Member Info for extrader

Hi Mitch,

You may be right (wouldn't be the first time!), but if a GLEN investor were interested in (a) portfolio tidying, (b) de-reisking or (c) generating capital to re-deploy elsewhere, this 'sale' achieves none of those : GLEN still has an investment on its books; it still has 48% (i/o 50%+1) exposure to C-B/iron-ore; and it has released no capital.....

And it still has unresolved issues with C-B in its unsettled oil-finance loans.

https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/congo-republic-seeks-glencore-loan-deal-within-a-year-says-oil-minister Nov 09, 2021

CAPE TOWN — Congo Republic aims to seal a deal to restructure an $850 million loan from global commodities trader Glencore within the the next year, the country’s oil minister told Reuters on Tuesday.
Glencore and a consortium of banks lent Congo Republic $850 million between 2015 and 2016 to be repaid with future oil deliveries over five years. The country has been discussing loan restructuring with the trader since 2018 and has suspended oil cargoes to Glencore.
“I have not lost hope that we will find a solution with Glencore,” Itoua said. “The time is ripe … we hope we will not have to wait a year to get to the end of it all.”

Glencore did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday said it had agreed a three-year loan program worth around $456 million to help to stabilize Congo Republic’s debt-burdened economy.
Itoua said that program would help the country’s position with Glencore.

Help from the IMF had hinged on Congo Republic’s ability to restructure loans. China announced in June that it had agreed in principle to reschedule its $2.4 billion loan to the country, and Trafigura finalized the restructuring of an oil-backed loan in March.

So, who knows?
ATB

Maybe a bit more positively- if you go to the updated 'about us', you see

(a) although the longterm plan is still slurry, 'The Project Team are also currently investigating options for potential production of smaller scale tonnages using existing logistics infrastructure...."; and

(b) if you look at the map helpfully provided, [ can anybody 'wayback' and see if the map was there before?] you'll note that Mayoko is 80km from Mossendijo , while Zanaga is only 95KM...and not 'as the crow flies' (as other distances are recorded), but following terrain....

which MIGHT mean something, or again not....

HOWEVER....Here's a clip showing the terrain from Mossendjo going upcountry past Mayoko, with some -ahem! - 'interesting' footage of the state of the railway and associated infrastructure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0jZ3u8m7-c

Enjoy!

I've written to IR asking for a link to the published findings of the Phase1 trial mentioned in the Prospectus.

...and Guava and Everitt with the same number of shares, but different %ages....

Year end (or other significant reporting deadlines) coming up tends to concentrate the mind !

I've contacted AT to congratulate on progress and express the hope that we get some intra-RNS snippets via twitter, which has been understandably quiet for a while.

It's in NewZIOC interest to get the s/p up as the reference point for any discussions.....
;->

''Glen's lack of action over the years.."

Ivan wasn't keen on greenfield development. End of. Ivan WAS Glen.

The sale/acquisition means that this is no longer a GLEN-dominated project.
Nagle, his successor, can say that he's respecting his former boss's wishes.

I personally doubt we'll see more 'lack of action'.

AFAICS

I'm sure GLEN have these folk on speed-dial....
Today's FT:
"Rio Tinto reluctantly hunts for deals as mining industry consolidates
Anglo-Australian group looking for critical mineral assets but says it needs to be disciplined"

GLA

A supernumerary has pointed out elsewhere ..Surely the salient fact is that he [Hurd] doesn't seem to be selling any to cover his tax bill, which is the usual procedure?

FWLIW, stockopedia's stockranking for ZIOC has now reached 68 (borderline bullish), it's described as a 'turnaround', albeit still 'highly speculative'.
Largely on the basis of recent momentum, it would seem : it's not been above 50 since IPO 2014 and has been mostly in the 20's until recently.
Not necessarily significant in itself, but may get ZIOC picked up on a few more screens.

I'd like to see a bit more 'informed' ie chunkier buying, tbh.

Late RNS suggests CFO agrees with you !

.."Richard Hurd, Chief Financial Officer of the Company exercised share options over a total of 500,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a strike price of 20p each. These share options were due to expire on December 18, 2022, being 10 years from the grant date.
Following this acquisition, Mr. Hurd is interested in 600,000 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 0.3 per cent of the Company's issued share capital."

£100k is probably a material outlay from the CFO and is usually a good sign : 'follow the money'....
Exercise of zero cost options is tokenism ; Hurd has actually put more of his financial eggs in the SRT basket.

;->

And the keen 'gofer's' CV also look good....
hxxps://www.linkedin.com/in/denisweinstein/?originalSubdomain=ch

Directorship info:
Hill directorships: Jumelles we know about, can't locate MontAG, Nathan River Resources is a mothballed iron ore prospect in Oz.

Weinstein's past directorships are 3 Glencore offshore co's
-Cintus: hxxps://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82006677?e=true
-Maru Sky: hxxps://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82020583
-Surmira Limited: hxxps://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82020585

and -likely-some link to this: hxxp://www.havilah-resources.com/works/gabon-iron-ore-project/

All useful contacts and connections, no doubt.
AFAICS

Head of GLEN iron ore marketing and an iron ore trader appointed as Directors.
GLEN 'doing what it says on the tin'.

IMO.

PS The TheloDB consortium seems to have more credibility than I first thought, if the list of backers contained here is representative :
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/africa-investment-forum-african-continental-free-trade-area-provides-fresh-impetus-deeper-railway-networks-55935

Continued...
(1) He's well-connected and may be the 'poster child' for PPP;

(2) He has a plan : there's a July 21 agreement in place with a S African - Deutsche Bahn Consulting consortium for a rail link; a May 2022 agreement in place with a PPP-format consortium to double Congo's electricity supply via hydro
https://www.railjournal.com/infrastructure/thelo-and-db-to-build-us-1bn-iron-ore-line-in-the-congo/

(3) The rail proposal talks of iron ore volumes that are outwith Mayoko's capacity;

(4) Whether there's an inked offtake agreement in place with GLEN or not, one would seem necessary, not only to give support/credibility to any financing, but also because it appears (sorry, can't locate the source atm) that, unlike most of the other major Congolese businessmen, Obambi doesn't have an overseas network of his own.

HTH, NAI, DYOR

Hi Matt,
Thanks for this!

In fact, over the weekend I trawled around until I found your post...and my then reply (doh!) that I couldn't wade through a lengthy interview.

So yesterday I did, these are my observations:

(1) Obambi DOES make that 15mtpa offtake claim (around 22:35), which he says would be equivalent to C-B's budget. Florent Lager (FL) shakes his head thereafter, whether in disagreement or signalling PO to shut up isn't clear;

(2) Obambi also says that Mayoko has 1.5 bn tonnes @ 65% Fe ' which GLEN will confirm', (no reaction from FL visible this time) not evidence of an offtake agreement but suggests that they've seen or been shown some useful info;

(3) Obambi seems to veer between hyperbole and fact : says 'with good infrastructure we could go from 100mtpa iron ore exports to 400/500 mtpa' - FL is motionless at this point, having said earlier that 40Mtpa would be a good result and 100mtpa being max potential (and this with 'the mineral port @ PN' - FL then apologizes 'I hope').

But Obambi refers early on to energy/electricity not being an issue, with a recent PPP contract signing promising significant expansion. That would be this https://www.afrik21.africa/en/congo-cggc-and-energaz-sign-ppp-for-two-331-mw-hydroelectric-plants/...and sure enough, PO is there (along with Denis Sassou) front and centre at the signing....
PO's there because Energaz (the local element of the consortium, under PPP rules) is part of the Sapro group, he's followed his custom and appointed a family member - better looking than most! - to run/front it.
https://www.interholco.com/en/rss-feed-en/22-company-2021/236-the-future-has-a-beautiful-energy-says-congolese-entrepreneur-vouala-obambi

(4) FL is more measured/factual, provides a timeline of legal developments (Mining Convention etc), the historic thicket of approvals process (up to 20 -!- Ministries sign-off) and (wearing his GLEN hat) the need to cut admin and taxes and settle debts.
As an aside, he refers to the post-Ukraine added potential for C-B's 3-4mtpa potash (=KP2).
He refers to 'rail or pipeline' as a means of getting ore to the coast....and that development of Mayoko 'would help us (=Zanaga) save 1 day' in the process, which may just be a matter-of-fact observation (in the context of 'multiplier effect'/win-win-win ) or something more substantive.

(5) M Dami/Demi (?) the PPP representative spoke unambiguously of ' diplomatie economique' which he defined as a combination of 'politics and business', that the State had 'no money- it all comes from business' and that all projects (all? 340 were mentioned as in the Plan 2022 > 2026) would go through his boss DSN, to ensure 'standardisation of process' and be a 'catalyst for uniformity'.

So, who knows?
Obambi may or may not be a 'front' for the Nguesso clan, but it's clear that:

Cont....

Hi beardozer,

You may be right about India ! .....ZIOC's twitter seems to show that it follows, apart from RioTinto and Anglo American, India's Nevin Agarwal and his Vedanta Goa Iron ore and a few others, incl AtlasIron, part of Gina Han****'s empire...

So the field may be wide open...

Thanks for this overview - a case of 'the best can be the enemy of the good' : for this to work, GLEN has to be reasonable.

Speaking of which, can Mattradio throw any more light on the mooted existence of a GLEN offtake agreement already with Obambi? He alluded to it a few weeks back.

Well, lockdown may have contributed to immunity suppression (or non-acquisition) and to ongoing 'excess deaths' because of deferred investigation and treatment of cancers, heart issues and other 'dread diseases', but these are indirect, foreseeable-but-ignored consequences.
Government should 'fess up and - in the jargon - reassure us that 'the necessary lessons have been learned'.

There appear to be more directly vaccine-related concerns doing the rounds that the authorities need to address and 'get ahead of the story' instead of being on the back foot. Otherwise, we risk a larger scale re-run of the MMR controversy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_and_autism

FLWIW, I am not anti-vaxx, am fully jabbed for my age and am a volunteer in the ongoing Moderna Spikevax head-to-head trials.

Physician, heal thyself!
You seem more agitated - and in need of a break from the board-than most.
IMO

THAT possibility certainly seems to be contemplated in the RNS, which includes a

.."Marketing Agreement with Glencore International.... for the sale and purchase of all future iron ore production from the Project or any other of their or their Affiliates' assets using similar infrastructure in the Republic of Congo..."

and where Affiliate is defined as
"Affiliate" means any entity that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by, or is under common control with the entity in question and "Affiliates" shall be construed accordingly. For the purpose of this definition, "control" means the beneficial ownership of 50% or more of the issued equity of any entity (or the whole or majority of the entity's assets), and / or the right or ability to direct or otherwise control the entity or the votes attaching to the entity's issued share capital and "controlled" or "under common control" shall have a similar meaning."

Hmmm...