Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, on delivering sector-leading returns for shareholders. Watch the video here.
Coke batteries will be financed by, ironically, a contango. The offtake partner will front the funds for the ovens in return for a hedged amount of free coking coal and a discounted rate thereafter, but Carl will shrewdly made the agreement such that it is only for a fixed amount each month so that he can sell to other offtake partners to generate revenue too. That is the coke.
Then there is the thermal that the Chinese also won't buy directly so Carl will no doubt sell that to them through a middleman at a discount.
Then there is A2Z whom will turn up with 300 truck drivers to watch the President collect his brown paper envelope as they start to load up with washed coal for less than the originally agreed $120/T price.
At the end of the day it is Zimbabwe. Cheap labour but a lot of envelopes and high electricity prices unless the Chinese power plants want to cut a deal..
CGO will make first revenue in August. Thatmonth is important for both metcoal producers, BEN & CGO. GL whichever you are in
AWESOME POST!
Nailed it!
Ignore June/July, enjoy the summer, pop back August. Let the flippers do their thang between then and now.
Next RNS: Bens Creek have purchased a Komatsu excavator with a 10ton loading bucket or grabber & some trucks, hired more staff and expect the bench to be cleared within a few weeks for the 81 crew to stop twiddling their thumbs and get back to mining. Maybe worded a bit different.
It all hinges on the price of coal in August. It may well drop a bit in July, mining with just the 71 and CM, but as long as we are in full production in August then the costs will be lower per tonne and the Company will be back in profit. Like you say, with a larger workforce, more earth moving equipment ('yellow iron') and back on Bens Spur track to produce 1mT/yr (OK not this particular year, but certainly next year).
Did we ever get the report from the core drilling program with the objective of improving Bens' metallurgical coal reserve base and expand the recoverable & mineable tons?
Has Ben acquired a further 24% of the membership interests of BC Rail Holding for a cash payment of $156,000. The consideration being satisfied from the Company's existing cash resources. Thst additional acquisition would take Bens Creek's ownership to 76% of the membership interests in BC Rail Holding. Under the agreement Bens Creek Group would have the right to acquire 100% of BC Rail Holding from MBU for a total consideration of $650,000. Following this transaction Bens Creek would retain the right to acquire the remaining 24% from MBU for a total further consideration of $156,000.
Have we got a new CFO yet?
August gonna be so full of new bites. Maybe even eoy results too. Enjoy the summer. Ciau for now.
Cheers HH, I leave you guys to manage the store and look WTF happens, lol. Well, you may as well trash the place as my 200K BEN shares are worth diddly squat now. Was hoping to go on a nice vacation but the Easter dividends never came. Greenscreen photoshop holiday snaps it is this year for facebook likes ;) I'll pop back in August and see where we are at. Lock the door on your way out if any of you are selling up at just over IPO price. The Company is in profit so maybe an insti will buy up PI/retail shares (are you out there JS?) and push the sp back up or maybe they are waiting for dividends and printed financials before investing. Sure don't want concert party selling more.
With 1xHWM and underground CM producing some 40+Kt/month the break even costs are $205/T where we have presumes Adam means metric ton as that is what PLATTS and Argus quote market prices in. However, Adam has always been clear (until yesterday) to point out that the coal volume figures he gives us are based on short tons.
There are 1.10231 short tons in 1 metric Ton.
If Adam means break even costs are $205/short ton then that b/e figure would be $186/T.
The PLATTS prices for coal in February were HvA $325/T and HvB$310; in March $328 & $295; don't know April but it clearly dropped such that in May HvA was just $205 & HvB $195 and currently up at $215 & $205. At no point was it below $186/T and was only a tad below $205/T last month when the 2nd HWM was mining (and thus costs lower than $205).
Whether Adam meant $205/t or $205/T Bens are clearly in profit.
Once that #81 HWM starts mining in August on cleared benches, Bens will be more profitable, assuming coal prices don't fall. A chunk of change has to go on more earth moving equipment and labour pretty much immediately to clear bench space and secure the 81 staying onsite to meet full production goals.
I guess we will not know for sure what costs/profits really are with just 1 HWM until the eoy report is printed in August, the same month that the 81 needs to start mining again. Unless Adam or PR clarify if those costs are /t or /T.
I told you the facts and you still didn't believe them.
The 81 HWM was repaired like I told you after that cutter head jam I mentioned 2 weeks ago and was running until it ran out of bench.
IMO, if you sold because of the RNS you are a fool. Thank you for the 12.5p top up opportunity.
The HWMs work so well side by side that the Company need more equipment to keep up. The Company have taken out a loan to buy the equipment. They could probably do with a new excavator and some more trucks to clear the overburden of bench creation but also to load up the coal to take & tip it at the plant. And a few more drivers . Probably won't need any other equipment if both HWMs continue to mine the same benches. If they can get the equipment and staff sorted soon then blasting & clearing can be sorted quickly for both HWMs to be in full production side-by-side again by that August timeline. I usually dispute timelines but on this occasion I see it as a use it or loose it situation. If those benches don't get cleared Mega will probably shake and take their money-maker elsewhere, so the pressure is on. It is only a few weeks delay. Gonna be a news rich end of summer.
I consider today's RNS as awesome news and I hate loans. Some doomers saying Adam has only borrowed more money to pay wages....yes wages for new staff to drive the new equipment and maybe enable the crew to get family time off on a rota basis.
Will AGM be in London in September?
My comment was partially deleted again. Price sensitive info?
Anyway, President Mnangagwa is marking the formal opening of the Lubu Coal Project on 21 July. Maybe 300 SA truck drivers will be attending the event too...
Keep The Faith It Will All Come Good (quote stolen from Adam)
yeh i got fed up of posting updates in my ben tgm group only to get people saying it should not be shared. most recent example was after markets shut yesterday i told the tgm group that they were using one of the hwm to retrieve a stuck cutter head from the other hwm. that story was on public social media 4 days ago. i posted it last night after markets shut to get the group chatting. i followed up at 6am this morning by saying both hwms are running again. **** happens at a mine site. mining rigs are always having the odd down day for maintenance or cutter head replacements or burst hydraulic pipes, floods, etc. despite this not affecting the markets a few in the group considered it inside knowledge and started moaning about info being shared outside of an rns. not sure why they would need to rns a cutter head being repaired. it's not like they bothered issuing an rns as soon as the 77 was found to be knackered, although robin did let it slip on linkedin. surprised the tgm mob didn't ask phil to sort him out too, lol.
anyway, i spent last 20 months sharing my research about ben and neglected family doing so. decided after the moaning today that it was good time to torch the research notes and shut shop leaving members to find another group. and there is apparently already a new penstocks bens creek group on tgm although i am not a member nor am i associated with it. it is not as if i copyrighted my username. the roast ben group is the official tgm group that gets info direct from adam before, during and after podcast interviews. as such you would want to believe all that is said in that group so don't look at their posts from last year ;) my group discussed all things good and bad about ben, the market and anything associated with metcoal that could affect ben.
i am now taking the summer off to be with family as i don't see how any research/news this summer will get the sp above 20p unless the market price of coal shoots up and financials get printed. a quarterly report would be nice in july, but eoy report is due by september so i assume that is when we learn of costs/margins. apparently i need to be careful when i assume things despite saying i assume or imo. anyway, for clarity, penstocks bens creek group is deleted now. the new one is nothing to do with me despite the name. i still hold 200k ben shares at 43p. i still think i'll break even by christmas :p
ktfiwacg! gl
Nothing to talk about until after summer really. 6 trains last month, no doubt 6 will be the norm from now on.
It would be reassuring to see confident bigwigs and BoDs outside of the concert party buying a few at this seemingly low price. Come on Peter Shea, Robin Fryer, Mark Cooper, David Harris et al. Chuck a few grand in to buy retail shares if you believe true value will be proved after summer and dividends a possibility.
Penfold? Lol
I'm staying quiet till financials are released or coal price goes back up. In the meantime Bens are mining with all 3 rigs producing enough to fill 7 trains a month although I assume it is just 6 trains at the moment. Operationally everything is at last working as expected if but a few months later than the PR led us to believe. Only negative is the bearish coal market. Might well drop to $160 before it turns bullish again but who knows? Avani probably do and they paid 18p. I'm locked n loaded up here and don't honestly expect any rise until August without release of financials to determine margins. So I'll go back to enjoying the summer and staying mute whilst there is no actual news or anything to research. KTFIWACG.
FYI: SHM System-81 has changed status from NonProdActive to Active on MSHA site.
Metcoal still bearish but consensus is that Ben is still profitable even at these low prices. Sure would be nice to see some official numbers and quarterlies. Of everyone invested in BEN, a commodity broker would be the best suited to realise if metcoal demand should turn bullish later in the year. They just bought 119m shares in BEN at 18p knowing full well that the steel and coal market is bearish right now. That is good enough for me. See you after summer.
heyup coggy, i would hope you and t'other mortals don't believe owt i say on face value nor trust my spreadsheet without doing your own homework. i have all along stated i ain't an accountant. my spreadsheet is just my take on t' numbers given to us in financial reports (what few we have had), put together with big bright yellow bits where ya can stick in variable values to see how they affect the other numbers. **** poor at $195 if am honest but depends how long you plan on sticking around. long term (as in after summer, so not such a long time) i'd hope the coal price goes bullish again. governments spending some cash on construction and defence will help.
ben have all the equipment onsite and mining now. so nowt else needed in terms of capital. got offtake deals and even a symbiotic broker/investor possibility with avani. just need coal price to go up. sit and wait. nowt left to research. family will be pleased to have dad back from behind the monitor :) quarterly reports would be great but maybe have to wait till august. oh well, enjoy your summer. gl and dyor but feel free to use what i gave you over the last few months ;)
Https://www.facebook.com/691285185/videos/275424634837842/
"The 81 is actually mining coal and some will be on this month's shipments as we build our clean coal stock piles up" according to Good Ol' Luther onsite at Bens.
" "We are mining in the wall with the second HWM" according to Adam CEO
OK that's it then BEN are in full production!!
70Kt ROM from the 71SHM, 13Kt from the CM and initially single shift runs of some 35Kt from the #81. Run through the 65% efficient washplant renders down to 7 trainloads clean HiVolB+ BENS premium coal destined to fill ships to India's largest steel plant. Adam has only gone and done it!
With this increase in production we will make greater margins, not as much as if coal was $450/T but still in profit. Now just need to ride out the bearish commodities market and see how much dividends they want to entice new ii in with. Even just 2p would be more than 10% at today's price! Now bring on those trains, we got a ship to fill!
I don't know for sure what the margins are, but I bet Avani do, and the BoDs definitely know.
I don't know what coal demand and prices are likely to be throughout the year, but I bet Avani, the BoDs and Mega do.
I don't know what companies will buy Ben's coal or how it is brokered but I bet Avani do.
I didn't know what the bottom price could be, but Avani bought at 18p so now I do.
When Bens fill 7 trains/month for the new Indian client, costs/t will decrease and margins increase. Not gonna lie, the market price is a concern, the only concern really, now that all equipment is onsite and operational. Avani clearly expect market prices to recover. Mega clearly expect BEN to be in profit to warrant the 81 being onsite.
OK hands up, I messed up earlier. I interpreted Realisation Costs to be a months shipments that were not paid until the following month. Wrong! Realisation Costs are apparently the transport costs at $40/T that I had been adding as an extra cost on top in the original spreadsheet. Now there is some conjecture about the broker discount so I have stuck 2% in the spreadsheet but highlighted it so you can stick 10% back in if you think that is what it should be. I thought Adam had said 10% in an interview but that seems a big discount and the number may have just been given to keep NOMAD happy. Anyways, my revised DCF is now online for you to download and play with numbers and formulae that you deem correct. As it stands I get b/e with 2% broker fee as $132 or with a broker fee of 10% I get break even at £145. Figures/formulae used are what I have pulled from reverse engineering WHI broker document and interviews. I have put 225 as an editable market price as that is current calendar year average give or take.
https://www.crews-inn.co.uk/bensDCF.xlsx
Totally agree that we need to address all negatives as well as positives and I have been bashed numerous times in groups for doing both. Timelines were the bugbear up till this month, but now we are on the cusp of being where we 'expected to be' in full production. By July BEN need to get both HWMs working double shifts, 1 or more CMs mining, 7 trains/month and keep pushing efficiency of the washplant and it's new dryers and weigh-conveyor system. Then there will be no more timelines, no more expect to's. Just BEN mining, washing, shipping and selling some 77Kt HvB+ each month via NS trains booked through Integrity or Avani. Got 6 weeks to make this happen. Apologies for the timeline ;)
Btw, the 2nd HWM news isn't out by RNS yet so you heard it first after close of markets on Friday from the Roast or Tgm!
AFAIK the pushbeam conveyor and rotating cutter was being tested on Friday evidenced by a video doing the rounds this weekend. No doubt RNS Monday morning to say paperwork approved by MSHA to commence mining. Probably just single shift this month, so only adding an extra 5,800tons of clean HvB each WEEK!
CJSpain, As I said in previous post, The Roast PR are paid by the Company to represent them, so of course they will only ask what the Company want them to and will only release info with NOMAD approval. Took me a good few months to appreciate that or I wouldn't have been pushing their narrative last year like a mug. Anyway, now all the wiser and having done my own research I am able to confirm (to myself not you, I don't know you from Adam and not that Adam, lol) that both HWMs are onsite and operational as is the underground CM. I have social media contacts in Gilbert whom have confirmed trains passing loaded with coal each month and until recently trucks too. Lot of progress made since October 2021. A dormant abandoned mine brought back into production, new equipment purchased, 3 mining rigs at work, trains being loaded onsite and coal shipped both domestically and as far as India for the steel business.
Hard to scroll through all that has been achieved if you try to find it online. There are 3 BEN Tgm groups I know of, 1 is dormant, 1 is run by Roast PR and the 3rd one by moi. Mine is : +N83m547W2XE1ZWY0
Also if you want to see images and video of the site there is the unofficial facebook group: https://fb.me/g/p_RLGwE6PEBtkN4reD/U8hglI80 but I think it can only be joined by 20 people within 2 days
and coalminingusa.com
and benscreek.com
and Good Ol' Luther's youtube channel.
DYOR, use the above resources. 40p summer and you are welcome to come back and quote me on that.
Yes they are paid by the Companies whom they represent, to promote their stocks, but now the news expected in the #BEN podcasts last year is actually happening!! #BEN At 00:53:00 Bens Creek news is discussed regarding the MBU-Avani trade and the now operational 2nd HighWallMiner (#81) about to put Bens in to full production of near 80Kt HiVolB+ metcoal each month. Has the market heard yet? They will tomorrow!
https://audioboom.com/posts/8300377-the-sunday-roast-featuring-charles-bray-and-simon-rollason-of-aterian-plc-lse-atn-atn-chll-c