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That's a good list. I've also been trying to convince myself I'm missing something here, but I haven't been able to, so I've been accumulating these over the past two weeks in the expectation of reasonably easy gain (famous last words !!).

Fully expecting a small pull back on RTW with ARIX holders selling immediately after conversion, but expect that to be short lived.

Any theories on why the gap between the current ARIX price and the RTW conversion price isn't closer ?

I know there's still some risk, and currency movements involved - but the size of the gap seems odd to me given it's only two weeks out now - almost a "too good to be true" opportunity.

It's certainly an unfortunate delay that the road issue is only being addressed now, just at the point that some initial ore delivery was finally due to happen.

The issue did, of course, occur to plenty of people before now. It also occurred to CRTM, as in their own prospectus issued in September 2022 (available here https://www.criticalmetals.co.uk/investors/corporate-documents), they have this helpful section on page 15 -

"The Molulu Project is approximately 100 km north of Lubumbashi City, where the nearest smelters and international airport are located. Although the route to Lubumbashi City is mainly on the N1 tarred road, the last 20km are on a dirt road. Although the Company plans to fund the upgrading of about 12km of this road, until this takes place, there is a risk of difficulties getting to the Project and/or trucking minerals produced from the Project for processing as in the rainy season the dirt roads can become treacherous. If such difficulties were encountered, it is likely to negatively affect the Project’s revenues which in turn are likely to affect the Company’s return from the Project."

The same document also states that £276,000 of the funds raised in the placing were to be used for "Ancillary capital expenditure, including road rehabilitation" within the first 12 months.

It just seems not to have been addressed until the very point that it's needed.

Yes, was very positive and full of promising statements about the next 12-24 months. It does feel like there's a lot getting into place now. e.g. A recent RNS had said discussions on a lithium off take were progressing, but during this session AV was directly asked if they had a lithium offtake agreement and he said, "Short answer - Yes, but we can't announce until the commercial negotiations are complete".

I'm still very positive, having been holding here since early 2021, but I was a little disappointed by this session. It was very short, and only one of my four questions was answered. I'd submitted them in advance, and again during the call, and the moderator ended saying there were no more questions !!

I got very excited when I saw an RNS this morning, probably like many others.........and whilst good news it wasn't the news we're all waiting for.

At least it answers two of the questions I recently put to the company around the off take agreements, and just in time as well, as the tin off take agreement was expiring on 30th November.

I think we're overdue some news on the plans to increase the tin volumes, and some figures on the expected tantalum production - not to mention the Strategic Assessment of course.

@nesty - Exactly - I can completely understand the sensitivity around the Strategic Assessment. I certainly wasn't expecting a reply containing any insider info !!

However, I think there are some basics that aren't being communicated well at the moment, and I wanted to ensure the company knows that shareholders want more information.

To pick a simple example - since we agreed the Orion financing, we're paying a royalty of 5.13% on each tonne of tin produced. If we don't increase tin production substantially within 15 months, that royalty goes up to 9.63%.

I'm sure there is a plan to increase production, and I'm also pretty sure that it is based around XRT ore-sorting - but I don't think it's clear how and when that is being implemented. It's been mentioned several times by the company, but never with any specifics. It shouldn't be difficult to outline some of this stuff so that we know what the roadmap looks like.

The Strategic Assessment, or finding a lithium partner, isn't going to be the total end-game (unless there is the unlikely result of a full sale of the company). There are plenty of other things the company is doing that need to be continued and that we, as shareholders, should be informed about.

Just to share with everyone, I sent the questions below to Andrada a few days ago, as I felt I was missing clarity on these items :-

(1) The last announcement on the tin off take agreement with Thaisarco stated that it ends on 30th November 2023. Has it been renewed, and if not, what are the plans ?

(2) In February 2021, nearly 3 years ago, a Tantalum offtake agreement was announced with AfriMet. It was for an initial 12 month period. Has it been renewed, and if not, what are the plans ?

(3) The last operational update in September 2023 said 225 kg of Tantalum had already been produced. What is the expected monthly production volume and revenue estimate for Tantalum ?

(4) The 5 Year Strategy document from April 2022 stated that it expected full scale production implementation of XRT to improve the tin feed grade during 2023. What is the status of this ?

(5) Where can I find the details of the full scope of the "Uis Mine Stage II Continuous Improvement Project (CI2)” ?

(6) There has been significant fundraising recently - DBN, Orion and the CLNs issued in July. In each RNS there was mention of “expansion”, “working capital”, and the above CI2 project - but actual specific details were quite lacking. Where can I see some high level plans for the use of this recent fundraising ?

(7) It’s unfortunate to announce in June that "The entire strategic process is targeted to conclude at the end of September 2023.”, and then in September announce that it’s still ongoing and further updates will be “in due course”. We know these things often take longer than initially expected, but leaving it totally open-ended drains confidence. Could you set some expectations on future timeline ? Is it even expected to conclude within 2023 ?

The response I received was : "The discussions with third parties are progressing well and due to their commercial sensitivity, the Company cannot provide any details. Furthermore, there is news flow in the pipeline that will provide responses to all your questions.".

I don't know whether to be excited by another hint of good things to come, or disappointed that they couldn't at least provide some sort of answers to the easy questions.

And volume has been rising lately. Only about 20 days in the past 4 years that volume was as high as today.

Nice to see these ticking upwards on the steady Q3 update this morning. I doubled my holding last week after the recent fall. I was hoping for a bounce from around the 300p level and that's looking like a good decision so far.

Let's hope the Cu price manages to stop drifting lower, as it has recently, and starts showing some signs of the much talked about supply deficit that's forecast for the next few years.

@Somnamna - regarding "Average gold production of 506,000 ounces per annum for next nine years (2024-2032); and 475,000 ounces per annum for life of mine (2024-2034), reflecting a 5% increase in LOM gold production compared to FY22 (441koz)"

It's just a reflection of the last two years - 2033 and 2034 where production drops off to 380,000 and 295,000 respectively, as you would expect at the end of mine life. So this lowers the overall average for the full 11 years, compared to a higher average over the next 9 years of full production.

Interesting. It's certainly good to see a sales agreement, but during an interview in June, Russell Fryer had said "6,500 tonnes of copper ore ready to be sold this month”. “Produce minimum of 6,000 tonnes per month, ramp up to 10,000 tonnes per month over the next few months, then potentially up to 15,000 tonnes per month”.

Now, in October, there is a stockpile of 9,000 tonnes - so an increase of 2,500 tonnes over 4 months. It's quite a jump to go from 625 tonnes per month, to 10,000 tonnes per month (as per the long stated target).

The logistics will also be interesting to see 10,000 tonnes per month shifted in 40 tonne trucks - if that target is going to be hit, it's going to get very busy on those roads in and out of Molulu. 250 trucks in and out and needing to be filled each month.

You're correct - the payment was due on or before 1st October 2023. It will be interesting to see whether the company chose to pay in cash or shares, and who in the company made that decision and why.

It'll cap a 12 month period where CRTM have made payments to Russell Fryer of £690,000 (Madini payment 1 of 450k, Madini payment 2 of 200k, and annual salary of 40k), and have had operational revenue of zero.

The accounts due at the end of October might be interesting - I wonder if there will be any news published to coincide with them ?

Does anyone know the name of the "international financial institution" who have provided the new loan ?

I'm not a holder, but I just can't help keeping an eye on what is happening with CRTM as I find it oddly fascinating. I keep a track of the announcements on the ore sales :-

26th Jan 2023 - RNS - “The copper ore produced in January 2023 will be stockpiled for sale into the market in February 2023”

26th Jan 2023 - RNS - “With copper ore production now underway, the Company expects to be free-cash flow positive by the end of H1 2023”.

3rd Feb 2023 - Tweet - “Buyers of the ore are circling”

16th March 2023 - Interview with Dig Deep Podcast - “By end April, no by end May probably, we’ll be at 10,000 tonnes per month”

15th May 2023 - RNS - “Potential buyers of ore visiting Molulu, first sales to be completed once transport infrastructure is complete”. “The Company has mined over 6,500 tonnes of oxide ore”

13th June 2023 - Tweet - “A new buyer for the #Molulu ore has emerged”

14th June 2023 - Interview during DRC Mining Week - “6,500 tonnes of copper ore ready to be sold this month”. “Produce minimum of 6,000 tonnes per month, ramp up to 10,000 tonnes per month over the next few months, then potentially up to 15,000 tonnes per month”.

13th July 2023 - Tweet - “Meetings with buyers of the #copper ore”

14th July 2023 - Tweet - “Reviewing ore sales agreements to ensure compliance certification & prompt payment terms”

23rd August - Tweet - “Meeting with ore buyer - they want MORE ORE !!!”

After the announcement in January 2023 that ore would be sold in February 2023, we are 8 months on, and it doesn't appear that a single tonne of ore has been sold, despite announcements that buyers seem to be banging the doors down to get at it. Of course, timelines slip, but some of the statements made this year appear to be delusional.

I'll keep watching but won't be buying as I can't get beyond the terms of the Madini Occidental (MO) buyout in December 2022. My reading of it is that MO owed Russell Fryer US $971,143, as at 31st August 2022, accruing at 6% interest (so well over a million now). MO had no way to repay Russell Fryer this sum. This sum is called the Baobab Loan.

CRTM bought MO, and paid Russell Fryer £450,000 in December 2022, with another £200,000 to be paid to him on or before 1st October 2023, for his remaining shares in MO (CRTM having already purchased 57% of MO previously).

CRTM, having paid handsomely to buy MO, now have responsibility for the Baobab Loan, and so CRTM now also owe Russell Fryer over a million dollars, for something which had nothing to do with CTRM, and which will be repaid once CRTM start making any revenue.

CRTM may well go on to become successful with Molulu, and the revenue from ore sales might start flowing, but the opaqueness of both the news flow, and the corporate structure, are red flags for me.

@TDT They didn’t get the years wrong - they were using their reporting schedule. Their reporting calendar is different to the normal calendar year.

In Andrada reporting terms we are now in Q2 2024 - which runs from Jun-Aug 2023 in the normal calendar.

@dodkins @pekingduck

I might be too optimistic, but I wouldn't get too hung up on the 30k USD AISC forecast as it looks very temporary to me. The jump to this level is partly due to both the new Orion royalty (which reduces with volume), but also due to the temporary increased stripping rates in the V1/V2 pit.

Also, the forecast 30k USD AISC is when producing around 600 tpa of contained tin. This new financing allows the expansion of production (presumably mostly via ore sorting) to 2,000 tpa of contained tin, so we should expect AISC to drop quickly after a temporary blip whilst getting the increased production running. The ore sorting test work with Steinert and Tomra has been in progress for quite some time now, so we should expect it could be implemented relatively quickly.

At the level of 2,000 tpa of contained tin, this side of the operation should look pretty healthy on its own, even leaving aside the lithium.

Interesting new role being advertised in Andrada :

http://www.transfocoaching.com.na/vacancies/country-liaison-officer

They will report directly to AV.

Can only be a good thing :-

“The Officer will be expected to build and maintain mutually beneficial professional relationships with key stakeholders such as financial institutions, government, regulators and local consultants to support the Namibian operations.”

Hopefully they'll manage to sell £200,000 worth of ore before 1st October 2023, which is when they have to pay Russell Fryer another £200,000 , on top the of the £450,000 they paid him in December 2022, for the remaining 21.5% of Madini Occidental that he owned (having already sold his first 21.5% to CRTM earlier in 2022).

The news from the interview Russell Fryer gave during DRC Mining Week (14th-16th June) certainly seems extremely positive.

He said there was 6,500 tonnes of copper ore "ready to be sold this month" - there's a few days left in the month, so that's still achievable.

He also said they would then produce minimum of 6,000 tonnes per month, ramp up to 10,000 tonnes per month over the next few months, and then potentially up to 15,000 tonnes per month.

Obviously having a buyer for all those tonnes is the most critical thing. A tweet on 3rd Feb 2023 said "Buyers of the ore are circling", but that's nearly 5 months ago now, so it's surprising that a buyer hasn't been announced yet.

It would seem that the Orion deal isn't going to finalise - which is probably a good thing given the costs of it. The line in the RNS stating - "The combination of the DBN funding, operational cashflows and the outcome of the strategic process will enable us to expedite the development of the lithium revenue stream." - almost seems like it was put in there to say - "we no longer need Orion" !!

All shaping up for a very big Q3 this year, as the strategic review seems to be going well with potential partners already having visited Uis, and discussions also already underway to secure a lithium offtake agreement in Q3 as well.

They had previously announced a Tantalum offtake agreement with AfriMet, so hopefully that will lead to additional revenue pretty quickly, although the Tantalum is small in the overall scheme of things.

Still a happy holder of these.