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Diamond Beneficiation – Why £2.7m Might Be Smart Money

The fundraise was stated to be primarily for beneficiation of the diamond parcels, which includes:

Boiling and cleaning to remove external impurities

Sorting, cutting and potentially polishing to add value

Professional grading and valuation

Preparing select stones for private tender (likely the best stones)

Let’s break this down:

Vast has stated 30,000 gem-quality stones so far – but also said this is just the current identified number.

$600–$1000 per carat is realistic once cleaned, graded, and tendered in Dubai.

Let’s say 50,000 stones are prepared – that could generate millions in revenue.

Beneficiation might cost hundreds of thousands, even over £1m depending on scale – and this is precisely what the fundraise is stated as primarily being used for.

So this isn’t wasteful dilution – it’s front-loading value creation.

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Raise Justified – Approved by the Big Guns

Strand Hanson, who approved and signed off this fundraise, are not just any NOMAD – they are one of the most established and respected financial advisors in the City. Any raise of this size would require justification with:

Projected returns from diamond beneficiation

Detailed plans from the newly assembled technical board

Reasonable working capital forecasts during mine suspension

This isn’t a panic raise. It’s a structured move with strategic justification.

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What Happens if Debt is Cleared?

Let’s say Vast receives ~$14 million from the diamond sale. Here's the potential:

Repay all outstanding debt (note: not the full $14m will be needed – the company has previously suggested they only need to clear current obligations).

Working capital injection to overhaul Romanian assets or support JV entry.

Being debt-free on AIM while holding multiple active licenses, JV discussions, and ongoing production is a rare and extremely strong position.

It allows them to:

Renegotiate better terms on future finance

Improve their market credibility

Become a takeover target or ideal JV partner

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So What’s the Strategy?

Big news all at once = SP explosion. But Vast may release RNSs in sequence to allow:

Retail investors time to digest and react

Institutional investors time to accumulate

More sustainable SP growth rather than a short-lived spike

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Watch This Space

This RNS confirms:

Diamond sales are imminent

Strong fundamentals and operational reset underway

JV/sale potential bubbling in the background

It’s a quiet before the storm feel.

Diamonds Update – Key Takeaways

Cleaning underway on a representative selection of parcels.

Early signs from specialists are “very encouraging.”

Confirmed that the sale will be phased, either by public or private tender in Dubai.

Strategically aligned with their revenue maximisation plan – which may include primary beneficiation (i.e. pre-sale value-adding processes like cutting or sorting).

So rather than rushing a bulk sale, Vast is playing the long game – getting the best price, building credibility in Dubai, and possibly proving the stones' value to underpin wider financing.

Importantly, the recent £2.7m fundraise explicitly stated that the primary use is for beneficiation of the diamonds, which means they are committing serious capital to increase value before selling, not offloading rough stones for a quick fix. This shows intent, strategy, and a longer-term view of revenue.

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Romanian Operations – Major Strategic Pivot

Operations at Baita Plai temporarily suspended for up to 3 months.

A full geological and operational review is now being done.

Simultaneous offtake talks ongoing for Manaila-Carlibaba.

The fact that this operational reset was signed off by the new NOMAD (Beaumont Cornish) suggests regulatory robustness and transparency, reinforcing that this is a well-planned, forward-looking strategy.

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Signs Vast May Be Preparing for an Asset Sale or JV

Here’s where it gets interesting:

1. JV Discussions for Baita Plai

From the April RNS:

> “...entered into joint venture discussions and due diligence processes with other mining companies regarding third party investment into Baita Plai.”

Due diligence is not casual – it implies interest from credible external parties. This isn’t just a review, it may be a sales pitch to potential partners.

2. Suspending Operations

Rather than limping along, they’re doing a hard reset. This allows time for:

Reassessment of strategy

Repackaging the asset for sale or partnership

Avoiding cash burn before an external deal is struck

3. Board/NOMAD Refresh

Corporate governance improvements (new board structure and NOMAD) often precede big transactions. These changes may be essential if negotiations with buyers or JV partners are progressing.

4. Focusing on Diamonds + Tajikistan

While Romania is being stabilised, Vast is clearly concentrating on cashflow-positive assets:

The Zimbabwe diamond sale is central

Tajikistan gold production is scaling up

36-38 straight to 38/40

Somethings going on here boys

Big volume buys coming through now

4 mil left to until .399

Going fast.

If we end the day above 0.4 I will be very very happy.

The complete lack of selling pressure has extremely surprised me.

14k loss this morning now showing 6k.

All morning quotes to buy have been rejected on 1-2m buys - so at least my position means that when the price flies up people can't even get quotes to buy.

Ending above 0.4 will make me far more comfortable with a large position

Vol. Sold 9,972,909

Sold Value £35.72k

Vol. Bought 157,047,720

Bought Value £578.44k

Over half a million pounds worth bought and the shares haven't even been allocated to the market yet - closing their shorts from 0.52?

18m shares between here and 0.415

Time to pop

100 million volume trade gone through at 11:50???

And now can't buy any shares at all at 0.38. 0.388 is the only available share - 12 o clock movement time?

Given the scale of this morning’s placing RNS, today should’ve been a high-volatility session. Instead, the price action has been... almost unnervingly still. After the initial gap down to the placing price, we've been locked in a tight range just above 0.35p with barely any movement for over an hour.

This kind of price behaviour is unusual, especially following a 700m share dilution. But it tells us a few interesting things:

Buyers and sellers appear balanced. There’s been no sharp bounce, but also no capitulation sell-off. That suggests most placing shares haven’t hit the market yet – and retail has largely frozen.

Volume has dried up. After the opening burst of 60m shares, activity has slowed right down. The market’s effectively paused, waiting for direction.

Market Makers aren’t walking it further (yet). The spread is still wide, but the sell side hasn't been aggressively pushed lower. This could mean MMs are holding back until they see either forced selling or strong buying pressure.

TA-wise: RSI is flatlining just under 30, MACD is heavily oversold but flattening, and price is sitting just above a key horizontal support (0.3532). This is a typical consolidation zone after a large event.

In short – the market is coiled. Either a small catalyst nudges this upward and we see a squeeze, or nervous holders start to sell and we drift lower. But right now, this is a textbook “wait and see” phase.

Wouldn’t rule out a sharp move soon. Eyes peeled. The fact even retail haven't been shaken out en mass is extremely interesting.

Where did you get the figure of 50 million mate?

They need to pay for the work to be done on them.

Last time it was pinned down it was to fill a huge buy order - due a tick up to .39 imminently. Extremely jealous of anyone buying in at these pricess knowing the price has stabilised and calmed down at a huge discount

3 Million at 0.387, about to tick up on the buy side

9 million at 0.39 17 million at 0.4

Not many in the way of a .4 break and new support

Wasn't the last placing at 0.1p? Wow were up 300% since then!

Following this morning’s market open, we’ve now seen the initial price reaction to the £2.7 million placing announced by Vast. Here’s a breakdown of what the charts are showing:

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Price Action

The SP gapped down sharply from the previous close of ~0.44p to an intra-minute low around 0.353p, aligning precisely with the placing price.

Despite the sharp open, price recovered to a consolidation zone around 0.365–0.375p, and is showing early signs of stabilisation.

This suggests the placing floor is being respected for now.

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Volume Profile

Huge spike at open: Over 60 million shares traded within the opening 15 minutes – high churn is typical post-placing.

Volume has dropped off significantly since 8:15am, with declining bar height indicating the panic sell-off may have flushed early sellers.

Low post-drop volume suggests no sustained distribution so far – potential for price to base or form a flag/pennant.

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RSI / MACD

RSI (14) dipped well below 30 on the 5-minute chart and is now stabilising just under the oversold zone – a potential reversal setup.

MACD histogram turned sharply red at the open, but has since begun to lighten in colour.

The MACD line is beginning to curve toward the signal line, indicating the early potential for a bullish crossover on intraday timeframes.

On the 15-minute chart, MACD is still bear-biased, but histogram contraction is encouraging.

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Moving Averages

The 20, 50, and 100 MA are sharply downsloping due to the magnitude of the drop.

Price is now trading beneath all key MAs, but appears to be forming a base that could allow for a re-test of the 0.38–0.40p region if buying pressure returns.

Important to note: consolidation above the placing price is bullish in context, especially on low volume.

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Key Levels to Watch

Support: 0.3532p (placing price and session low) – critical line in the sand.

Resistance: 0.3920p (first technical barrier), then 0.4308p.

GLA the damage is done - don't let the MMs shake you out now 👌

The placing is now out of the way. The dilution has been priced in, and we’ve just seen the worst-case scenario — 0.35p tested, absorbed, and now holding. The company now sits on £2.7m fresh cash, in addition to the funds raised from exercised warrants in May.

Here’s the bigger picture:

No more dilution needed in the short term — they’re fully funded for diamond processing, tech reviews, and runway.

Mine suspensions reduce burn, not increase it.

JV discussions ongoing in Romania, with due diligence already underway.

Diamond sales expected “in weeks” and early signs described as “very encouraging.”

From here, Vast has nothing left to surprise the market with negatively — no legacy debt news, no further dilution, no fresh operational cost burdens.

The only updates left to come are:

✅ Sale of high-value diamonds

✅ Potential JV or asset sale

✅ Restart of production on much stronger footing

✅ Re-engagement in Zimbabwe

✅ Continued revenue growth in Tajikistan

It’s all upside from here.

Lucky ducks if you can buy at these prices. Unfortunate I topped up Friday for 9m shares but hey ho, you lucky guys can hoover these last remaining ones up at a huge discount

After the expected drop on news of the placing this morning, the initial recovery signs are surprisingly strong:

Sell now back at 0.368p, buy at 0.381p

Able to get a live quote to buy 2 million shares at 0.385p

RSI and MACD are both ticking upwards

That early 18M+ volume spike at 8.02am may have cleared a significant chunk of the immediate overhang

What’s notable is how low the follow-up volume has been since. That suggests we’re not seeing a wave of panic selling — and the placing price of 0.35p is currently holding firm as a base.

This early bounce is encouraging, especially as sentiment settles. If no further downward pressure appears today, we could see a stabilisation here and a slow grind back up ahead of the next diamond update.

Let’s see how the rest of the morning plays out.

2m shares left at 0.38 then it's 0.385 for 4m and 0.39 for 6m

Extremely low selling pressure shows strong hands and refusal to sell at these prices. May be the last dip before diamond sales?

Very tiny volume now, no sales churn.

.38 paid, .39 in 5m shares. Can see this above .4 by 10am and will be back above support at warrant level. Comfortable with 0.4