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With gold now breaking above $2,800 I guess a few of us are still interested in being invested in the underlying assets, even in private form, particularly now DB’s hands have been removed from the steering wheel. Not immediately obvious they will get above 90%.

Delisting just as gold hits a new all time high - oh the irony. When’s Dan meant to be organising the celebratory drinks in the brewery?

I assume we will know once the offer period has expired as they will need to notify about the uptake. Not exactly clear on dates though

If I don’t accept the offer (and it sticks in the craw with KOR at run rate, agreement on new mining code @ YAN and gold at close to $2,800) then to my mind there is then subsequently 3 outcomes

1. Nioko do not achieve 75% and shares therefore remain listed - I see this as unlikely.

2. Nioko achieve in excess of 90%, delist and enact compulsory squeeze out in which case I get the same price paid for my shares as on offer today but the process will take longer

3. Nioko achieves more than 75% but less than 90%. Delists but can’t do compulsory squeeze out. I get that creates huge uncertainty with no market for shares but on the flip side you remain invested in an asset with a new management team (always been the problem) where production will be accelerating, the gold price is strong and even Dugbe will have value at this price. Basically would be interesting to be invested alongside Nioko albeit with a massive amount of risk. But given the hit I’ve already taken might it be a punt worth taking? I could see Nioko bringing this back to the market or flipping it once stabilised.

@ Guvvi - I’ve done the same and voted no - given they are at commercial production now at KOR this is opportunistic by CORIS (I don’t blame them) and I feel it’s being waved through by the board too easily. Absolutely no mention of Dugbe in yesterdays RNS which I suspect CORIS are super keen on as well (50% of that plus KOR at commercial production is super attractive and delivers very quick deleveraging even if Mali goes south - and all for a relatively deminimis increase in their exposure, most of which is to themselves)

Ultimately it’s not going to be decided by us PI’s so be interesting to see what’s being played out behind the scenes.

IF, and it’s a big IF at the moment, they are only a few weeks away from commercial production announcement surely they would be better off doing an equity raise post rather than pre announcement. Sell into certainty of cash flow rather than uncertainty and distress. Also if they are at or around commercial production rates then not sure they need a raise as the amount of free cash being generated at current gold prices will generate immediate excess cash.

Hopefully with the Q3 update, along with the underwhelming Q3 results we get clear visibility of when /if this quarter we hit commercial production as well as an update on the appointment of the chief transformation officer and their immediate focus areas, details of when a new CEO will be on board and an update on the Dugbe transaction.

Whilst the short term news is disappointing, if not entirely predictable given HUM’s historical performance I do see reasons for optimism here.

The issue for HUM, as many have been saying for a long time now, is management and governance. A board and management shakeup that removes DB as CEO, installs a new CEO and a CTO, refreshes the wider board and brings a representative on from CIG are all moves that I see as positive from a governance, reputation and credibility perspective. The value of having DB’s hand off the day to day tiller is not to be under valued and I susupect that allowing him to remain initially as Chair may be a way of gently easing him out and removing his influence.

Hopefully this is one of the last pieces of short term pain before we start to see the benefits of what the underlying assets are capable of delivering with a professional management team in place guided by a more independent board.

From memory Dan, Thomas and Ernie have significant personal investments in Pasofino. Be interesting to see if they are sellers in their personal capacity or not. I think Dan will always want to have some personal interest in this given his history with the site.

I don’t see much breathing space here. They have reached an agreement to retime the debt that they were due to pay last quarter (Q2) that they couldn’t afford to repay in Q2 due to the poor operational outcome at YAN (self inflicted) and the excruciatingly slow ramp up at KOR (self inflicted).

They still need to service and pay down the debt that is due in Q3 and Q4 this year - there is no refinancing of that. In addition whatever stretched supplier payments that exist will need to be funded.

This has got us past filing for technical administration and will allow HUM to publish H1 financials but feels like Coris are keeping them on a very tight leash here to prove out the production improvement story (glad someone is).

It is, and has been for some time, all about delivering on gold production in Q3 and Q4. Monthly updates on progress would aid the transparency around this enormously.

@ DavidBrent - agree with all that. What it will give them is the runway to prove they can deliver on their revised guidance. If they don’t it’s all over, if they do then we can finally start to see the potential of the business.

Management have a massive incentive to deliver in order to trigger the founders equity alignment plan (pg 176 of the 2023 annual report and accounts).I’m no fan of that plan (it’s ridiculously generous) or indeed of the management team but at the moment that ensures absolute alignment between shareholders and management.

Guvvi - that’s unfortunately my expectation too - but as you say it’s simple and easy to do and they will be giving the info to their lenders and CIG in any event so why not share with all investors. Anyway we can but try to provide constructive suggestions for improvement 🤞 🤞

Hopefully we get the debt restructure RNS imminently which will give them some leeway to deliver on their revised guidance, to then follow that up with an update in early Sept on August’s gold production would be really great messaging - it’s what we all want and need at this juncture.

@ Guvvi - completely agree on your point about monthly gold production updates. I’d emailed the investor relations team on this exact point a couple of days ago, urging them to move to monthly gold production updates to start to rebuild trust and confidence.

I got a response back acknowledging the request and indicating they were giving some thought as to how they could improve comms and provide more regular updates. I’d encourage other investors to also share their thoughts on this with the company.

I’m exceptionally nervous about Friday - only ever been a day for delivering bad news from HUM historically.

Here is my wish list for updates from DB & team

- Clarity on when HUM will hit commercial nameplate production @ KOR - start / middle / end of Q3

- Status of resolution of dispute with Corica (i know they are back to work but is the financial dispute resolved and if so how)

- When in H2 will the KOM U/G start delivering oz

- Updated guidance for 2024

- Quantum of debt repayments and interest payments due in H2 2024 and timing

- How they are currently managing cash flow and liquidity and what are the plans for that going forward

- What have CORIS group told them about why their entire equity holding has been moved to “Nioko Resources Corp” and what might that mean for HUM

- When will we hear the outcome of the long awaited strategic review of Dugbe - it’s been nearly two years since that commenced. Surely time to share with shareholders?

- When will an independent non exec chair be appointed?

As long as we don’t get the classic HUM bad news RNS on a Friday morning - historically that is Dan’s preferred date for pushing out bad news. I’ll breathe easier if we get past Friday without an RNS.

If anyone is attending - it would be interesting to know why they were pursuing an acquisition last year (page 78 of the annual report and accounts “….one off due-diligence expenses related to a potential acquisition that was later abandoned”) and why they felt that was a good use of time and resources in a year they were continually going cap in hand to shareholders and lenders for more money to keep the lights on.

C.18k oz in KOR’s first year. That is woeful. We don’t know what the operating cost of that is as the majority is being capitalized but it’s been a huge cash burn and has necessitated shareholder dilution, increased indebtedness and continual refinancing.

Key is how quickly that commercial production is hit because the debt wall we face is getting higher and closer with every passing day.

Hopefully those attending hear some mea culpa from the Chair and Board today and plans for a long overdue governance overhaul (but I doubt it).

Only upside is that the gold they haven’t mined will now be being sold into a much stronger gold pricing environment - so long as they can get that done before the debt wall hits us.

Anyone expecting the Non-Execs to front up today? - they don’t seem to like to be face to face with the shareholders they are supposed to represent.

So first anniversary of KOR gold pour is upon us. If we are being charitable let’s assume they’ve achieved 20-25k oz (it was c.12k oz at the Q1 update). That is woeful - the project is clearly not on time (this time last year steady state commercial production was promised in Q4 2023 and they guided to 30k oz from KOR in H2 2023 in the 2023 Q2 update). It’s also definitely not on budget given the going concern and funding issues in the annual report (and yes there are the 101 excuses).

No doubt we will continue to be promised Jam tomorrow - and I believe the assets can deliver that given the strong gold price, but perhaps not with this management team and governance structure. Whether they are serially unlucky or not competent doesn’t matter - neither is a good look for current or future investors.

Don’t miss your chance to vote at the AGM.

@ Anon3 - now imagine that encouraging place with a competent management team, a proper governance structure and true accountability. That is where I see value being generated. I’ve always believed in the assets…..management and the board have let themselves down too many times in my view.

They haven’t mentioned it in the RNS but the AGM date has also been set (27 June) and you can now vote (I just received a voting notification from my online platform). Four directors up for re-election including CEO and CFO.

For those who think management have underperformed and believe a board shake up is due this is your opportunity to vote to make your voice heard. Ultimately CIG will decide their fate but you may as well use your vote.

Wonder if we will see any news coming out of HUM or Corica tomorrow - the 28 day deadline set by Corica on the 17th March following their official notification to HUM ends today so if there is any merit to that deadline then I would have thought some form of formal update would be forthcoming.