Member Info for pb940

. . . but take a very large pinch of salt with the advice on this board . . .

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Thanks for the advice

I sometimes read things I'm going to post and know immediately how certain parties will use it to push a narrative but I'm not sure I would like to pick and choose what to post as it's out there just waiting to be found anyway.

I'm comfortable with what I've invested in BMN, happy with the operational progress and have time on my side to wait for the investment to bare fruit. I learnt early on with investing that my personal investment horizon will never, ever align with how a business actually progresses. I also found that moaning on a board every day made absolutely no difference to a share price but it did affect my mental health as I would get more angry, frustrated and sad. I'm now in a place where it doesn't affect me, which is great :)

I know people will potentially be concerned about the fact it uses a 10th of the vanadium a normal vrfb uses but as vanadium is the major cost of vrfb batteries then it could really accelerate the take up of these solid state batteries. If they are then able to then extended to other applications like ev's the extra volume created by increased usage would more than cover a lower v content in the batteries.

So although these batteries use 1/10th the vanadium of vrfb's this technology opens up more everyday uses so increasing the potential market further according to the MK Plus website

https://mkpl.co.jp/en/vanadium-battery/

Applications of Vanadium Solid State Battery Technology

Main applications Industrial storage battery applications for power companies

Future Goals Home storage batteries, EVs, flying cars, various spacecraft

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https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1016686/today-s-market-view-atlantic-lithium-greatland-gold-shanta-gold-and-more-1016686.html

Phenom Resources (TSX-V:PHNM, OTCQX:PHNMF) C$0.4, Mkt Cap C$32m –MOU with a Japanese vanadium sold state battery technology company

Phenom Resources (TSX-V:PHNM, OTCQX:PHNMF), a TSX listed vanadium developer, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to gain 5% equity in vanadium Japanese solid-state battery firm MK Plus.

The conditions of the MOU detail an Off-Take Agreement between MK Plus and Phenom whereby Phenom will commit to providing 20% of its future Carlin Vanadium Project production concentrates to MK Plus at fair market value.

In exchange for this commitment, MK Plus will, on signing a Definitive Off-Take Agreement, issue to Phenom 5% of MK Plus's issued and outstanding shares.

According to MK Plus their solid-state battery provides higher performance at lower cost over vanadium redox flow batteries, Their claims include:

Rapid charging in minutes (C-rate of between 100 and 300 versus C-rate of 20 in VRFB), achieving massive charging speeds 100 times faster.

Use one tenth of the amount of vanadium than VRFB use for an equivalent charge.

Have +100,000 deep cycle life without heat dissipation (no fire risk) or degradation (long life).

Have been tested at ambient operating temperatures between 100oC and -40oC without loss of performance.

MK Plus's vision is to be the number one provider of high-performance, stationary, low-cost utility-scale batteries that are made 100% in North America.

Https://www.miningweekly.com/article/mining-industry-has-critical-role-in-closing-energy-supply-gap-mantashe-2023-05-31

Https://www.bushveldminerals.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/BNP-Paribas-Exane-%E2%80%93-Initiation-note.pdf

Riddle me this joker, whats always on its way but never arrives.

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The day when this board doesn't have an argument?

Yeah, we all know you like 80085 :)

The IRP 2019 does not include an allocation for nuclear besides 1 860 MW for Koeberg’s life extension and states only that preparations for a nuclear build programme to the extent of 2 500 MW should commence “at a pace and scale that the country can afford”.

The department tells Engineering News that nuclear is included as one of the technologies in the IRP 2019 that the technical model should consider.

It also claims that the policy proposes that the nuclear power programme be implemented at a modular scale, as opposed to a fleet approach and that technological developments in the nuclear space should be taken into account.

Several commentators have already raised concerns about the potential content of the draft IRP 2023 in light of Mantashe’s ongoing push for additional nuclear, gas and coal in the future plan, despite several studies showing that the least-cost electricity mix would be based on solar and wind, supported by flexible generators and storage.

Nevertheless, the Democratic Alliance’s Kevin Mileham lambasted the delay in the publication of the IRP, which he said formed part of a pattern of under delivery by Mantashe when measured against the performance agreement targets that had been set for him in the area of energy, and which the Minister had signed.

These targets ranged from finalising a just energy transition framework, facilitating the procurement of new generation and supporting a recovery in Eskom’s energy availability factor, to ensuring Eskom’s unbundling and the security of supply of liquid fuels.

“The reality is he [Mantashe] is failing on just about every single measure,” Mileham noted.

Https://www.miningweekly.com/article/mantashe-outlines-procurement-schedules-including-for-nuclear-by-2024-as-he-confirms-irp-delay-2023-05-16

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has pulled back from his statement that the release of the revised Integrated Resource Plan, which he has dubbed IRP 2023, is imminent, revealing during his Budget Vote on Tuesday that the draft will be presented to Cabinet only in the second quarter of this financial year.

Government’s financial year runs from the start of April to the end of March, implying that the presentation to Cabinet will be made between July and September.

In an earlier briefing of lawmakers on May 9, Mantashe acknowledged that government had failed to meet its initial deadline of March for the release of the draft IRP, but asserted that “it is going to happen now”.

Speaking in Parliament on May 16 against the backdrop of intense loadshedding, Mantashe again described the IRP as South Africa’s blueprint policy for electricity generation and confirmed that it was currently under review.

The department confirmed with Engineering News that the draft IRP would go through the government’s economic cluster for inputs before it progressed to Cabinet.

"Once the Cabinet approves the revised IRP, the normal public policy development process will be undertaken.

"The process entails consultations with the mining and energy sector, interested and affected parties and South Africans at large.

"It is anticipated that the final revised IRP will be approved and Gazetted for implementation during the course of the 2023/24 financial year."

Mantashe added that, while the review was under way, government would continue to procure additional electricity informed by the existing policy.

He announced that the following procurement programmes would be launched during the current financial year:

Bid windows seven (BW 7) and eight (BW 8) of the renewable procurement programme, at 5 000 MW apiece, with a request for proposals (RFP) for BW 7 to be issued in the second quarter and for BW 8 in the fourth quarter;

Further RFPs for a combined 1 230 MW of battery storage to be issued in the second and fourth quarters;

An RFP for 3 000 MW of gas-to-power in the second quarter; and

An RFP for the procurement of 2 500 MW of nuclear energy in the fourth quarter.

In her address, Deputy Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane said the department had recently drafted a framework that would “ensure that the procurement of the 2 500 MW of nuclear energy is completed by the year 2024”.

While the proposed nuclear procurement was not surprising given Mantashe’s vocal support for the technology, the firm RFP deadline implied that government was likely to include a specific allocation for nuclear in IRP 2023.

Take it out and try posting again

That last message is longer than the previous one so whatever is after the ( is probably causing it

That said, the PCC was eschewing any notion of accelerated decommissioning, particularly in light of the current supply crisis.

“Unlocking the national grid at speed and scale is key, in the PCC’s view, to vast swaths of the transition (including many “just” elements), and funding in the implementation plan should be aligned with National Treasury’s evolving policy, paying particular attention to the need to simplify the public-private partnerships for financing of infrastructure.”

SOCIAL OWNERSHIP MODELS

Olver also stressed that the PCC was keen for new social ownership models to be facilitated in the generation sector, as new renewable energy, battery storage and other peaking capacity was introduced.

He said that various stakeholders, but especially labour, were concerned about the dominant role of the private sector in the evolving electricity supply industry and that alternative ownership models should also be “nursed” under the JET-IP.

The report notes that, while the JET-IP flags the importance of energy affordability for development, it says very little about how this will be secured through social ownership models, notwithstanding the opportunity that will be created by the PCC’s estimate that between 50 GW and 60 GW of new renewables will be required by 2030 to stabilise South Africa’s electricity supply.

“[It] is important to consider how the JET-IP could better address the ownership balance in the context of institutional constraints in terms of electricity generation, financing, and a lack of transparency.”

The PCC acknowledges that social forms of ownership are unlikely to match the scale of private investment in the coming five to ten years.

“Nevertheless, even if relatively small, the coming five-year window should see some increased focus in an implementation plan that allows nongovernmental organisations and unions to work to deliver this – while government creates a conducive environment for the creation, operation and funding of wider ownership models.”

Meanwhile, Olver was relatively sanguine about the ability of South Africa to meet its decarbonisation commitments, despite the likelihood of the coal decommissioning schedule being revised in light of intense loadshedding and the low prospect of alternative capacity being added in time to close the supply gap.

He indicated that the poor performance of the coal fleet meant that South Africa was already in line with the decarbonisation trajectory outlined in its Nationally Determined Contribution and that delaying the dead-stop date of certain units was, thus, almost immaterial.

That said, the least-cost solution for South Africa would be to close the coal units in line with their dead-stop dates, as it was extremely expensive to extend their life further.

In addition, once South Africa added sufficient new renewables, storage and peaking capacity, Olver believed there might be potential to “opportunistically” close more expensive coal units down ahead of their official decommissioning dates.

Https://www.miningweekly.com/article/climate-commission-recommends-grid-ppps-to-speed-up-just-energy-transition-2023-05-15

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is recommending that alternative investment models, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), be explored to expand and strengthen South Africa’s electricity grid “at speed and scale”, given the centrality of the grid to unlocking the energy transition, as well as the just components of the transition.

However, it also stresses that there is no intention to privatise the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTC), which is in the process of being established as a separate entity under Eskom Holdings.

Instead, the proposal is that the private sector help finance, build and operate new grid infrastructure under the ownership and control of the NTC.

“Grid capacity is a national priority to solve, not only for our transition needs, but also for our short-term emergency to solve loadshedding,” the PCC says in ‘A Critical Appraisal of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan’, or JET-IP.

The report, which has been drafted following three months of intensive public consultation with labour, business and community stakeholders, argues that the grid should be the key focus of the JET-IP in the coming five years and that the implementation plan should be fully aligned with Eskom’s Transmission Development Plan, or TDP.

The JET-IP implementation plan is currently being finalised and is expected to be published soon, drawing on the recommendations arising from the consultation process, during which stakeholders also agreed that the just elements of the plan had been inadequately prioritised and that sections on skills development, economic diversification, mine rehabilitation and worker support should be substantially reviewed, and investments increased.

In addition, the PCC recommends that the electric vehicle and green hydrogen components of the plan be located within a national industrial strategy which sets out fiscal incentives and enabling infrastructure to grow the sectors, rather than to use the JET-IP as a replacement for such policy support.

On the transmission network, the PCC says the JET-IP needs to clearly indicate how the grid expansion will be financed, despite the constraints on public sector funding.

“It may be worth exploring alternative models for new investments in the State-owned transmission grid,” PCC secretariat executive director Dr Crispian Olver said at the report’s release.

The report notes that PPP funding models, with appropriate risk sharing, have been proven effective globally and in Africa and “can be a highly bankable, solid credit investment for the private sector”.

It also notes that National Treasury called for a PPP transmission development model to be explored urgently in the February Budget.

Nice one brasi, the gall of him to call out anyone else is incredible.

Https://twitter.com/BushveldMin_Ltd/status/1656990763329236996?s=20

Our CEO, Fortune Mojapelo was interviewed by the Proactive Investors platform, on the back of our announcement on 5 May 2023, relating to a proposed refinancing agreement with Orion. #vanadium #bmn

Watch the full interview here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekI_p9q6SeE&ab_channel=ProactiveInvestors

Https://www.news24.com/fin24/markets/currencies/why-the-rand-is-bleeding-and-could-now-hit-r19-20230510

Not sure what's wrong with the link description so I copied the text in case people think it's the wrong link.

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/iron-ore-struggles-below-100t-as-deeper-q2-losses-feared-2023-05-08

Iron-ore futures rebounded strongly on Monday, with the Singapore benchmark climbing back above $100/t after a downbeat start to the week, buoyed by hopes of improvement in demand for steel in China.

Expectations for fresh stimulus measures have grown following a surprise contraction in China's manufacturing PMI and a slowing growth momentum for service activity in April, which provided further evidence of an uneven recovery for the world's No. 2 economy and biggest steel producer.

"Disappointing construction, manufacturing, and now even services PMI will have given the government serious cause for concern," Navigate Commodities managing director Atilla Widnell said.

China's housing regulator, for one, has tightened governance of real estate agents by ordering them to lower commissions, which Widnell said was a move that could be construed as an attempt to support the struggling domestic property sector.

Iron ore's most-traded June contract on the Singapore Exchange rose as much as 7% to $105.70 a tonne, after shedding 1.7% to $97.05 earlier in the session.

On China's Dalian Commodity Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient's benchmark September contract ended daytime trade 5% higher at 721.50 yuan ($104.33) a tonne, regaining some ground after hitting a five-month low on Friday.

Meanwhile, steelmakers in Fengnan district of Tangshan city, China's top steel-producing hub, have been officially required to roll out a reasonable annual production plan, and make greater efforts to limit this year's output at not more than the 2022 level, according to an official document seen by Reuters.

That raised concerns about steel supply eventually becoming tight, pushing futures higher, which also provided a boost to iron ore prices, analysts said.

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 rose 4.2%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 climbed 5.1%, and stainless steel SHSScv1 gained 0.9%.

Coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 on the Dalian exchange also reversed early losses, advancing by 6.8% and 6.3%, respectively.

$4.5m of shares to be issued at 6p. $4.5m currently = £3,562,470 at 6p = just under 60million shares or less than 5% of the shares in issue