMN owns some Mustang shares. ....ATB!

"Craig was parachuted in to rescue BMN" - Was he? Yes, but what does rescue look like? Does he have the skills/contacts to make the best possible deals? Both of the deals have been badly constructed and the former executed. SPR's actions/delays have led to this and frightened Acacia away, unless they're part of the scam by withholding money. But as I said I accept its all but done bar the token voting imo. The move to acquire the whole of Vanchem started last year.

It would be enlightening to know what the debt, other than Orion's, was back then and what it is now. We seem no further forwards after both these deals and a fundraise.

I recently said (before I looked at this properly), that this deal would improve BMN's chances of survival, but it does not. You would expect him to make a deal that gets rid of all remaining debt bar Orion's, which is ironic considering most of that was spent on Vanchem, but also ensure there is enough money to pay the $7M due next month. A clean slate for what has been given in exchange. That is a rescue, but this is more like the asset strip I described last year.

Next up Vametco because of Orion debt, future capex requirements and the current low V price meaning it is loss making. You need to run a credit facility in order to survive until it rises, which everyone believes will happen. Might as well close Vanchem down today if he cant make that deal. Ask the Chinese, technically SPR still dont own anything, but the sands are running too fast for alternatives, apparently.

The writing is on the wall with regards to Vanchem. Vametco I think is a sound wee business with demand for its product, albeit the steel sector. Need to hear from Craig on this but it was the more profitable plant with lower running costs. The weakness here is that expansion is limited and very expensive. The age of the plant means continued sustaining capex. FM said one of the first upgades was to be a new ballmill. ($20M?) That can be deferred for so long but will need money spent on it in the future. And the barren dam. Thats not paid for yet, is it?

CC is a great Operations man but not a deal-maker or strategist. SPR by contrast certainly are. Never got us out of the frying pan, or if he did, we are in the fire now. Maybe SPR will give him a job running Vanchem next year. Meanwhile the rest of us need a miracle and quick.

Lower demand for iron and steel products means less vanadium is produced from the iron production from ore. All their vanadium is a by product of that process. They still have their VFRB projects and areospace alloys to produce which may require imports of vanadium due to shortage of raw material locally ie s lag. Any sustained imports will start to increase the V price.

Compare FM,s ability to trade thru years of debt with no threat of administration to Craigs, even after receiving payments still continuing to threaten this outcome instead of surviving.

I still thought that this would be the eventual outcome, but CC seems to be adverse to carrying a little more debt and letting it playing out.

I was and am very suspicious of him and the fortunate timing of the SPR deal soon after arriving. He is playing everything by the book and can justify his actions, but what is his motives/plan?. Earlier talk of a great company seems at odds with his current actions/words.

Since he arrived, he has now sold half the company and removed any potential future growth for shareholders. We have been led to believe things are so terminal that any bad deal is a good one.

Well its turned out the way I thought it might go with SPR, but somewhat faster. So what is left? 100% of Vametco producing about 2300-2600Tpa. Manufacturing costs around $23-26/kg. Product sells for around 10% premium.

CC has reduced other costs like H/O wages and sales commissions, etc, saving a few million $ here and there, so future C2 costs (all other non-production costs) which were typically around another $10/Kg may be as low as $5/Kg going forwards now Vanchem's sustaining capex and costs is also removed.

Vanchem and Mokopane is around half the total combined company, so what we have left must be worth around the same at least that SPR will have paid at a fire-sale price, you'd think. Survival chances have improved greatly but still risky until V price is above $30/Kg.

Linked to their lower iron/steel production.

Sold most of my holding after the last Strategic update. Keeping a few back not because I believe in the company assets and its management, lol, but for the potential change in sentiment drawing in a few new punters. Robs expertise is just that, and managing to do it part time like the rest of the board.

The mention of hydrochemicals and helium made me chuckle. Suppose it is vogue. I thought they would go chase gold. The punters love that, but I see some positive response already to the news. Rod has his finger on the pulse!

Now they have managed to turn the bad news about Disko into a positive to string some along for another 18-24 mnths until some drill results are available. I'm sure they'll find something with their flying metal detectors this year to keep the story alive.

So the strategic plan after 4 months of scratching ..something, is they have expanded the remit and the number of haystacks to investigate and which to discard. Unfortunately a lack of funds limits them to a token flyover of Disko for more sites to ponder to drill, while I ponder whether there is anything of substance down there, how long before I ever find out, and how much dilution will I suffer waiting. I wont but you know what I mean.

A fund raise in on the cards. It may be delayed until the end of the year now as they have enough for the current meager plans. But you can't search all these haystacks without cash. They will be expected to have crystalised a real plan of action by then. Can't wait!

After going to the trouble and expense to acquire the CGP shares, why would they now sell them. I thought the idea of getting them was to combine to one attractive company. Do these shares even still exist?

Yet the price/demand has crashed and yet to reverse. The US steel mills have been pretty busy over the last couple of years. Europe has and is still very subdued. China is supposed to be increasing production again, but not its property sector - its greatest consumer, and is being threatened with tariffs/sanctions in the West, because it is getting cheap oil/gas from Russia to make its steel. So may not reach previous production levels again. China has a lot of problems and may never recover that capacity. How quick will India/Europe/ROW fill the vacuum and what state will BMN be in by the time $40 kg/V comes back? I agree it will happen, but time is ticking and patient is on life-support. You are a dreamer if you are not worried.