Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
31/3/24 - Unaudited NAV total return of 7.4%
Unaudited NAV of £3.0 billion (5,369p per share) +7.4% NAV Total Return ("NAVTR") (31 March 2023: £2.8bn, 5,068p per share)
All three investment pools contributed to growth, delivering a return of 8.7% in the year, despite foreign exchange headwinds of c.£39 million
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is a trigger happy organisation.
Watch Al Jazeera channel 622 on Virgin Media (the only media left in Gaza).
Yesterday the World Central Kitchen aid workers were targeted with at least two airstrikes as the group was travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity’s logo. They had shared their plans and locations with the IDF for safe passage.
However before that I saw 4 young men walking unarmed through the bombed out wasteland, the IDF treats this as kill zones and dropped a bomb on them.
Also two unarmed men walking on a beach separately, one waving a white flag/rag, he was shot by a sniper and his and the other body bulldozed into the ground as shown on TV.
This may only end when the US stops arming Israel.
Probably only after Israel nuke Iran, Lebanon and Syria though.
After watching what the IDF are doing in Gaza on Al Jazeera I will be avoiding buying any Israeli stocks.
This war is not ending anytime soon and the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria yesterday is a serious escalation
RNS From mid April 2023 mentions Mountain Temp Use Permits, any other updates since then?
As part of the normal process to expedite production development plans, commencing with groundwork for proof-of-concept mining at Kochang and early development work at Gubong, the Company applied at the end of last year for Mountain Temporary Use Permits ('MTUP'), having already been granted Extraction Permits by the relative provincial governments.
The Company's in-country advisers had been informed that the granting of the MTUP at Kochang was imminent, with all legal obligations covered. The Board has now been made aware that greater detail is required within 90 days for the measures to reduce the risk of environmental impact and to conduct a successful wider community consultation and gain of support beyond the immediate area, which unfortunately means that local politics will come into play over which the Company has no part. As such, the relevant authority cannot issue the MTUP at this time.
South Korea Update - JV model approach for South Korean gold mine
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd, a gold company primarily focused on bringing historic mines back into production, is pleased to announce that its management has just completed a round of meetings with a South Korean entity regarding a partial farm out and free carry to production for the Company's 100% owned Gubong Gold Mine ('Gubong').
Gubong, the larger of the Company's two 100% owned gold mining projects in South Korea, was historically the country's second largest gold mine and where the Korea Resources Corporation estimated a resource of 2.34 million tonnes at c.7.3g/t Au garnered from 57 drill holes over 17,715.3 metres. It is an orogenic deposit, which typically have depths of up to 2km compared to Gubong's current defined depth of only c.500m which translates into significant potential upside. The value of Gubong and the Kochang Gold and Silver mine ('Kochang'), the smaller of the Company's South Korean projects, was highlighted in a Scoping Study published in 2023, which included a post-tax NPV of US$181 million, free cash flow of c.US$50 million per annum, an IRR of 111% and a US$630 per oz All in Sustaining Cost ("AISC"). The study was conducted on a US$1,750 per oz gold price compared to the current price of c. US$2,200 per oz.
The JV model structure has already been implemented at the Company's Batangas Gold Project in the Philippines, where an Environmental Impact Study is presently underway and is fully funded by a local group with decades of experience in mining.
With regards to Kochang, the Board has also consulted with its legal advisors on the Board of Audit and Inspection process and has been informed that the review is still being processed.
Bluebird CEO Colin Patterson said, "The team was on the ground last week and concluded highly positive meetings with the South Korean entity, with whom we have been working informally over the last year, regarding the optimal collaborative structure for the development of Gubong. Drawing from our successful experience in the Philippines, we are convinced that the discussed JV model, which would secure a free carry for Bluebird to anticipated production, is the optimal structure to unlock value. We remain confident of finalising a comprehensive agreement in the very near future and thereafter delivering hoped for transformative returns to our shareholders."
I'd recommend watching "Dropout" on iplayer.
Elizabeth Holmes at Theranos never publicly traded but a complete fraud that survived over 10 years
From Wikipedia
Theranos Inc. was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors, resulting in a $10 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014. The company claimed that it had devised blood tests that required very small amounts of blood and that could be performed rapidly and accurately, all using compact automated devices that the company had developed. These claims were proven to be false.