The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
There's some interesting opinions form Michael Shellenberger, a prominent environmentalist from California, which you might find of interest, ***. His views go somewhat against the populist perceptions at present. These arguments are pretty hard to refute imho; here's a couple of links to some presentations he has made on YouTube. See what you think..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9AGx2q_F_0&t=85s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciStnd9Y2ak
In the past year, Rosgeologia have completed drilling operations in the Vuruchuayvench deposit area, the exploration license of which was held by Norilsk Nickel until 2016. Rosgeo are 100% owned by the Russian state, so the activity here may well be with a view to putting out to auction the rights to the currently dormant license.
Vuruchuayvench is just outside the flanks license granted for MT to Eurasia last August. The drilling has given preliminary calculations of P2 resources (inferred) of c. 10.8M Oz (336 tonnes) of platinum and palladium deposits.
https://www.vnedra.ru/novosti/rosgeologiej-okoncheny-burovye-raboty-po-obnaruzheniyu-metallov-platinovoj-gruppy-na-territorii-murmanskoj-oblasti-10745/
https://webmineral.ru/deposits/item.php?id=2979
https://ar2016.nornik.ru/ru/strategy/business-group/exploration/kola
Below is a link to a pretty comprehensive report on Russian State approved palladium and platinum resources from 2017. There is a lot of information in here, so I won't attempt a precis, but it does show the vast scale of PGM deposits in Russia.
Eurasia gets namechecked around 2/5 of the way down the page re. Tylai-Kosvinskaya (West Kytlim), but also contained here are the breakdown of state approved resources as below for the MT area as at 2017:
"In the Murmansk region, Terskaya Mining Company CJSC (a subsidiary of the British Eurasia Mining Plc) completed exploration work within the Monchetundra massif in 2016, which resulted in the first accounting of PGM reserves for open pit mining in two blocks of the Monchetundrovskoye field.
Loipishnyun and West Nittis : 0.34 tons [10,900 troy oz] of category C1 and 26.2 tons [842,350 troy oz] of category C2; the palladium to platinum ratio averages 2.2: 1. The ores are classified as ordinary low-sulphide platinum-metal ores, enrichment is possible according to an inter-cycle flotation scheme to obtain a copper-nickel-noble metal commercial concentrate with a platinoid content of 75–95 g / t.
At the end of 2017, Rosgeologia completed prospecting work within the Monchegorsk ore region with a predictive assessment of the platinum content of the Nittis-Kumuzhie-Travyanaya and Nyud-Moroshkovoye massifs; resources have been tested in the amount of 24.4 tons [784,500 troy oz] of platinum and 99 tons [3,182,900 troy oz] of palladium in the P1 category and 5.1 tons of platinum and 34.9 tons of palladium in the P2 category.
https://nedradv.ru/nedradv/ru/resources?obj=ab05b068239ede80d3dd35cf40743ddb
The current MCap of Norisk Nickel is c. ÂŁ34.3bn just to give some perspective...
These new Freeport areas will bear many similar characteristics to the old Enterprise Zones , which gave tax breaks on business rates, employers' NI contributions, and provided for simplified planning permissions. They're not just set up as a mechanism for deferring import duties . The enhanced capital allowances announced in the budget are another obvious plus considering PRE's forthcoming investment.
The new freeport area stretches from the Saltend industrial complex to the outskirts of Paull village.
This at least should speed up the issuing of the CSN report on the construction permit. Then the next step is to get the approval through the Ministry for Ecological Transition; Ribera et al. Not straightforward by any means.. more delays at best I would think.
More here from the Spanish press - I'm personally very surprised that the PP have supported this prospective amendment. It's a critical few weeks ahead for the project - the lawyers for BKY may well be very busy..
https://www.larazon.es/economia/20210224/g22y6fx6rjdh3j5gjehxi7e7iq.html
This would seem to be IMHO a risk reduction exercise by IG. It involves several hundred stocks which in their opinion may be subject to SP volatility in the near future, both positive and negative.
It's not been possible to short many of these stocks through spread bets or CFDS for quite some time; possibly IG now want to exit this more volatile segment and concentrate on more "predictable" outcomes which are easier for them to project their margins. It would also ensure that they are not left with outstanding liabilities which some clients may not be able to meet, both long and short.
There are some good shares on the list as well; again IMHO it should not affect SPs in general as now you are better off buying the physical shares rather then paying the intermediary for the cost of the spread and rolling charges, if you remain positive about your investment.
Ref WShak for this list from Twitter:
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21APgz4twabksqJNo&cid=B781E949DDEFB3BF&id=B781E949DDEFB3BF%215135&parId=B781E949DDEFB3BF%21135&o=OneUp
Better link for first article:
https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/The-real-challenges-to-nuclear-are-external,-says#:~:text=These%20challenges%20include%3A%20the%20notion,public's%20misconceptions%20about%20radioactive%20waste.
Hi ***,
The consensus is that Laschet will continue the energy policy set up by Merkel. It looks like the CDU have also an eye on keeping onside with the Greens, who are polling strongly in Germany at present, so no change likely in the near term.
There are dissenting voices, including Hans-Olaf Henkel, a German former MEP who stepped down last year, who states that one of Merkel's biggest mistakes was a hasty and costly departure from nuclear energy after Fukushima, resulting in Germany having by far the highest energy cost of all industrialised nations in the world. There are also concerns about Laschet's continued push towards federalism in the EU amongst other member states, plus his perceived pro-Russian stance in some quarters.
The position of the future of Nuclear energy worldwide however, is much more positive. Sama Bilbao y LeĂłn, director general of World Nuclear Association states : "There are a few countries, including Germany, Belgium and Spain, that are contemplating the permanent shutdown of their existing fleet but on the other hand we have a very large number of countries, not only in Europe but all over the world, that are actually trying to expand [nuclear], for example, eastern European countries, and some of them for the first time, such as Poland. Also, the UK, France, Finland and the Netherlands are putting a strong focus on continuing nuclear,"
Therefore, the demand for Uranium will remain strong.
https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/The-real-challenges-to-nuclear-are-external,-says
There's some more Sunday reading here with a more specific focus on Spain and BKY. It touches on the important point of the doubtful legality of the proposed Uranium Mining ban - there is significant support for BKY from other mining industries in Spain.
"In order to receive a final approval, the processes in the Congress and the Senate must be consistent, and the proposed amendment must be supported by a majority of votes in both commissions.
While environmental groups and left-wing parties have joined forces to advocate for implementation of the ban, mining industry officials are now following steps to battle the approval of the ban.
A first step is already in progress as, with the proposed draft before the Congress, mining professionals are working to convince the deputies to vote against or modify the proposed text.
A final step for opponents of the ban would be to take it in front of the Constitutional Court, officially questioning its constitutional legality."
https://www.mining-technology.com/features/shock-waves-what-will-a-spanish-ban-mean-for-uranium-mining-in-europe/
Good evening. Here is the news.
As the EUA BB is hit by the second wave of discontent in recent months, the Government has raised the warning level from 'miffed' to 'peeved'. Whilst many people commented with respect at the stoical attitude to the first wave of attacks, many erstwhile citizens of the UK are losing their traditional reserve and may soon require the discontent level warning to be raised to 'irritated' or even 'a bit cross'.
A government spokesmen commented upon the seriousness of the situation. "London has not been a bit cross since the height of the Blitz in 1940 when supplies of tea ran out for almost three weeks", said a representative of the Security Services. "It is as a mark of the seriousness with which Londoners are taking the situation that we have recently been forced to recategorise malcontents from 'tiresome' to 'a bloody nuisance', and the last time we had a 'bloody nuisance' warning level was during the great fire of 1666."
Soon, though, levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Dissenters have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.
The Scots have raised their threat level from "****ed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.
"It really is the absolute limit," said Ian, 63, of Leigh on Sea. "These malcontents. Not content with messing things up, they then have to spoil the day for everyone. That's just irritating, that is. If they wanted to make their case, they should write an angry letter to Points of View. That's what my wife and I always do."
A man was also spotted off the coast of Northumberland sipping champagne whilst floating in an inflatable dinghy in the North Sea. He seemed rather relaxed about the situation according to our man on the spot from Reuters: “No worries here, yous will all be millionaires soon” was his response.
Riot police have been also deployed in the Warwick area to diffuse a disturbance between a former employee of JP Morgan and his shadow. The shadow was arrested and taken for further questioning on a charge of breach of the peace.
In the York area, reports are surfacing of a planned mass attack by men dressed as pirates in the spring. Police report that the organiser would not be let off the hook.
In Russia, there has been no response to our request for comment on the current situation.
Hi flundra, there's more information on the climate change bill here, though maybe not much we don't know already:
https://spotlightmining.com/blog/spanish-government-has-moved-to-increase-their-hydrocarbon-reliance-and-limit-nuclear-development/
The PSOE, UP and allies don't have enough seats between them to have a majority in the parliament (~ 155 out of 350) so there's no guarantee that this amendment will be passed. They will have to rely on support from others. The PP and Vox are highly unlikely to vote in favour. I can't find anything definitive about timescales unfortunately.
"For the license for the Fedorov tundra, Barrick Gold hardly received more than it invested in the project - $ 60 million (data from the authorities of the Murmansk region), said Maxim Khudalov, head of the sustainable development risk assessment group at ACRA. The sale of this asset to the Canadian company was forced by problems with the license for Fedorov tundra (the current license expires in 2021, in 2017 the company asked to renew it) and its location, he suggests. Chibis and the Rostec representative did not name the price of the deal. RBC sent a request to the press service of Barrick Gold."
https://www.rbc.ru/business/15/05/2020/5ebd49a99a7947123b2e6937
I would also expect appeals to be lodged against the granting of the Urbanisation License in August by Stop Uranio and the greens. However each success for BKY is another positive step forward; there has been a lot of progress to date, albeit at a slower pace than we would have liked.
IMHO it's a rejection of an appeal by the ecologistas against the CSN recommendation here:
https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/BKY/nsc-recommends-extension-of-initial-authorisation-7vlevbinabrymld.html
Good result but maybe just another in the sequence of a win - appeal - win - appeal cycle that's set to continue for quite some time. The BKY legal team have been extremely efficient to date.
We're still to hear if the amendment to the climate change and energy transition laws banning uranium mining has been dropped or not - this could cause another decent rise the SP if/ when it's removed from the bill. If the Spanish value their constitutional processes it will be removed, but there can be no guarantee of this. If it stays, the lawyers will be busy again for sure..
https://www.rbc.ru/business/15/05/2020/5ebd49a99a7947123b2e6937
I don't think you can place a short CFD or Spread Bet on IG even if you wanted to at present. These are most likely older bets which are still open.
Stock out on loan per Euroclear has been as follows; this shows that the stock is still not heavily shorted:
Avg No on Loan %age
Nov 19 - -
Dec 19 - -
Jan 20 22,159,685 1.32
Feb 20 13,746,839 0.79
Mar 20 13,503,273 0.76
Apr 20 14,258,955 0.77
May 20 10,830,383 0.59
Jun 20 7,883,995 0.43
Jul 20 7,883,995 0.43
Aug 20 7,487,538 0.40
Sep 20 3,483,307 0.18
Oct 20 15,756,492 0.82
https://my.euroclear.com/users/en/login.html?resource=%2Fcontent%2Foperations%2Fapps%2Fen%2Fmonthly-stock-loan-data.html&$$login$$=%24%24login%24%24&j_reason=unknown&j_reason_code=unknown#month=eq:2&year=eq:2020&limit=22&search=1&order=asc:abbreviation
(select access as a guest)
Unfortunately the Kyrgyzstan government banned Uranium exploration and mining in 2019, so this investment has been written off by EUA.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kyrgyzstan-uranium-idUSKCN1S81NN
Rusal seem to think the decision to pull out of the Arctic Palladium project was perhaps short sighted themselves. They have recognised they may have made a strategic mistake in blocking the project and are willing to return to discussions:
"The aluminum company UC Rusal, founded by Oleg Deripaska, which owns 27.8% of Norilsk Nickel, allowed a return to the discussion of its joint project with Musa Bazhaev's Russian Platinum to develop palladium deposits in Taimyr. This was announced to RBC by the deputy general director of UC Rusal, member of the board of directors of Norilsk Nickel Maxim Poletaev.
"We have now received a number of specific explanations personally from the president of Norilsk Nickel [Vladimir Potanin], which clarify the business logic of this investment, which gives us a reason to return to the consideration of the project once again", Poletaev said.
Alexey Bashkirov, a member of the board of directors of Norilsk Nickel from Interros, only noted that UC Rusal had previously made an “incompetent decision” by blocking the creation of a joint venture with Russian Platinum. “It was a strategic mistake that could damage the company. It seems that UC Rusal has realized this, as it is trying to turn the situation around and return to the original deal on the "Arctic Palladium" - he said.
However, according to Poletaev, after Norilsk Nickel left the joint venture with Russian Platinum, Interros wanted to independently conclude an agreement with Bazhaev's company, but UC Rusal saw this as a conflict of interest and asked to show them this agreement. Interros will provide all the information for consideration by Norilsk Nickel shareholders in the manner prescribed by the shareholder agreement, a representative of the holding told RBC. A spokesman for Russian Platinum declined to comment."
https://www.rbc.ru/business/27/10/2020/5f97f3f39a79472dfd830b49
It would apply from 6th April 2021 IF they introduce changes to CGT, or indeed income tax or corporation tax. I would expect them to keep some level of tax-free allowance however for CGT.
It will be a notice of resolutions passed at the AGM on 18 September, similar to the submission to CH on 2 July 2019.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03010091/filing-history