RE: Prem19 Aug 2022 15:14
Wolf i get your point. When i first read Investor Relations reply, i also thought: "nah, you simply don't want retail investors to know about your plans". Then i thought "why hide this info if it could benefit interested parties? And how much of an influence does China have over the Zimb government?"
So i relayed the info to my dad whom has extensive experience of working across Africa for many years (politics and embassies), and he confirmed that China owns the majority of Africa's debt so the Zimb govt may be wanting to control the narrative of pleasing the Chinese first before other foreign investors. But there is a pecking order as the resource is Zimbabwean of course. He then explained it is "common practice" for African governments, indebted to China, to proceed with an approach of "I grant you a licence to explore but you better keep me informed if you strike riches so I can take the first piece of the pie before the Chinese do. Then you foreigners can get your piece too. We will all eat, but I eat first".
(Which is noticeable in the recent communications the Zimb govt has released about not wanting to lose more resources without proper "taxes" being applied in advantage of the country)
As strange as it may sound to us westerners, this is how things work in those areas. I've seen it happen myself in southern Italy, imagine sub saharian Africa.
Having said all that, it could very well be that EPO is already under exploration, that a general knowledge of the content is already at hand (PREMs' last presentation conveniently included info on the North and South pits plus the eastern section which had basically never been discussed before) because there are other interested parties sniffing around. Maybe Chinese, maybe not.
In the end non disclosure agreements are common place for firms and governmental entities, so this could very well be the same.
The main thing i take out of this, is the fact PREM is either strategising to maximise profits on the full sale of Zulu and EPO, or, my personal favourite, divide the EPO in other quadrants of interest and engage in the exploration and extraction in favour of new interested parties. Imagine multiple streams of revenue, under multiple contracts, from the same EPO for the next 4-5 years (epo granting 3 years plus a potential 3 more years as per Zimb laws). This thought makes me salivate!
Sorry for the long winded post :)
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