The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
African Mining Indaba:
https://twitter.com/bushveldmin_ltd/status/1622536149922185217?s=52&t=SiEgpYYs6Fj7c6kVI9yISQ
Yep, it’s probably pretty standard for electrolyte requirements to be met and shipped from local manufacturers for BESS projects wherever possible. I expect the Oxford Superhub was supplied from Reading. The good thing about our ELZ plant is that it’s also on the doorstep of over 50 countries that make up the African continent.
Being just down the road from one of Africas major ports, local shipping will be easy and relatively cheap as chips - it won’t need to supply the rest of the world.
New vanadium electrolyte plant in Germany approved
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group, a speciality metals and minerals producer, has announced it will build a vanadium electrolyte plant in Nuremberg, Germany.
So looks like Oxchem - our ‘world leading manufacturer and exporter of chemicals’ and U.K. electrolyte supplier in Reading - are going to have some new European based electrolyte competition.
http://oxkem.com/product_pdfs/Vanadium%20electrolyte.pdf
I suppose another possibility is IES are pulling out of VERL leaving Bushveld as the sole owner, possibly as something tied into the MUST rto/BE carve off plans?
Maybe this is just about IES going into a new venture/partnership - as a replacement in the electrolyte rental space.
@OilyRags… interesting rental angle there - with IES already having joint ownership of VERL for electrolyte rental. Maybe this is about renting out the battery hardware itself rather than an outright sale? We know the IES Oxford Superhub VRFB electrolyte was supplied via a VERL rental contract. Maybe now IES are free of BMN apart from joint ownership of VERL - they intend taking that idea a whole step further and rent out the whole she-bang!
Vanadium is sold as vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and, less commonly, as vanadium trioxide (V2O3) for non-steel applications and as the alloy ferrovanadium (FeV) for steel making. The most common FeV alloy is FeV80, but FeV40, FeV50 and FeV60 are also sold. The numeric part of the symbol refers to the amount of contained vanadium for example, FeV80 contains approximately 80% vanadium. Note the word ‘approximately’. It’s a minimum figure.
BMN predominately sell Nitrovan anyway, which does not have a quoted price, there is only an assumption of what the % premium it actually attracts - and there is no futures market for Vanadium.
BMN do not publish its selling prices because it’s deemed to be commercially sensitive info.
If he was referring to new orders from the ELZ they would have done and we would have heard more about the BESS projects they would have been intended for.
I think he was referring to VERL leasing contracts associated with orders IES and CellCube may have won in the last 12 months, in which case nothing for BMN to officially notify about. Lease agreements can be applied to Electrolyte that’s been supplied from any source.
Experts from The World Steel Association have published their Short Range Outlook for the coming year predicting that steel demand will begin to recover at an increase of one percent in 2023, creating a total value of 1.81 billion mt.
Mr. Máximo Vedoya, the Chairman of The Word Steel Economics Committee has stated, “the global economy is affected by persisting inflation, US monetary tightening, China’s economic deceleration, and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. High energy prices, rising interest rates, and falling confidence have led to a slowing in steel using sectors’ activities.” This means the official forecast for 2023 depends on how the banks will handle rising inflation rates both in the United States and in Europe due to the war in Ukraine and energy disruptions that have occurred largely as a consequence.
In 2022, the EU and United States both saw drawbacks due to supply chain disturbances. This may continue in European countries in the upcoming year due to the continuance of the gas and energy supply chain issues. However, the United States economy is likely to gain momentum, especially in the automobile sector and the infrastructure sector due to the latest Infrastructure Law leading to a rise in infrastructure capital. The steel industry in the US market is likely to remain steady in 2023.
https://www.fedsteel.com/industry-trends/steel-industry-trends-for-2023/
As I understand it, Vanadium is described and the price quoted is determined by its purity (grade). 80% simply means it’s a mixture of 80% minimum Vanadium plus other impurities per KG of product… which is the standard grade sold into the steel market. The prices quoted are for the KG … which may differ from BMN’s actual realised prices.
According to the last full year audited results BMN did not sell a bean to China in the second half of 2022. They may or may not have resumed sales since.. China’s decision to apply a 13% import tax may have had something to do with the halt in exporting to China!
“we see that Bushveld Minerals already starting to make the vanadium batteries in East London”
Well we don’t of course, it’s electrolyte they are going to start to make at ELZ … but battery assembly surly has to under serious consideration after carve of is completed … if not plans to provide a full blown manufacturing facility.
“big renewable energy project in Mpumalanga”
Vanchem
Vanchem is a primary vanadium-processing facility with a beneficiation plant located at the Ferrobank Industrial Park in Emalahleni Local Municipality at Mpumalanga Province, in South Africa.
BE, Mustang, CellCube, … all lumped together to form a main market listed company as a one stop shop, Energy Storage business for sales and project management, battery manufacturing and installation —- in partnerships with numerous main stream renewable energy companies. Supplied by a mining, processing and electrolyte supply and leasing company.
@ Alltorque, they couldn’t install a mini- grid many years ago. They only bought Vanchem two years ago and it doesn’t have the footprint to install a mini- grid. Is why they are looking at other solutions, including acquiring off site Solar solution, run remotely!
The mini- grid that IS on the brink of completion at Vametco despite all the Government regulations and obstacles being in the way (only very recently removed) WAS started many years ago!
The obvious bottom line question about the current cash position is - If the cash position number is good - why has FM taken the decision to not disclose it to the market .
They’ve had no problem stating it in prior last Q and end of year reports.
FM is fully aware of how poor, current market sentiment has been about BMN - and fully aware what the likely beneficial effects disclosing a good cash position would have on the sp , and he’s certainly fully aware what the effects of NOT disclosing the end of year cash position will now have on the sp.
With the debt repayment date well in the headlights, why deliberately not give the market confidence in what the current position is?
Good to see they’ve at least apologised for that fiasco.
We apologise for the technical issues experienced this morning; we will ensure easy access to the conference calls going forward.
The Q4 & 12 months 2022 Analyst/investor call replay is now available on the website.
Follow link:
bushveldminerals.com/videos-2/
#Vanadium #vrfb #mining
Sure thing … much the preferred option- depending on the terms on the renegotiation of course.
But saying they currently have a good partnership with them is one thing, informing the market that they are also now in talks with other “specialised financial” companies - is hardly likely to inspire any II to invest. And without any significant II - there will continue to be zero accountability pressure on the FM and BMN board. That has been the case for a very long time.
PI’s don’t cut the mustard, only institutional voting does that!
That imo - is what has always been seriously lacking, it is the main thrust and reason behind the on going shockingly poor communications, and is something that is, and has continually being proactively perpetuated by FM. Dictators don’t like being forced into the clarity of transparency!
I think he’s quite happy to perpetuate what’s gone on, issuing the occasional sops to the PI’s for as long as he can get away with it.
I think it’s now coming to a head and it’s going to be close run thing, the company is now on a very fine line. The stakes are pretty high. The results of the BE carve off and how that works, will be the turning point - if there is to be one.
But to dare is to do - and if FM can pull it off - PI’s should start to see the immense benefits over the next few years. Everything to play for - but with zero guarantees! Just imo!
The call went out on a shockingly poor platform and started over 10 minutes late. Simply no excuse for such lack of professionalism in this day and age, imo.
Only the usual suspects asked the pre- planned questions (which did not include that one - so the answer to your question is NO). Nor was any info volunteered!
Main take out was :
1) BE carve off target is to get its completed this quarter. (Q1 2023)
We shall see!
2) although they have a good partnership with Orion and in an on going dialogue with them regarding the loan repayment - they are also now conversing with other “specialised financial” companies.
We shall have to wait and see what the market makes of that - my hope is, it’s not a reference of having to use ‘death spiral finance’ .
Whatever the case, I didn’t get the impression that they think they can make any serious inroads into settling the debt from available cash resources.