Member Info for Pdub

Hi John. Glad you found my post helpful.

I only post what I believe to be true, though of course that does not guarantee that I am right! I feel very positive about BMN’s achievements so far as a company and where they are heading. Hence the consistent tone of my posts. You will note that I don’t change my stance according to a specific trading position like some, or panic if news is disappointing.

I see that you are involved with the Lithium company Bacanora so will be very well aware of the inconsistencies of AIM and the failure of this market to correctly value resource companies, including overvaluations based purely on sentiment and questionable PR that some CEOs seem to indulge in. Much of the time the factors driving a share price on AIM are a mystery to me when considering the range of resource companies I have been invested in or have followed. Therefore I am unable to give a definitive answer as to what is impacting on the share price of BMN. However I will venture a non-expert opinion.

Two major factors over the last three years have undoubtedly been the V price crash in 2019 and COVID in 2020 onwards, both beyond company control but easy to understand their impact. What is less easy to understand is why the sp hasn’t returned to pre COVID levels, particularly now that V prices are on a significant rising trend which I believe is bringing the company back into profitability.

Eskom delays certainly have not helped. Again completely out of BMN’s hands.

Some think poor PR is the answer. Personally whilst acknowledging that it will have had some impact on the sp it’s significance is overplayed by some here. I am sure others will disagree with me on this and I will concede that there is a lot more the company could do on this score.

Moving deadlines and targets unsettles investors and no doubt this has had a part to play. However sometimes the good news gets overlooked. For example in 2020 targets for production had to be lowered due to the 4 week closure imposed by the Government of SA under COVID rules. Vanchem hit its lower target and I believe Vametco was only 29 tonnes short. Sadly not all investors research properly or study the full details of the RNSs. Those production returns were far from being a disaster.

There have been problems of reliability of old plant but again has the market noticed that BMN are working hard and investing heavily on sorting out these issues?

The refurbishment and expansion programme, very desirable and necessary, has required funding and with the low V price in the last couple of years BMN had to go to the financial markets. Not always popular with investors but that is now done and the investments into better plant and equipment will now start to deliver the benefits.

(To be continued)

They already are! And lots more to come.

We all know the expression “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.well think of the current share price as the cover. It’s disappointing.

However open up and the real story is revealed. A company that in the last 4 years or so has grown from junior mining explorer to:

owning the Vametco vanadium mine and half of the world’s primary vanadium production plants (Vametco and Vanchem),

set up an energy storage business (Bushveld Energy),

entered into partnership with the IDC to construct an electrolyte manufacturing planted (now begun),

building a solar / battery storage minigrid at the Vametco site,

developed the first electrolyte rental contract in partnership with Avalon,

acted as a catalyst to bring together smaller VRFB companies to benefit from the ability to scale up (the most notable example to date is the merger of Avalon and RedT to form Invinity),

invested in other VRFB companies (already making several $ million profit from the Invinity shares),

contracted to have first refusal to supply vanadium / electrolyte to partners such as Invinity,

invested in refurbishing Vametco and Vanchem plants to improve reliability, to increase production capacity and diversify range of products (those plans are ongoing),

negotiated and put in place the funding for these developments,

planning to participate in Eskom renewables contracts (details at this time not revealed),

split off the tin assets to form Afritin (ATM) and I think BMN may retain shares there but haven’t followed that closely so happy to be corrected on the facts there.

In addition to the above BMN have the Brits Vanadium resource adjacent to Vametco that ensures extension to mine life for many years to come. The huge Mokopane Vanadium project awaits further development, with the potential to supply ore to Vanchem as well as offtake agreements to third parties and possible greenfield production plant. Two other projects, the Mokopane iron ore resource and the Lemur project on Madagascar appear to be on the back burner (ie very little recent news) but both have the potential to deliver revenue either by being further developed or sold.

There is a very great deal to take in with this company. Perhaps too much for some of the market at present. Good time to get in early? Well some could be forgiven for thinking so.

Ok it is fair to say that there are those that have made up their mind about the cover and don’t like it. Me? I am having a good read and it’s a fascinating story, but in the words of the author Fortune Mojapelo it is only half told. Once the market understands the plot this could become a best seller.

Of course any opinions expressed here are just that ... only my opinion.

My ‘annoyance’. Haha I love the way you invent other people’s thoughts and emotions. Very imaginative. But no truth whatsoever. It was just that I am not sure you should be giving investment advice, and I quote: “ A diversified portfolio and patience is the best way to safely accumulate wealth”. That is written as fact , no hint that it is just your opinion.

I merely pointed out that you should allow other people their own investment strategy, and from that you launched into me. As I said you seem to be very over sensitive on this. Can’t for one minute understand why twice now you have tried to invent what I am thinking or make references to me pushing BMN. Absolutely nothing to do with my original post.

Still questioning the credibility of your ‘adversary’ is a cliched form of defence so I get why you did it. Just find it funny.

Odd tone for you to adopt. All I said was if it works for you great. Let others employ their own strategy. What’s wrong with that? You a little over Sensitive?

Lucky may I suggest that in future you do far better research before posting incorrect and misleading information. In other words get your facts right.

Like many others here I have a large proportion of my savings invested here and I don’t take kindly to those that would post false and misleading information that might damage market sentiment. I am not one to roll over and ignore damaging and misleading posts. I will defend my investment in this company vigorously.

For me this is not a case of wanting the profit to buy a luxury car or a second home. I am likely to need the money to pay for medical care the NHS can’t offer me. That is a very strong motivation. Anything left over will largely benefit my wife and other members of the family. I detest trolls that seek to deliberately damage investments by ordinary folk like me. And I don’t have a lot of sympathy for those that do the same through ignorance.

By all means post your opinions, but you better make sure you get your facts right or I will be all over those posts exposing any incorrect or misleading content.

Hope that is clear. I hope others that support this company will also maintain vigilance over misleading posts.

Time to enjoy the lovely weather.

Just following on the theme of BoD qualifications I thought it would be interesting to check the CEOs of a few mining companies. These are the first 4 that I looked up.

BHP Billiton CEO Mike Henry BSc Chemistry
Glencore CEO Gary Nagle Degrees in Commerce and Accounting
Rio Tinto CEO Jacob Stausholm Degree in Economics
De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver BSc Applied Mathematics

Not one of these CEOs has a mining qualification. Yet they run some of the largest mining operations. It would seem that Fortune Mojapelo’s qualifications and experience make him ideally suited to run a growing mining, production and energy storage business.

There are plenty of people within the above mentioned organisations to give appropriate technical advice, as there are within the BMN group and their technical advisors.

Lucky I believe you are mistaken about the BoD. Look at the qualifications and experience of these TWO Directors, as listed on BMN website. Any errors are down to info provided on that website.

Ken Greve

Ken is a Mining Engineer with extensive experience in project management, project development, business and company valuations, mergers and acquisitions, logistics contracts and specialised financing, particularly in the resource industry.
Prior to joining Bushveld, Ken worked in a boutique corporate finance company with industry colleagues providing a range of corporate development advice to various South African companies including BHP Billiton, Harmony Gold Mining Company, Eskom and Bushveld.
Ken has held senior corporate finance and investment banking roles at Gold Fields of South Africa, JPMorgan, Kumba Resources and BHP Billiton where he was Vice President of Strategy & Business Development in South Africa. Ken has held various directorships including at Richards Bay Minerals where he oversaw the Black Empowerment transaction. Ken is a Member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Ken holds a Mining Engineering degree from University of the Witwatersrand and a BCom Honours degree in Economics from University of South Africa.

Franchise Naude

Francois has over 27 years’ experience in mining and processing experience. Previously Director of Operations at Vedanta Resources, Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia. A former General Manager at AngloGold Ashanti. Founder and Director of Southern Cross Mining Services, the Company was later sold to JIC Mining Services.
Qualifications
Mine Managers Certificate of competency (No.5402)
National Higher Diploma – Mining Engineer

This is precisely why people like me have to challenge you newcomers. Never mind your opinions, some posts are often full of factual inaccuracies. I have had to correct your posts.

There is no excuse for poor research, especially if a poster is taking a strong negative approach.

Please tighten up your facts. Otherwise I and others may think you are deliberately trying to mislead, and that would be indefensible.

Lucky follow this link to VM Investments.

https://vmic.co.za/leadership.html

Look at the leadership, then switch tab to Technical Advisors. You will see Profs Richard and Morris Viljoen and a summary of career achievements. These are top experts on geology and mining in the Bushveld and you will see that they have a long association with Fortune and of course Anthony Viljoen.

Beginner man if that works for you great.

Let other people have their own investment strategy.

Lucky this might sound picky but BMN are not a miner. They are a miner and producer. That might not sound much to you but it is a huge difference. They own two of the four primary vanadium producing plants globally.

Vametco has indeed got an opencast mining operation. However the refurbishment you talk of is particularly important for the processing plant. So do you want a miner in charge of BMN or a mining engineer or a manager with processing plant experience?

Vanchem doesn’t have a mining operation. It is purely a processing operation. Do you want a miner in charge or a manager with processing plant experience?

The Electrolyte plant has little or nothing to do with mining. Do you want a miner in charge or perhaps a chemical engineer or a plant manager?

BE operations are not mining at all. Do you want a miner in charge or perhaps someone familiar with the workings of this new industry?

Electrolyte sales and rental contracts certainly don’t need a miner in charge. Someone with contracts experience might be more useful don’t you think?

BMN operates just one mine. However it runs two processing plants where engineering experience may be more relevant, and a third will be added with the electrolyte plant.

Still think it is essential to have a miner in charge? Don’t think many would necessarily agree.

It is very clear that you have set out to attack the BoD and will continue to do so no matter what evidence is placed in front of you. What is not so clear is your motive. I will leave that for others to suggest.

Sorry try again.

“… Is our current Health Minister a doctor or a former Banker?

Sorry auto correct typo “… Is our current Health Minister or a former Banker?”

At a shares conference several years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Prof Viljoen and Fortune, who I had met before.

The message I came away with having spent about 40 minutes chatting with these two was the mutual respect for each other. That is very important. Prof Viljoen already had an impressive CV and an international reputation as a Bushveld expert. There is no way this guy would hook up with someone that he didn’t believe competent to deliver on his plan to build thus vanadium business. That was the vote of confidence in Fortune that I was looking for. It came from the leading expert on the Bushveld.

With all due respect to you Lucky if asked who would I trust to accurately assess Fortune’s ability … you or Prif Viljoen? Sorry … you lose.

Added to that I have met Fortune on a number of occasions and he is in my opinion a very talented man and fully capable of delivering both the vertically integrated vanadium platform (and before any other company) and good returns to shareholders. I trust my judgement on this.

Lucky I trust that you are aware that both Vametco and Vanchem were bought as going concerns, fully staffed and most importantly with their management teams intact. These are the people running the plants. The CEO does not need those skills. However would you want a miner negotiating multi million dollar deals or someone with a background in finance?

The expertise is there to provide technical advice should Fortune need it.

Are you familiar with the Professors Viljoen? These two people are the leading experts on the geology of the Bushveld. They have been involved in mining in SA for decades, including I believe the revamping of a uranium mine and selling it for several hundred million dollars. (I would have to look up the specific details). Why are these guys relevant? Because they are close advisors to Fortune. They were involved in the decision to focus on Vanadium. They were the advisors when searching for the various geological resources acquired by BMN, including the now sold tin. These weren’t random decisions taken by a finance guy. They were led by expert advice from the best in their field.

Now here is a question. Would you rather the CEO be a miner or a finance man. Who would be best placed to negotiate multi million dollar deals of the sort done by Fortune (Lemur purchase, Vametco purchase, Vanchem purchase, Avalon rental deal, Invinity investment, construction of electrolyte plant and mini grid, partnership with the IDC, etc etc. These things go way beyond the experience of a miner. Not to mention the various fund raises over the years.

Is Richard Branson a former Airline pilot or train driver?

Is out pretty current Health Minister or a former Banker?

Fortune’s talents are exactly those required of a CEO building a diverse business. That does not mean he perfect or that there aren’t ares where he needs advice, but this is how all businesses function. Delegation of tasks to those qualified to carry them out. Big decisions in the hands of the BoD.

The knockers are clearly in the ascendency due to the low share price. Enjoy that while you can. BMN have been preparing the foundations of a business with increasing production, lower costs, diversity of products and sectors, etc. With Vanadium demand forecast to outstrip supply over the next few years, prices seem set to continue to increase through 2021 and 2022.

Maybe it’s just me but that adds up to a very exciting future. I wonder how many are taking full advantage of the low share price. I note that despite some large sells and possible shorting activity there is also a lot of buying. It seems that some agree with me … an excellent buying opportunity if you have the cash.

All just my opinion.

I agree Sanchez. Normal market forces are not controlling this share price. I have noticed quite a few rollovers recently. Not sure how relevant that is. I just hope whoever it is finally gets their fingers burnt.

“… some cling on the hope that a share will recover,…”

Nope that does not describe me. I am as certain as one can be that the share price will rise significantly. For me it is only a matter of when.

It’s easy to list the challenges but remember BMN has been battling those challenges even since 2013 when 2 big institutional shareholders sold up. Yet the company always seems to find a way to battle on and move forward. Despite the recent obstacles placed in their path (2019 V price crash, COVID, Eskom delays, etc) they are delivering on the plan to build a vertically integrated vanadium platform.

Sooner or later the tide will turn for them and the issues beyond their control will begin to work in their favour. V price already is. $ / Rand also looking strong at present. Demand for Vanadium forecast to increase as is the VRFB market.

Just my opinion but the future looks very good for BMN. Just a question of who will be holding those shares when that turnaround happens.

Thank you Lucky.

We have our disagreements but your post is appreciated.

Regards. Paul.

Thanks Lucan. That does appear to be the situation and cholangiocarcinoma doesn’t qualify. My consultant believes it to be a cost issue.

After 2 1/2 years of battling this disease it would be rude to give up just yet, so pay up we must.

Regards. Paul

Then try helping to improve sentiment.

We all know these are challenging times insome respects.. What new investors don’t know are what are the positives, the reasons for buying at these silly low prices. Help people understand the investment proposition.

When you focus purely on what BMN have done with Vametco, Vanchem and BE, what they are doing now to improve efficiency, raise production and reduce costs,and developing BE, and where BMN’s plans take them over the next few years this suddenly becomes a very exciting prospect.

It’s up to you. If you think being negative on this bb is the best way to help your investment then that is your right, though it truly puzzles me why anyone would think that. Of course if you are a troll or simply trying to get a lower entry point I get it, but for real investors I just seems a crazy way to behave (though perhaps understandable given the frustration we all feel over the share price.

Just my opinion.

Knuttie youmust do what you think is in the best interests of your family, no one could blame you for that. It’s none of my business so I won’t comment.

For what it is worth I may shortly have to pay £30,000 for private cancer treatment (SIRT) as this is not available on the NHS (and I am not even sure how much benefit I will get from it). I can assure you I will be doing everything I can to avoid having to sell BMN shares to pay for this with prices this low and the prospect of higher prices into the future.

As for Fortune the business has faced several major challenges all beyond the control of BMN but each having a significant affect on the business (v price fall, COVID, Eskom delays, etc). I think they have done remarkably well to keep the business moving forward and they now seem set to benefit from the hard work at Vanchem and Vametco. Not a time I want to sell that’s for sure.

I would challenge you on Fortune running a mining business on a day to day basis. Both Vametco and Vanchem came complete with existing management teams whose job is to manage those plants. There have clearly been challenges which Fortune is carrying the can for according to some. He must rely heavily on information and advice coming from those managers, and of course old plant has certainly posed further challenges. I am hoping that they are now getting on top of this and can move production forward, costs down and benefit from higher V prices. Time will tell.

Just my opinion.