focusIR May 2024 Investor Webinar: Blue Whale, Kavango, Taseko Mines & CQS Natural Resources. Catch up with the webinar here.
Tibbs Not sure I agree with the comment regarding Sukari having relatively low mining costs in their open pit. With a strip ratio over 10 to 1 their costs are currently much too high and this is where I would like to understand in more detail the cost per ounce of Capital's waste removal. This will then hopefully provide us with something to look forward to at the end of the contract, a more realistic strip ratio and reduced cost per tonne/ounce. Or will it and is this high strip ratio more realistic given the age of the open pit?
Unfortunately I was laid low with covid so wasn't able to participate in the phone in maybe next time especially as next quarter will hopefully provide some important updates.
Sotolo thoroughly agree AISC at the higher end of $1275 to $1425 is a worry and how much of this is caused by the Capital waste project? There again a necessary evil and is this an ongoing cost with strip ratio closer to reality than earlier years where cut backs kept to a minimum?
Guess we won't know until 2024 when the waste contract has come to an end.
Great news banks/finance companies giving positive feedback.
My belief is that Centamin are looking for funds to grow their mine portfolio with Doropo upper most on the list followed closely by Egyptian expansion. Also the divesting of Batie could be something that Macquarie are being asked to look at.
Would they need Macquarie to look at funding the acquisition of the Capital fleet maybe but suggest Cat Finance would be an easier less expensive route.
I totally agree with "Mouth Watering" and how apt the word "Bonanza" is and this increase in what is effectively asset growth should wake up investors to the true value of Centamin.
No doubt however is that we need an improvement in the Gold Price and a strong set of mid year numbers.
Indeed at last some long overdue good news all round.
Tibbs to be honest the people that count as far as I am concerned are the people who get up each morning and go to work at the mine or the exploration project.
If I ever needed to know what was going on it was of paramount importance to visit the site(s) and listen to what was happening currently and planned for the future from the Mine manager and his team.
Visits to head offices were also important but the majors would normally refer me to the site personnel or we would be more current than the guys in head office anyway.
As far as Centamin is concerned it is top heavy with non exec directors so suggest it is less important to visit head office as there won't be anyone there, so guys on site are the important drivers of the business.
"Board of Directors" all I see is a Chairman a CEO and a CFO all of the others are Non Exec and the Chairman doesn't get involved in the day to day operations so wonder how the voting goes?
Non Exec are normally in an advisory position or for bouncing off ideas in their given area of expertise and the list of senior managers with the exception of a couple of individuals is pretty much a list of white collar after the fact types. Hardly a go getting team in support of the few.
I would like to see other senior operational managers in the business such as the General /Mining/Production Managers of Sukari listed among the leadership team.
Cowichan a throw away comment where you select just one sentence '"Creating opportunity for people through responsible mining" of the "Purpose, Values and Culture page which does link into Vision and Strategy.
Cowichan take a look at the Geology Capital Markets Presentation last September as this answers what they are doing to a certain extent with results from drilling programmes in and around Sukari.
Tibbs hopefully if and when Martin Horgan walks away the structure of the company will cope and the people who make the company work being the hands on mine management and personnel will carry on and bring in the results.
Cowichan, I would message you but to do so I would need to join Linkedin Premium and I have no interest in doing so.
So I will talk to members of my old team to understand why they would think there are negatives in a large additional fleet of Cat machines arriving at Sukari for them to support.
Cowichan I am not sure why you raise the question of a finders fee, where have you seen reference to such a fee?
I would also like to add that I don't see an alternative other than to employ a contractor to move the waste, unless that is Centamin do it themselves and invest up front in new equipment, people etc.
If it was a contract mining contract then like you I would be questioning why but this is what I call a muck shift project and I like the fact that it is a complimentary fleet of equipment that can be purchased at the end of the contract. Almost like buying on credit but getting work done at the same time, albeit a necessary evil that should have been prevented.
Proof of whether this has been a worthwhile economic project will be once the waste has gone and we are back into a far more flexible mine layout with multiple benches, hence the possible need to increase the fleet.
Gnome thanks for the excellent research and certainly supports my thoughts that Doropo and hopefully ABC was worth the purchasing of Ampella and thoroughly agree with your comment that Batie could have been handled better.
Also supports the comment that 2 out of 3 isn't a bad return especially given how many failed exploration projects that occur.
Again great information. Thanks
Cowichan interesting questions and pretty sure I could answer a number of them based on "contracting" and which would pacify your interest but it will be far more interesting to hear the response from Martin and or Jamie if indeed you get a response.
I don't see however why you shouldn't get a response and I wouldn't be overly worried if there wasn't another contractor quotation because it wouldn't be difficult to know what was acceptable or otherwise.
If Centamin don't know their cost per tonne when working with a fleet of Caterpillar equipment then someone needs shooting not just firing.
As for fixing a buy price for the equipment at the end of the contract not sure that would work in favour of either party. I would prefer price ruling at the time of sale. There are a good number of unknowns at the start of the contract and would suggest there will be the need for a third party to assist with valuations.
Anyway enough of my thoughts as I say will be interesting to hear from those in the know.
Paul, You summed it up perfectly, my wife is the gardener and the only time I get anything done right in the garden is when I follow her instructions to the letter, or better is for the expert to do the job. Hopefully this what Horgan is doing getting experts in important areas who can either do the work themselves and/or delegate to achieve the right results.
Time will tell.
Sotolo hopefully it is all of the progress behind the scenes that Horgan is happy about because 93,000 oz and due according to the numbers low performance in the open pit rather than serious dip in underground due to the phase out of the contractor so certainly isn't anything to crow about or be positive about. Hopefully can't get any worse and woops hope I haven't jinxed it.
Freedom, Material moved is basically both waste and ore and if you divide the ore number by total material used you arrive at the strip ratio. The strip ratio being so high with waste means costs are high because waste brings in 0 revenue so costs straight to the bottom line or cost per ounce of gold.
The sooner the waste removal contract finishes the better and then "hopefully" we will see a sensible overall cost structure resembling good old fashioned mining.
Cowichan I fully appreciate that the Barrick guys are working at Sukari and also appreciate they aren't all Canadian and pretty sure not all of the Canadians are French Canadians. If however there are a few who are then this will be of help when they develop Doropo and ABC because inhouse expertise is better than external hires which takes time to get organised . Filling expatriate jobs in Egypt with nationals will be a priority and pretty much I would suggest a necessity under the employment rules and regulations in Egypt.
Just saying that it provides some flexibility and like you I am not interested in a Barrick takeover far from it as if I had wanted to invest in Barrick I would have done it a long time back I have after all visited many of their mines.
Likewise any other major such as Newmont and I have visited both companies head offices in Toronto and Denver also many other majors they don't interest me as far too corporate for my liking.
Cowichan, Something that I find interesting is how strong the new team is becoming and yes there are a number of Barrick guys coming on board. I quite like that albeit maybe presupposing too much but Ivory Coast as you know well is French speaking and synergies and flexibility makes sense to me as the business develops and grows.
There are few French speaking countries around the world like Canada producing mining professionals.
Presupposing the new appointees speak French but if they do then hats off to the HR Department or am I being too optimistic?
Miz, Interesting but I don't see EMRA throwing money at Sukari when they get a 50% share of the profits with no investment necessary. Experience tells me when Government nationalise going concerns in particular risky ventures like mines they crash and burn primarily because it is thought to be a license to print money and money means greed.
We know how easy it is to get things wrong even with so called professionals running the show.
Shalateen not sure who they are OK understand what they are but who are they is more important?