Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
“The deal will not go through” !!!...are you having a laugh? They probably need to arrange a meeting with participants from 3 different countries with legal teams in place, all in a covid environment. This is a multi-million dollar deal.
Is it just a coincidence that the government sign off for the Ruvuma farmout only a week or so after the announcement of the gas pipeline to Kenya project?
Does this now need to be included in the gas supply requirement calculations?
Any placing would dilute ARA 30% ownership, so that’s not going to happen. They could have done a placing when the MC was over £100M plus. I think that would have been the preferred choice by some LTH to retain 75% of Ruvuma.
ARA own 30% of AEX. They are not going to give up the golden goose.
Another reason for putting forward an ultimatum to the Tanz Gov is that they need to complete the work listed below before the end of April 2021, else risk loosing any further license extensions.
Acquire 200 square kilometres (surface coverage) of 3D seismic (min. expenditure of US$7 million)
· Drill the Chikumbi-1 exploration well (min. expenditure of US$15 million)
· Complete the negotiation of the Gas Terms for the Ruvuma PSA with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation
· Using the data gathered from Chikumbi-1 and the seismic acquisition, prepare and submit an application for a Development Licence for the Ntorya Location area.
ARA have 30% of AEX so they are going nowhere. Correct tactic IMO. This can’t drag on any longer. If the FO falls through, ARA take over is on the cards and it will be more that the current 0.5p SP that investors are currently selling at.
IMO. The Tanz gov want to build the pipeline from Ruvuma to Madimba gas plant and probably want a large split in gas sales in their favour, so there is a stale mate in negotiations. This conclusion is based on the recent Oil pipeline announcement.