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So looks like some of the criticism of this deal was premature. - Deal DID complete (eventually!) - Bass DID get (an underwritten) fund raise to refurb the mine Yes as I've always said it's a bloody shame we didn't manage to do it alone, and I'm not going to quickly forget the sordid trading action responsible for depressing our SP last summer making a repair job by the new BOD under our own steam all but impossible. But with this level of financial support I believe the tranche criteria are now odds on to be met (IMO, DYOR etc). On top of that we get a massive GBP exchange rate win for the cash and shares part of the deal PLUS BSM shares closed at AU2.4c

Done: http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?display=pdf&idsId=01769520

From the article: >>> The company noted that the Vatomaina project has progressed significantly since the joint venture was first agreed in February 2015, and is now entering development stage. “Initial funding will be directed to site preparation and drilling for mine planning purposes,” StratMin told investors. “The joint venture company is already profitably trading third party graphite from Malagasy based producers.” <<< Nice - I did hear a whisper that the JV we're buying into was also trading some of the output from the Lohorano mine, and would continue to do so after the asset sale. The company's about to pivot into something very interesting IMO. GYOR and GLA.

Don't be fooled - a lot of buys showing as sells today. E.g. around 10:30 1.82x was a buy and 1.7x was a sell but both showing as sells. And again in the afternoon e.g. 1.841p at 15:37 almost certainly a buy. L2 is spread really wide but the actual live spread on RSP has been quite tight most of the day. As for what LTHs are thinking, I won't lie one or two I've spoken to have got out or want out but there are quite a few who are genuinely excited about the next stage, including me. We will have the Bass stake as a backstop and assuming they now strike ground on the JV mine we have a greenfield development with a proper graphite expert at the helm (Mr Poddar) - think this will take the market, generally used to STGR not delivering in the past, by surprise. I also have spoken to Brett Boynton on the phone and I like his outlook too. Finally a fresh start for Stratmin.

Hoping this is it, now. Monday down under finishes half a day ahead of us, so by the time tradings starts Monday morning we will know for sure that the deal formally completed. Bass Metals' fund raise is underwritten and supplementary prospectus contained a statement "this Supplementary Prospectus is not considered to be materially adverse to investors". So whilst the prolonged delay sorting out the muddle with ASIC was more worry tagged on the end of a worrying period, seemed to involve Bass' lawyers submitting masses of supplementary information, I believe that process how now concluded. (I do wonder however who was responsible for dobbing in Bass and causing the fuss that required all this extra information - competitor in the wings, I wonder, wanting to extract all the information possible about this deal for their own commercial interests???)

There was quite a bit of trading buying at sub 1.5p and selling for modest % gains so I think those have to clear to pass the resistance. Also inevitably some are looking for best exit as they don't have the stomach for creating a new mine at Vatomaina. However given Stratmin now have Tirupati on board the speed and quality of the new JV mine (planned) should IMO be nothing like the slow trudge to (fail) to get Lohorano running. Some won't believe that and will be selling, but I've come this far there seems no point selling till the future is clear.

Will be completed on Monday acc to RNS and Bass' finance by Friday. Capital raise is underwritten. Bottom trading has seen buying under 1.5p and selling at around 1.75p mark hence that resistance point with 1.75p on the bid. Once that resistance is overcome IMO next stop is filling the gap all the way back to 3p GLA

The Bass Deal in effect is intended to swap direct 100% ownership of the mine for a percentage ownership in Bass Metals, who are raising the necessary finance to fully refurbish the existing mine and extend into the Mahefadok area. The effective dilution is only supposed to be on a par with what we'd suffer raising millions off our low mcap, but the deal de-risks us somewhat, leaving Stratmin available to focus on a follow-on project whilst maintaining a stake in the Graph Mada operations. Link with India is Mr Shishir Poddar, who is MD of Tirupati - an established Inidian graphite player. Shishir is also on Stratmin BOD and is instrumental in turning the mine around. He has a career of engineering knowledge in Graphite mining and, essentially, is someone I personally trust to get the job done. The deal itself requires meeting production criteria before we get all our shares. The criteria all make sense, they are no-where near 100% planned capacity at each stage. Stratmin will retain an engineering role in refurbishing Lohorano. I believe Tirupati, and another Indian company linked to Shishir Poddar, consolidate resources, are also involved in offtake from Lohorano. Basically everyone still has a stake in success of the existing mine, and Stratmin + Tirupati, through the next planned JV, have interest in the new mine. I've been invested for around 2 years, first as a dabble on production then increased expecting new BOD to turn this around, it's been a bit of a thorn in my portfolio but hopefully now we are finally at the turnaround stage. GLA

Reading this prospectus I'm still shedding a tear over Stratmin's inability to pull together finance to repair this mine under our own ownership. For newcomers the BOD was changed, for a second time, last summer, but the new BOD struggled to pull together finance for the necessary repairs. Turns out the original concentrator wasn't designed optimally for the deposit and numerous other local issues such as power/fuel and maintenance engineering workforce had to be solved. Finance became difficult with the share price being depressed due to historical inability to get the mine up and running and they sold the mine, with a view to start a greenfield development at Vatomaina in JV with Tirupati.

See page 8 Graphmada product sold in 2015: Fine to medium: 37% Large to Jumbo: 63% This bears very well for (a) meeting tranche 2 and 3 - as there is NO quality requirement on the tranche tonnage. As I understand it, historical problems at Lohorano concentrator plant is that as they ramp up volume they reduce quality. With 63% at large-to-jumbo there is clearly something to play for once the new equipment is installed. Also I believe this is a good omen for Vatomaina, our likely follow-on project for Stratmin, because the deposit at Vatomaina is not that far away and I'm told shows signs of being EVEN BETTER quality. GLA

Extract from supplementary prospectus: "2.2 No investor action required As the content of this Supplementary Prospectus is not considered to be materially adverse to investors: (a) Applications for New Shares under the Retail Entitlement Offer and/or Shortfall Offer must be made using the Entitlement and Acceptance Form attached to or accompanying the Prospectus (see the Entitlement and Acceptance Form and section 7 of the Prospectus for detailed instructions on how to complete the Entitlement and Acceptance Form and return by the Closing Date); and (b) Applicants who have already subscribed for New Shares under the Prospectus to the date of this Supplementary Prospectus do not need to take any action." So the new information is not considered materially adverse. I read that as "no change, then. As you were..." GLA

Sounds outrageous to me. Even if it was nestled in the contract it sounds a prime candidate for Unfair Terms and also chasing up with FCA, or at least a threat. My broker did something unfair once, I complained and threatened FCA and they quickly shut up, sent me a cheque for £200! Bottom line is that the company is currently still trading and so the shares have value (or at least in theory and in law) and you are the beneficial owner of those shares. For a broker to refuse to deliver them sounds wrong to me and I would fight this.

Bit off a bounce off 1.50p - those buyers already in 10% profit. Live bid up to 1.655 for smaller amounts (50k). Let's hope BSM can clear their prospectus issue up with ASIC and we can move on with Vatomaina JV. New mine greenfield design of concentrator using Tirupati experience and Stratmin knowledge of the locality. Not encumbered with historic problems of Old Stratmin prior to new BOD joining last summer.

Apologies for my choice of words. I should of course had said, on Sunday, something like "Extra delay with Bass shareholder sign off is a PITA but I see no reason to panic as hiccups are to be expected with a complex deal of this nature". But nothing seriously at odds with my earlier post, right?

Well the BSM deal is complicated, perhaps even more complicated than it looks at first. The amount payable to Stratmin is several times the original Bass mcap but I believe, looking at the paperwork and reading between the lines they worked out a schedule to avoid being classed as a takeover/RTO or similar - probably in order to maintain Bass' accrued tax loss position. So it's complicated, and because ASX is more regulated than AIM I also believe the equity issue has to be scrutinised by the market regulator. I'm told something about the pricing in the original prospectus for the fund raise was incorrect and they will re-issue the prospectus then complete the fund raise, then get the deal approved by shareholders and we're all set to complete

All I know is the BOD are aware of it and seemed pretty confident that they will put a deal together for this JV. I also don't believe the 6-month clock has started ticking yet, technically we still own the asset until it completes. So I'm not losing too much sleep over this right now. I see the rest of the year panning out with the BSM deal going through, the JV becoming a reality and Tranche 2 being met - Stratmin at that point would then be in recovery and I can't see why the SP wouldn't be in the 4-5p range. Maybe even higher with some positive sentiment returning. The SP right now has a lot of risk priced in, clearly not everyone is betting on the year panning out like I imagine.

BOD have been meeting and holding 1-on-1 phone calls with larger shareholders since the announcements made. There is a firm plan to take the JV mine option and build using the funds from the Bass transaction. Stratmin will only have to foot half the costs and with the expertise of Tirupati I am confident Vatomaina will be in production within 18 months. (if Tirupati had been involved in this business from day 1 I don't doubt that the original mine would be in full production 12-18 months ago) There are some risks with a greenfield development but they won't be saddled with the badly-designed plant the BOD took over last summer (there was a BOD change 12 months ago if you didn't know, the new BOD have nothing to do with the previous 2 - they were drafted in as consultants to try and fix it then ended up taking the reins). The single biggest problem new BOD faced was access to capital to rebuild the plant at Lohorano. Plan is to use/leverage the Bass deal for our portion of the JV. I think the plan relies on meeting Tranche 2 criteria reasonably quickly, say 6 months or less, and I'm assured this is achievable.

Reducing on successive buys - MM not looking to take this up right now IMO, will possibly try to rinse out the recent buyers with a good shake before the Bass EGM. Still holding here - hoping for 3s short-medium term and 5s after that. GLA

Yup - 3-4p gap filled on deal completing is my guess, followed by growth once the JV mine becomes a reality and the Bass targets are met. I've spoken to a lot of people recently connected to this and I would be disappointed if Tranche 2 is not made by the end of this year. Growth to mid 5s - maybe even 8p by year end with a string of good results. I'm looking at time frames of 12-18 months for the new mine into production. Stratmin has the expertise now of the region, from Lohorano, plus Shishir Poddar has a career in this. If anyone can get Vatomaina up and running within a reasonable time frame it's these guys.

Yep, well spotted on the trade creditors. Explains the funny trading, volatility and spreads of late - people in the market knew. They always know from my experience. When I've been inside on the very infrequent placing (on other shares) I've seen the intraday react when the broker starts phoning round. I really thought they plugged the balance sheet last time around. Ah well, at least a better price than last placing but I suspect a few more months of pain. Grrr...