Member Info for JimBL

I have an affinity with that song. They played it on deck, HMS Hermes, as I sailed off to the Falklands as an 18 year old Marine ;-)

Oh, and it's less than 1 day sailing time from Lome to Takoradi.

Take a read. This is my bet.

https://www.consmin.com/our-business/ghana/manganese/

They weren't, specifically. But they are in next door Ghana, and they fit the bill as being a 'major producer of manganese-based alloys' - and they have a smelter.
Logistically it seems the best fit especially as the company is also in Australia. Pilbara no less. Seems an obvious way for DR to have made a relationship with them.

Zambia is landlocked! Makes zero economic sense.

And they said “We set up this plant in Kapiri Mposhi because the area is strategically located and has enough manganese deposits to sustain the plant.”

One point though. If they can build a ferro smelter for $15 million, then why can't we? Our past estimate for stage 2 Nayega was $50 mil.

As for Chesh - he needs to add Boaty McBoatface to his ship watch ;-)

You are making hard work of this. There are only two company's which fit the 'major producer of manganese-based alloys' in Africa - and have a smelter. Consolidated Minerals which is in Ghana next door. The other is Assmang in SA but their smelter is supposedly closing down in April.
My money is therefore on Consmin, which if I recall correctly was also mentioned recently in regards to it's operation being geographically close to Nayega (though logistically not).

Mar 2016 - "With the reduction in manganese pricing, this asset is not considered economic and its carrying value has been fully impaired."

Of course, now it's recovered, but the company ventured off into gold for which we'll now receive performance shares for giving up our lot. Nayega currently set up to produce 1/10th of what was originally planned (75,000tpa instead of 750,000). Why did the third-party end user pay for the bulk sampling process?

Last July - "...we have secured a funding agreement with a third-party end-user that potentially may share significant synergies with a West African manganese producer." Sounds like a possible JV to me?

Sobering to think we previously disposed of the Leinster manganese project in SA. And don't forget we own 85% of Nayega, not all of it.

None at all in my opinion. A license is so desperately needed as this has dragged on for years now.

So, 75,000t pa capacity at present if a license is issued.

DMTU price if confirmed at 40% would/could generate around $10.47 million profit per year. $5.49 dmtu (minus production cost) x 40 (manganese %) x 75000. Last cost estimate was production at below £2.00 per dmtu.

Ferro manganese however could return a profit of around $450 per long ton (450 x 75000) = $33.75 million. Obviously we would need our own smelter for that ($50 million). Price is currently (I believe) somewhere between $1000-$1100 per long ton and estimated production costs were $600 or so.

Why would we sell our ore to a another company for them to make their own ferro-maganese as is being outlined in the third-party bulk sample information?

A JV proposal coming? A TO of Nayega by the third-party? Once again I say that this has so many similarities to the IO Mebaga deal which was almost completed with AA/Kumba. They were to finance operations for 2 years with the chance to buy the project outright, or for us to retain it afterwards if they decided not to buy.

From 2014

"Meanwhile, Ferrex had also completed the scoping study on a proposed sintering and blast furnace facility to produce about 60 000 t/y of a 74% high-carbon ferromanganese alloy product, in Togo, in the medium term.

This study had indicated operating costs of $665/t for the proposed facility, which was among the lowest worldwide, Ferrex said.

“The company and the government of Togo are highly encouraged by the findings of the new scoping study and the possible production of ferromanganese in Togo,” Reeves said."

I find it more than coincidental that the current set-up allows 'installed mine capacity to produce ~6,500 tonnes per month' as per that original evaluation.

Pablo's response from DR had me puzzled when referring to smeltering of the ore sample. Normally, manganese content is confirmed via a Hydrometallurgical process (i.e. leaching the ore/washing it in an acid solution).

I just re-read the RNS and this leapt out at me - "...shipping the 10,000-tonne bulk sample for metallurgical test-work at the third-party ferro-manganese smelter facility."

Ferro-manganese! That was the stage 2 plan once mining had commenced and revenue allowed for a smelter plant to be built ($50 million I seem to recall?). Are we therefore looking to move straight to that stage - either through a TO or JV - if the ore proves up?

Jan 2015 KRS release stated - "Once mining is established and additional studies have been completed on the viability of utilising a blast furnace to produce a high value HC FeMn, additional options for product sales will open up. " At that time, Fm was $1150/t.

Is this the actual plan now?

Yeah, this is getting weirder and weirder. The Gov obviously gave approval for the bulk sample to take place. Presuming the ore is confirmed as having the manganese content (or better) claimed, then this is a profitable mine in waiting, which means revenues for the Government and employment etc for local communities.
Why allow a sample but not grant, or be focused upon, the mining license?

The environmental permit was issued years ago. The sample ore has now been mined but is being shipped off elsewhere for treatment. I am unclear as to what environmental risks there actually are under this scenario?

That reads like an answer without an answer!

In all fairness, the dmtu price hasn't made the project viable until recently as it dropped in 2015. Maybe that's why the license wasn't pressed for - along with the BOD eyes being on Gold instead?
But manganese has risen enough in the last 2 years to make this a profitable project again and I am having trouble understanding why the BOD isn't being far more informative on where we now stand.
If we got permission for the bulk sample, then why? The site is apparently equipped and ready to mine. The sample is showing it's profitable. Local labour was used and more jobs ready to be created.
I'm more interested by what isn't being said than by what is.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'progressing this fast'? The environmental permit was issued 4.5 years ago and we still don't have a mining license!
We are now set-up to mine 6500t pm with all equipment onsite. Ok, but where's the license?

Well, it's no surprise to me if you care to look at what I posted last week about the 2.3c sp for CAI. Unfortunately, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that ASX is no better than AIM. Someone knew something.
I may have learned a trick or two though as I bought more over there last week, while I refuse to 'average down' on KRS.

Hello mate. Yes indeed, even after 8 years I would still need a substantive sp hike to even break even in here! I stopped the 'averaging down' approach a long time ago.

I'm not sure all the trolls were right, but I certainly enjoyed (and miss) you dressing them down ;-)

Who knows? I'd be mighty P'd off if after hanging in here for 8 years I didn't get anything other than CAI shares.