Member Info for Castaway

Fantasy - you said it 5 months - 5 months is no time, most CEO's would still be thinking about what they are going to do AP has delivered, the Mercuria deal and Eureka - total dilution - nil! I do not want to make comparisons with previous incumbents!

buko - they were explaining "prudently" why the "may" need to raise funds at sometime in the future. Of course the dewatering costs are known but they gave a budget last year based on the RomGov's timetable for the BPPM licence and the RomGov have not delivered as they said they would WTF are they supposed to do? Once again! we will end up paying maybe $5-7mil for a $100 mil asset and you are complaining about a potential placing for £1.65 mil - if this was any other AIM company we would be delirious for that sort of deal! IMO you have to stand back forget all the shit we have had since 2015 and look at the assets and management - then decide!

Fantasy - I don't need to look at the podcasts I have seen them he did not say "no dilution" without a caveat - I do not bump into AP that is Sandy - I do not live on Rom. The update on BP was nothing to do with yesterday's RNS - if they were planning a placing now it would be done. The BoD have to ensure that there is adequate funds to maintain VAST as a going concern. The BoD are not as involved in the day to day running of VAST they are to oversee operations and ensure the company is secure and protect the shareholders, they will look at VAST in a different way than AP and they do not come from an entrepreneurial background, they are mainly accountants and have less care for the s/p. The point is with AP he is a seriously well connected deal maker, hugely ambitious, great at PR, enthusiastic, never stops working. No ones perfect FFS!

KP - posts crossed but thanks and I hope so to.

buko - give us a break - BP under water - your avin a larf! - dewatering is a constant issue with mines as they are below the water table and fill up if not constantly pumped dry, it's been going on at BP forever and will do going forward. VAST only started paying for it fairly recently and the $1.6 mil to Baita SA is the previous costs. The prestrip at manaila was done in the 3 months where it is least productive and allowed a great offtake to be done with Mercuria and make the mine profitable. BPPM is worth $100mil we are paying $5 mil - get it? AP is doing stuff that none of the other CEO's did he is building a company.

KP I am not sure I agree 100% - Manaila will be profitable now (most likely) due to the prestrip of the overburden over the winter. This will generate higher revenues and together with the increased value of the Mercuria deal (which was not at a discount as previously) should make VAST cash positive. I think the headroom is more of an insurance against the licence not arriving, but also to acquire the assets to make Manaila more profitable. I agree we won't get divs out of Zim right now, but the cash from PP is being used to acquire more Zim assets (Eureka etc.) and soon we will receive divs from our enlarged assets as the country opens up. BP totally agree it's the monkey on our back, the elephant in the room....

Fantasy I do not think AP ever said "no dilution" he may have said no dilution unless for acquisitions, I am not sure what you mean by .4p base? I got the impression the RNS yesterday was about prudent corporate finances, i.e. ensuring there is the headroom to issue shares if needed. The RNS explained why this was necessary and it was to do with the delay in acquiring the BPPM licence. The RNS was clearly not AP's doing but the BoD as a whole obviously felt it was necessary. The delay of nearly 6 months in the licence was not foreseen as the RomGov were supposed to deal within a 60 working day timeframe as laid out in the October RNS. Andrew is at least trying to reduce dilution (remember 2016?) and has successfully acquired a good percentage of Eureka gold mine for nil dilution. IMO it is unfair to start criticising a CEO who is dealing with a government who cannot stick to their own timeframes and who has been in office for less than 6 months and a BoD director for 4 months!. IMO he really wants to deliver for VAST as it benefits himself and us - we are mutually beneficial. He needs more time IMO

TBTT - first of all you are assuming Zimbabwe is going to become a pillar of the international community and actually recognise foreign court rulings. The original licence VAST acquired have been in dispute since RM decided he wanted Marange. I am not a lawyer but the claim against ACR was that it obtained the license illegally, though this was dismissed in every court but the last appeal where the (biased?) judge ruled in the ZimGov's favour. So how much cash and time do you think it would cost to take the ZimGov to an international court? Well 5 years+ and �10's of millions with no guarantee of success. Also look at all the companies that were granted (our) licences to mine Marange in the last 10 years all the Chinese companies etc. they are also suing the ZimGov - do they also take their complaints to international arbitration? If we do not get a piece of marange I think it is highly unlikely we would sue the ZimGov - what about our other assets and potential acquisitions? - it would be biting our nose to spite our face!

TBTT - We did the court bit and got nowhere, as in Rom it will be the government who decides and I doubt VAST will waste huge amounts of cash and time chasing a lost cause if the ZimGov don't want VAST to be part of it. Having said that I think there is a reasonable chance we will get a deal on the diamonds. OK operational mines - BPPM should be working by the end of the year but it will take a few months to be profitable after that, Manaila will be profitable defo, as soon as we get the new diggers, so you could say by this time next year we will have good revenues and profits. However AP's MO is to acquire mines and this costs money as he stated yesterday for DD, so as I see it it will be a long time before any cash is free for divs as it will go into acquisitions and debt funding. If you want divs there are far better choices on AIM, VAST is about capital growth through acquisitions.

Erm can we actually get to profitability first! - Divs will be a few years off IMO as the cash will be needed to fund debt for acquisitions. If by a long shot we got a % of Marange it could be different I suppose?

Think so Troaj - copper has to be a winner just coming out of a low and with all those electric cars need to be built, there will be a shortage from next year I gather. That's the main reason I like VAST we have $2bn worth in Rom (probably). Though I think most metals will do well going forward due to nil investment in mining for the last decade and as I am sure you are aware it's usually a 10 year job building a large copper mine from initial licensing (at least) so production is not going to increase anytime soon and VAST has the mines in the heart of Europe - so it's strategically important if we get any Trumped up trade wars and tariffs on copper.

I still hold a few PREM for my sins also - mind you that happened in VAST as well a year or so ago - AIM you have to love it, I am beginning to wonder why I do it though, the gain in the main market have been stellar recently and almost zero risk too

I think it was Larry claiming hwe was a "visionary" that did it for me. oh and not disclosing anything of any merit about WTF he was actually doing, or what they actually produced and then went on about riding his Harley in a T shirt! Oh yeh then they couldn't manage to produce accounts on time and got suspended - thats a top share!

:-)

;-) snap - mind you I always thought that was crap - I was in from when it was Brady, didn't like the tantalum idea, bailed and my broker recommended it so I got some back - doh!

That's good Troaj - I don't mean to cast aspersions on him in particular, just the influence some have in the market who have no regulation - basically you need to learn and DYOR and it takes time and it may cost you money to learn, but I would rather rely on my judgement than that of an anonymous twitter poster.

I don't know Baron, he may be a good guy and a savvy investor, however I do find it odd that people follow twitter posters and take on board their views and it worries me that some twitter posters, (who will have agendas as they are invested in their promoted shs) have such a big influence on the market. I also find it amusing that when a guy like Baron buys/sells a share everyone thinks they have an inside edge that others don't - thats is not the case 99% of the time. If you invest in AIM and survive a few years you will get some real winners and also do your nuts, it comes with the territory. I have no disrespect for anyone who loses big time - I do have respect for those that lose and come back and find a way to win - cos it aint easy!

VAST 7 bagged up to .7p+ from the lows of .1p it can do the same this year from .43p easily - maybe more. AIM is a rocky ride, I have been in VAST 4 years highs of 2.25p lows of .1p - IMO this is still one of the best shares on AIM. Today's poor RNS, changes very little, OK we may have a small placing but at a higher s/p, maybe 3% dilution? to get Manaila seriously profitable and BPPM running plus some acquisitions. That's good for the long term.

East - yeh even the derampers gave up with VAST ;-)

I understand what you are saying Fantasy, however the RomGov were supposed to grant the licence within 60 working days and they are in default. AP thought it would have happened many months ago and clearly stated on the podcasts was not happy with this RNS's timing. The placing funds will be used in general to increase profitability and for DD on the acquisition of assets. AP is new to the role and IMO doing a great job, he did some great PR today to try to mitigate the effect of this less that great RNS. At least IMO he cares about the shareholders, not every AIM CEO gives a toss and will dilute you senseless!