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I would be massively surprised if this situation is not resolved in the next few days, it is against LSE rules that some announcement has not already been made and almost beyond belief that we will still be in limbo until Barrick Q3 update - as inconvenient as it might sometimes be listed companies are not able to hold onto information to release with other scheduled news. Perhaps Barrick need reminding that ACA is not just a subsidiary but a company listed on a world class exchange that has rules - rules which they are currently ignoring at their peril.

No one is going to do a shabby deal and cheat us. By handling the negotiations directly and keeping ACA and it shareholders largely in the dark Barrick have made a rod for their own back. If the deal is not universally welcomed they could find themselves in a pile of poo - Odey etc have already put down markers to that effect. Barrick will be aware of their predicament and will want to do a good deal for us as they will reflect well on them for their other operations and their own struggling share price. Fear not this will work out well.

Easy Tiger, Barrick buy the outstanding shares and delist then sell a stake in the mines.

Tiger I agree that ACA represents a spectacular buying opportunity but it has been pretty great for some time yet for reasons I fail to understand there are no big buyers moving in to take advantage of this. For myself I have added quite a lot from my original investment and now own over 200,000 shares - I have reached the point where to invest more I will have to sell other stock that I don’t particularly want to but I am thinking about it very seriously. I hope you are buying in my opinion an opportunity like this does not come along very often.

I am obviously a fan of Barrick and see the potential for a great deal for ACA but I am forced to acknowledge that the communication from the company is poor. I believe Ben is not far off the mark when he suggests that comments reported by JT could well lead to a disorderly market and ACA should comment even if it is just to say that they are aware of ongoing negotiations and will advise the market when they know more. Previously we have been left wrong footed by being advised we would reach an agreement within H1 and then a week before being advised that they had changed their minds. We were not helped by the delay in announcing KD’s resignation from the ACA board and that delay raised speculation. I understand that Barrick are conducting the negotiations but surely ACA have a right to be kept informed and inform us it’s shareholders. A update is overdue and probably required. For completeness I would add that I do not think Barrick can sell 50% or indeed a large part of their holding directly to Shandong as this would put them (Shandong) over 29% and without approval from the takeover panel would require them to make a full bid. That means that either Shandong have to buy their stake from us and retain the listing or Barrick buy up stock - delist and sell a stake in the mines to Shandong directly- from what we have previously been advised and the fact that it is much easier I believe that is the way things will work out. The only reason for the company not to have entered in a buyback program is that a deal is imminent but we need to be brought up to speed.

Over 1.6 million shares traded after the bell - appear as sells but I am betting they were buys from earlier in the day. We shall see.

I am very sorry Pat but that is just not the case. The company recently confirmed the asset value of 1.7bn so they would be in breach unless they sold for more than or at very least similar to that - it is worth and will sell for more.

Why would they (either Barrick or Shandong) want to do a shady deal when they can do a fair one and everyone win? Little point in any more guessing from me let’s wait and see if we are dealing with respected and professional companies as I suggest or the crooks you envisage.

Really Franky have you gone short?

Taking TT’s and Supers comments into account give a minimum offer price of £4.87

Also don’t forget we are still just speculating- although not my preferred route Barrick might just want to make us a cash offer. I am sure they will want everyone to accept it without further criticism so that should make it a very strong proposal. Either way works for me, I just want the announcement.

I am not sure I understand you lack of enthusiasm. The Chinese do not yet have a holding so no holding announcement anticipated. The Notice of EGM will include all of the facts - 14 days notice required - no hardship - ACA shareholders excluding Barrick will ratify the terms. Barrick will not shaft anyone they want this deal. If you want cash you can sell your ABX shares if you want to remain involved you can keep them and spread your exposure. All we need is confirmation.

I suspect the likely progress from here will be:- Shares suspended Details of agreement with GoT Details of proposed offer from Chinese Offer from Barrick for shares they do not own Notice of EGM with Barrick not voting Tie it up all in one go, to do otherwise would be pointless and more expensive.

Hi Franky I doubt that given a choice Barrick would want to be a minority shareholder- much more likely they will buy us out then do a separate deal (50/50) with the Chinese. Chinese would also probably not want the hassle of loads of shareholders either so my suggestion works for them as well. Treacle, HH time to buy?

Personally I don’t care about the copper mine. I do care about reaching a deal with GoT and almost 100% certain sale. Barrick should buy up 36% they don’t own then conclude sale of 50% to Chinese. They are under scrutiny so the deal for us existing shareholders should be strong - 1:1 or 2:1 with a 50p special dividend. We are in the end game. ATB

Sorry Super but O2 is right about Aca having to announce before they start buybacks and Barrick would be precluded due to insider info he is however totally wrong about buybacks and should perhaps stop whinging when other equally legitimate shareholders push for it as we believe that they obviously have enough cash to do it if they chose to and to suggest otherwise simply shows a lack of understanding.

I do t suppose that the interim chair is involved with the GoT negotiations directly no matter how qualified she may be but what she can do is gather the board to push through the buyback proposal. You have to wonder what could possibly be holding them back?

Hi HH, I don’t blame the shorters for becoming involved- they are out to make money and have done this by exploiting the weakness in the market caused by actions of GoT - that is after all their function. I agree that you cannot compete with the Bulldozer that it why we are negotiating with him whilst also pursuing our legitimate concerns through International Arbitration. Unfortunately gold is rarely found in stable environments so if you want to mine for it you have to accept all the political cost that follows.

Hi MP pending Supers reply I thought I might add my own thoughts. The shorters tend to borrow the stock and sell to drive the price down that is how they make their money buying back at a lower price to return their borrowed shares. You allude to possible Chinese involvement with the shorting and my cynical side could see a benefit to a potential bidder supporting shorters in some way to make the ultimate offer price seem more attractive to long suffering shareholders. It is only by buying stock that you build up a holding and that generally raises the price - there is some dispute as to if a Chinese company can be required to notify the market if if it’s % holding is over 3% the normal notification criteria but I think if they had been adding then the price would have moved up and if they had been using brokers then they would have made a holding announcement.

Only the board can make a decision but at least you as a small shareholder have made the effort to identify your support for the buyback - you really can do nothing else.