Chris Heminway, Exec-Chair at Time To ACT, explains why now is the right time for the Group to IPO. Watch the video here.
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/557a69f4-4e4c-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5
Correlation may not be proof of causation but it is difficult to see any other explanation for London’s catalytic-converter crime wave than the record-breaking rally in palladium prices.
The silver-white metal, used to remove toxic emissions from the exhaust fumes of petrol and hybrid cars, has surged more than 200 per cent over the past five years and last month hit a record of more than $2,500 an ounce.
At the same time, thefts of catalytic converters in the UK capital jumped — from 867 in 2015 to 8,248 in 2019, according to the Metropolitan Police. The force has urged car owners to be vigilant and consider buying protective sleeves for their catalytic converters.
After nearly a decade of undersupply, the world is now critically short of palladium and its sister metal rhodium. In part, this reflects sluggish supply. Production of these metals is constrained because they are mined as a byproduct of platinum and nickel — commodities where new projects have been few and far between.
At the same time, demand is booming. Tougher emissions legislation and stricter vehicle-testing regimes in the wake of Germany’s “Dieselgate” scandal saw the automotive industry buy a record 9.7m ounces of palladium last year, according to Johnson Matthey, a producer of catalysts.
That is why industry executives say talk of a palladium bubble is misplaced.
“I don’t want to mention a name but there has been a senior car company that has experienced a real shortage in rhodium,” Neal Froneman, chief executive of producer Sibanye-Stillwater, told the Financial Times last week.
“You can’t run deficits and consume surface stockpiles and inventories for ever and a day. At some point that turns into a real shortage. And that’s what happened in rhodium and I dare say it could happen in palladium.”
Johnson Matthey reckons demand outstripped supply by 1m ounces last year and says a further rise in automotive demand will push the 11.5m ounce-a-year palladium market deeper into deficit.
While a coronavirus-induced slowdown in the Chinese car sector could reduce the size of the shortfall, most analysts expect the market to remain undersupplied. Standard Chartered estimates China’s car production would have to plummet 28 per cent before the market deficit is eroded by declining demand.
Assuming that does not happen, prices look set to push higher unless there is a sudden mobilisation of stockpiles. These include a stash of the metal owned by Russian miner Norilsk Nickel. It was purchased from the country’s central bank
https://www.ft.com/content/557a69f4-4e4c-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/read-selling-eurasia-mining-plc-085027132.html
The successful sale of assets locally in Uruguay and internationally in cooperation with broker Savona is a key component to optimizing the outcome with creditors. The Company is in the process of issuing the 10 million common shares in Orosur which is subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Orosur Mining Orosur Mining Inc. - First Quarter 2020 Results
16/10/2019 7:00am
UK Regulatory (RNS & others)
TIDMOMI
Orosur Mining Inc. ("Orosur" or "the Company") (TSX/AIM:OMI), a South American-focused gold developer and explorer announces its unaudited results for the first quarter ended August 31, 2019 ("Q1 2020" or the "Quarter").
HIGHLIGHTS
-- In August 2019, Orosur received the second of four half-yearly US$500k cash payments from Newmont Goldcorp ("Newmont") as part of the previously announced Exploration Agreement with Venture Option for the Anzá project in Colombia (the "Exploration Agreement").
-- Newmont has paid US$310k of the US$1 million minimum work commitment for the first year of the Exploration Agreement (ended September 2019) and must meet the shortfall in cash to Orosur by November 7, 2019, in order to maintain its Phase 1 earn-in right.
-- In Uruguay, as announced on September 17, 2019, the Court has approved the payment plan agreement between the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Loryser SA ("Loryser") and Loryser's creditors (the "Creditors Agreement"). The ratification by the Court means that the Creditors Agreement is legally binding on all creditors and that the intervenor's control over Loryser has ceased.
-- The Creditors Agreement provides that the net proceeds from the sale of Loryser's assets in Uruguay, together with the issuance of 10 million common shares in Orosur, shall fully satisfy all amounts owed by Loryser to its creditors, as well as provide funds for Loryser to conduct this process and manage the orderly closure of its operations. The Creditors Agreement requires Loryser to manage and complete the sale and payment process within two years, starting from the date of the ratification by the Court.
-- The Company has a cash balance of US$548k at August 31, 2019 (May 31, 2019 - US$512k million).
Outlook and Strategy
During the year ended May 31, 2018, the board adopted an ambitious strategic plan to restructure its business, and recapitalize and transform the Company by advancing the Anzá project in Colombia, as well as finding a fair solution in Uruguay for all stakeholders and reducing its activities in Chile. The strategy remains unchanged and on course.
In Colombia, the first two years of the Exploration Agreement (commencing in September 2018) have relatively low minimum work commitments (US$1 million per year). The minimum work commitment increases in years 3 and 4, to US$4 million per year. In order to maintain the Phase 1 earn-in right, there are two additional semi-annual $500k cash payments due to be paid by Newmont to Orosur (in March and September 2020), in addition to the payment of $690k to cover the shortfall of minimum work commitments of Year 1 mentioned above.
In Uruguay, with the Creditors Agreement finally approved by the Court in September 2019, Loryser already started its implementation. The