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It's hit my buy point so I thought I would pick up a few. However, I can't currently get a quote.

Looks like I'm not the only one interested at these prices.

I agree Nero.

It's bizarre. I hear there is not enough copper, lithium, rare earths etc. to meet 'green' ambitions by 2030, let alone 2050. And yet mining attractiveness is very low at the moment. We are probably at the start of a new commodities boom and yet the market is markedly slow on the uptake.

I'm also frustrated at the lack of a deal, but I'm not buying in to the conspiracy theory stuff about JM considering taking Condor private. It would make no sense. If Condor have a challenge is raising $100m+ to build out a mine, why would JM want to take 100% of the financial and political risk himself. It's utter nonesense in my mind. I think he wants out, but at what he considers the right price. We simply don't know what that price is, albeit it's likely to be between $100m and $200m in my mind with an increasing chance towards the lower end.

As for advisors saying that there is no deal. Well, we all know that or there would be an RNS. No deal is hardly news. Ring me up and I'll tell you the same, 'no deal yet'.

What we need to be thinking about is the 'what next?' aspect. We may have a few quid in the pot but this sales exercise will need some sort of funding before long. That's probably what the bidders are waiting for, albeit I suspect JM has kept his powder dry on that one.

It doesn't feel 'close' but then anything can happen at any time as we all know.

Meanwhile, in increasingly desperate attempt to create volume another .5p is shaved off the price. I sense the law of diminishing returns has kicked in judging by the effectiveness of recent price drops.

With gold loitering around the $2000 point it's hard not to be optimistic about its next move. Conventional speculation on mainstream media seems to suggest it's all about the Middle East and Ukraine situation, although I've a feeling there is a lot more to it. I don't know how many others have noticed, but in recent weeks there has been a barrage of articles on U.S. debt, specifically its ever increasing deficits. We are now in a world of multi-trillion USD deficits and it is not sustainable. I'm watching for a US bond purchase strike, which logically shouldn't be too far away. The FED will likely increase rates to maintain interest although I'm unclear about how much further it can go before sending the U.S. economy into a tailspin. Is 7% too much, as is hinted by J. Dimon? I don't know, but the sort of wake-up call that the UK had with Liz Truss must be on the horizon.

So how could the markets react? Buy gold? Buy crypto? Buy non-US currencies? Could be all three, in which case gold could be readying for a run.

And in a world where $2000 is support vs. resistance, surely a bid for Condor can move up beyond 60p. What would the NPV be at $2000 gold?

I can't recommend my own post. I'm ready to throw the towel in on the sales process. Let's say by December 31st, if a deal isn't on the table we change course. A wasted years, and money, yes, but we have to accept that bidders seem to want the work doing for them. We'll probably get more value in a year of raising money and pressing ahead with production than continuing to flog a dead horse.

Let's get a flavour of opinion.

Or down with the next one.

While I'm just as frustrated as anyone, I don't buy in to any conspiracy theories on BoD intentions until I see some tangible evidence of misbehaviour. All I'm seeing at the moment is speculation.

The fact that we don't have a deal yet is pretty obvious - we don't have a deal until we do. I don't need someone to tell me that we don't have a deal. I want someone to tell me that we do have one.

The equally obvious conclusion to that fact that we don't have a deal announcement is that the bids are below mine, and probably others, expectations. My circa 60p - 65p (share value equivalent) expectation is starting to look ambitious. My question is how ambitious is it vs. the actual ball park we are playing in? I always knew that the c$420m NPV would be heavily discounted, but I reckoned on a $120m - $140m base (post costs). Could we actually be in a sub $100m world? I don't even want to think about it, but perhaps we have to. That is if we are anywhere near a number and a contract.

On the other hand, after a year of failed attempts to sell why can't we have a go a raising the finance for a build project? The mere announcement would probably do more than any number of market making share price reductions (to generate a handful of trades). It's not defeatism, it's pragmatism. If you can't raise shareholder value one way, then you have to try another. This current non-progress situation really isn't sustainable for more than a few more weeks, whatever our 'advisors' might think.

Maybe a few calls in to bring it to a close is now in order.

Lack of action.

The BoD may be furiously paddling beneath the surface, but none of us can see it. Come on guys give us a clue. There must be something positive you can say. And if you can't then we really do need to bring the thing to and end. We all need to know where we stand.

I suppose I was one of the most optimistic as regards timelines. Back in January I thought there was a fighting chance of cutting a deal by the end of the tax year. Well that came and went. Never in my most pessimistic moments did I think it would run to the end of October. Not just from an optimist/pessimist perspective, but from experience. I've been involved in the sales of companies during my career, small and large. Even the biggest, multi-billion projects didn't take this long. And trust me, they were highly complex and messy. Condor isn't.

We need to know where we stand and what the forward plan is. Please don't continue to flog what currently looks like a dead horse sale process. There is value in Condor but this particular method of extracting it doesn't seem to be working.

I really want to eat my words on the sale process. Serve them up on a 'we've sold it' platter and I gladly will.

I had forgotten when I first took a interest in Condor. In old money it was 250,000 shares on October 7th 2009. Fourteen years I've had shares in Condor! I've bought more and sold some over that time, but I've always kept a core holding. Those first few shares, post consolidation, actually stood me at 13.4p. Had I just stuck with those and not bought any more I would actually be in profit today. Alas not I'm way under water at 17p due to over enthusiasm.

It's always darkest before the dawn, but at least you know it's coming. I really do feel that we should have some sort of update on where we are given that we are a hair's width from the annual anniversary of the sale process starting. In the absence of news we all tend to fear the worst, with some of us bailing out due to pure boredom. And in the absence of news, the broader market perceives it as a complete lack of corporate activity with, apparently, no hints of anything changing anytime soon.

What I do know is that at 17p we are 7p - 8p below our book value, which itself is at least half (probably a third) of what the actual market value of the assets are. Our market makers seem to think that dropping the price 1/2p every now and then is the only way of making a market. But, as I noted a few weeks ago, it doesn't seem to have any effect. The broader market doesn't seem to buy in to the idea that something might be happening at corporate level. Why would you park cash in Condor shares when the board have given no indication of when the process might end, or even if it ever will? Many of us put an extra few quid in Condor last year to help see this process through. I don't think anyone signed up with the expectation of a year.

It's time for plan B, and to pull the plug on the sale process. The price of gold is holding up well and most 'experts' are not calling for the price to fall. Perhaps even the suggestion that a project finance exercise is underway, and a hard stop on the sale process, might spur a bidder into action. The clock is ticking. It's ticking in terms of working capital, in terms of investor patience and in time. We only have a few weeks before the Christmas shut downs start, and then it will be February before anything happens.

Plan B needs to be to raise the capital to start the mine. We may not have the expertise, so we need to import it. Kill all the old share options and introduce a new set tied into operational mine deliverables and share price.

Jessie Livermore may have said that he made the most money by waiting. But I bet he didn't wait 14 years for an investment to give a return. There are limits.

I've no time for silly comments or BoD related conspiracy theories. But I do think that the time is virtually up for this bid fishing exercise. A letter needs to go out signalling an intention to finish the process by Christmas. Any longer and the share price will drop below half of book value, or even lower, given the lack of interest and apparent la

From my perspective the issue is not how long this process is taking, but the representations that have been made about how fast a firm bid might arrive. This is likely the main driver behind the slow erosion of the share price, which now stands about 5p below book value. Not that I think it will influence the ultimate exit value.

I’m still staying put and remain hopeful that my expected 60 - 65p range (sp equivalent) will be exceeded.

The waiting game continues.

This is real back of the envelope stuff, but just to get an idea of worth.

A 50% discount to NPV (let's say $420m) is c, $210m i.e. about £168m. I'll up the issued to about 200m which will yield around 85p in per share value equivalent.

Knock about 65% off NPV and we are around the $150m mark or around £120m, c. 60p.

I just can't see it below 60p, however I look at it; bottom up based on average valuations or top down, discounting from NPV. For me it's now beginning to look more like the 60p - 85p negotiating band. Why on earth would you give $250m of NPV away given all the other positive factors in play?

I suppose it's more possible that an offer will come in at Denver vs. July\August, but I'm not counting my chickens.

Possibly the best interview I’ve seen him do.

Looks like he’s ramming home that $400m NPV is the baseline and that the negotiation is around the discount to that valuation. I highly doubt a buyer would get away with such a massive discount to $100m, nor do I think Condor will get away with $300m. Perhaps $150m is modest and maybe $200m is achievable. In share terms maybe even my 60-65p is light.

There are too many people influenced by the current SP, treating it as something meaningful to an asset buyer. It isn’t. If f a predator tried to buy Condor in the market it it would end up paying over 100p in the blink of an eye. Which is why no one will try. You can’t make this share liquid that fast.

At some point someone will blink and place an acceptable bid in play. condor then make the most of it and invite BAFOs.

Yep. But anyone can sell anything below fair value. It has always been the case that Condor is not going to be sold off cheap. As for time, I'm as frustrated as anyone but when you've been in a share 12 years, another 12 months doesn't feel like as long a time as it might feel if I had only invested in 2022.

JM is sending a clear message that he's prepared to wait it out rather than accept a lowball offer. I guess he didn't get where he is today by accepting low offers...

It's fun speculating, but the reality is neither the BoD nor anyone on this board has an inkling as to when an acceptable deal will appear, nor how much it will be. Meanwhile I'll stick with 60 - 65p (share equivalent value), hope I'll be pleasantly surprised and pray I'm not too disappointed.

With the interims being delayed I had started to think that there might be a good reason. With them now out it's a coin toss as to whether a binding offer will come through on a day. The non-binding bid teams should be getting back off their vacations so it surely can't be that long before someone blinks and has a go. And if we get one we'll probably get another. That's what I really hope for.

With NAV about 23p, a mid-market price of 21p, and the possibility of a binding bid any day now, Condor looks attractive. It's a pity the sellers are not thinking it through properly.

And we are now trading 1 - 2p below NAV. Not a lot of sense around at the moment.

It was probably too much to expect bidders to come off their hols and do something in August, although there was always a chance. This RNS could have been put out 4 weeks ago, and it does feel a little forced. You can’t wait forever to release financials, so perhaps time force their hand. I’m also of the view that they were waiting for something that didn’t come through quickly enough - remember all those odd hints in recent weeks…

It’s pretty clear that they are standing their ground in terms of value and price. I’m not in the lowball 35 - 40p camp, nor do I really think 90p is going to happen. I’ll stick with the 60 - 65p area I’ve been all year. Which leaves the question of when.

Looks like more patience is needed.

The unaudited interims are now 3 weeks behind last year and nearly 4 behind the year before. I’m guessing that there must be something behind the delay or they would have been released. It’s a pretty mechanical update. If something substantial is in the pipeline it would make sense to delay the interims and release together. I can’t really think of any other credible reason why the interims are stalled, but then again I’m not an insider.

CGT is applied at the same rate as income tax in NIC, although non residents are charged 15%. I'm guessing that this concession had no offsetting costs associated with it, so a straight 15% of $600k. At the end of 2022 Condor was owed $43.5m. Assuming the new owners lend their new subsidiaries this money, to repay Condor, none of this element would be taxable. If say, the deal was for $143.5m then the other $100m may well be subject to a 15% tax less transaction costs. So, we could see $10 - $15m in NIC tax payable. There is no DTA between NIC and the UK which could also complicate matters.

There is also the possibility of an acquirer offering its own shares as part of the consideration. Then it gets really messy taxwise, valuations for a start.

It really is pointless getting too involved in deal structure possibilities without some further info.

I don't think the sale will be the actual assets (i.e. land buildings etc.). My guess is that the most likely outcome is that the NIC subsidiaries will be sold by Condor. Part of the sale proceeds will be repayment of each subsidiaries debt to Condor (i.e. cash repatriated), with the rest a direct payment to Condor for its shareholding in each subsidiary. That way the new owner gets to own the shares and clear any historical debt due to Condor. I can't really see them wanting all of Condor, unless for some reason they want a majority stake and to retain a listing. They could still buy all of Condor but what extra value are you getting if you don't want a UK listing? Cleaner buyout perhaps? Maybe; maybe not? It really is impossible to guess at motives and method without some idea of a likely buyer.

We don't actually know how it's going to manifest itself. All my SP numbers are equivalent value terms, as they always have been. I don't particularly believe it will end up either as an Nic asset sale (the assets are the subsidiaries), or as a full takeout.

I've no better idea than anyone else on how many NDAs are signed, so I'll just believe what the news releases tell me, via X or via RNS.

I went through loads of scenarios months ago but ended up deciding it was pointless in spending further effort without some idea of the deal structure. What I do know is that there is a massive loan from the parent company to the NIC subsidiaries which will need repaying before worrying about tax.

I don't think there will be a lot of wriggle room on price; perhaps other aspects but not so much on price. In other words if bids come in around 45p I doubt CNR will be able to talk it up to 60p; 48p or 50p, perhaps. Whoever gets the first bid in will likely set the ballpark for others. If they come in at 45p or 50p, I think we can forge 70p or 80p.

On the other hand I doubt Condor would take 40p very seriously given what they have invested, both in time and money. Indeed, in their shoes, I would regard 40p submissions as time wasters. I keep coming back to around 60p - 65p. I've rationalised it in terms of resource values and it pretty much sits in the middle of the wildly pessimistic (40p and below) and wildly optimistic (80p and above), though neither scenarios are impossible. Higher prices are likely with companies who are very keen on replenishing reserves, and there are more than a few these days.

Condors current market cap is totally meaningless when you can shift it by millions through the purchase or sale of a couple of hundred thousand pounds worth of buys or sells. Anyone bidding will recognise that their bid will need to be justified on the basis of a return on investment, not on whether they can buy close to current market value (which will be impossible once word of bids gets out).

I doubt we will get valuations in the 80p - 100p range but I can't totally rule it out. I've no idea what the individual circumstances of bidders are. They may have agendas and future pricing scenarios that make that range viable.