Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
From ---- Chowdhury . interview
-At last they are facing up to their problems and conceding that Coal is the answer,
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Q-----“EMRD is seriously considering the exploration and exploitation of its coal resources to relieve stress on gas for electricity generation."
A----"-Bangladesh in a dire energy crisis will benefit from cheaper electricity generated from its coal."
----"There is no doubt that such a crisis did not exist before COVID impacts and the Russia-Ukraine war."
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----Yes the sun shone all the time and everything in the garden was lovely---- What utter tosh.
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-This was always a crisis in the making, as their whole policy, based on Imported Fuel was flawed from the very start. It has just taken time to fester and come to a head.
-Oil was at a low in 2020, in fact it actually went into MINUS on one day---but it's average wasn't too far from were it is now, so it's no good them blaming Covid/Ukrain for a "high " oil price.
--Gas went up to about $160 but is now back to around $105, so they can't blame that either.
--As for Coal---well we best be careful what we say here---It went to around $420 just as Bangla signed a contract with ADANI, now its back to $130----don't have a clue who ramped that up, you'll have to have your own guess.
-So all in all, fuel prices aren't that far away from were they started, -----They never had the $'s to import from day one, and the debt has just been snowballing ever since.
-Now they need loans just to service the loans they already have.---a complete mess.
I see the thorny question of future fund raising has reared its ugly head.-----Maybe a tad early to start fretting about that, but I suppose we are "over the hump" and it is starting to come down the track towards us.----so what does it mean for us now.
---We have until the end of May before we run out of cash, and anything could happen between now and then.
-Personally I would like to see any raise done well before that deadline and leave us all with plenty of clear headed breathing space.----In fact I would like to see it done NOW.
-As to what price suits who, well Searcher is right.
-If its Tang's money, --then he would wont it low so as to get a larger stake and restore his %.
-(he has been diluted from around 24% down to 17.5% through recent raises)
--Anybody else's money, and the co would want as high a SP as possible to reduce the dilution.
-Having done a good job with the last one, I think Clear Capital Markets should be fairly near the top of the queue again, and maybe arrange another £500,000 at around these levels.
----but either way, ---its not important at this stage
This is far more than the JV announced by GCM on the 11th.
-Look at all the detail.
-A four year contract
-Two years to strip away the overburden
-Even giving the cost to do the stripping (969 mill dlrs)
-And constantly saying ----PC "will", and not just proposing to
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-Just need to hear from Hasina now.
In case anybody has missed this excellent bit from Wolfi at 6.30 am this morning. --I shall repost it.
--- It was in the Yicai Global---a Chinese paper run by the gov and part of the Shanghai Press grp, so almost an official Chinese announcement,
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PowerChina Unit to Design Coal Mine in Bangladesh for USD969.8 Million;
https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/powerchina-unit-to-design-coal-mine-in-bangladesh-for-usd9698-million
Yicai) March 27 -- A unit of Power Construction Corporation of China, a state-owned infrastructure contractor also known as PowerChina, will design and strip Bangladesh's largest coal mine for about CNY7 billion (USD969.8 million).
PowerChina International Group inked the deal for the Phulbari coal mine with UK GCM Resources, Beijing-based PowerChina announced yesterday. The project includes the design of the mining infrastructure and overburden removal, procuring and installing stripping equipment, dewatering and drainage, ground production system, and sewage treatment, it added.
The contract has a four-year lifespan, including two years of overburden removal to expose the first coal for mining, with no warranty period, PowerChina noted. The Phulbari coal mine is located in Dinajpur district in northwest Bangladesh.
Established in 2009, PowerChina's main business includes infrastructure engineering and the construction and design of energy and power projects. It inked deals worth over CNY1.1 trillion (USD152.4 billion) last year, up 13.2 percent from a year earlier.
Shares of PowerChina [SHA: 601669] fell 0.2 percent to CNY4.97 (69 US cents) as of 10.35 a.m. in Shanghai today.
Editor: Martin Kadiev-
Jaffy.... I'm 100% bullish...... Just having a laugh as we hit a pause button
Jaffy---Bah humbug -----lol
Yes searcher, thats the most telling bit of the lot---all that talk from Jan onwards and not one single word to the contrary from Hasina.
-Everyday the situation gets worse, and everyday they talk about coal as the savour---surely she would be poring cold water on these stories if she was not intending to mine Phulbari
Stop bloody ramping
Thanks for all the effort there Searcher, especially on a Sunday (you on double time).
... That last part aprt the volumes traded must really say it all...
... The cards have been dealt and the shares shuffled between holders, and some huge stakes now been placed on the table.
.. Would be nice to get a string of holdings RNSs,.. surely we are owed quite a few, unless of course the building is still going on, and the volumes maybe showing that it's not all done yet.
... Let's get this NED RNS out in the open, and see the quality of those about to join us, and maybe that could give us a clue as to why we are seeing this huge turnover.
... So much to play for, and news can't be far off now.
Not sure what you are trying to say BS.----They have just appointed a Chairman up until they complete the shareholder fund raise.
They are already Public Co
------Ouch----that sort of debt could lead to a death spiral of higher interest rates and a worthless currency, all resulting in hyper inflation.
--They need to get a grip on this PDQ and start balancing their Import/Export books, before things become irreversible.----if it's not already.
Lots and lots of mineral deposits in Bangla , all good for their economy.
----The value of the overburden on the Phulbari coal deposit, is worth around $17 BILLION .---spread out over the life of the mine, that's about $500 million a year, even before they produce any coal.
---Has Hasina finally woken up to the riches that lie beneath her rice fields?--- Listening to that video, it certainly seems so.
----Coal and Minerals as rich as gold----
-This really does sound like the population are being softened up to Open Pit Mining, with Hasina herself now starting to go public on using own resources.
Are you drunk on the job here mate ----LOL
---I know its Ramadan and maybe our buyer is out of action for the time being, but there is some very positive stuff that seems to be getting overlooked.
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-Pappi's post this morning, giving a translation of yesterdays video should get a lot more attention than it appears to have got.
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---this is very good news and keeps getting repeated .
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------------ ‘It is recent in that it refers to the Energy Ministry taking initiative towards open pit mining Phulbari and Barapukuria North end"
... How many teams played in the rugby 6 nations
----"Considering the energy crisis and future energy security, the energy division plans to extract coal from three new coal mines – Phulbari, Dighipara and Khalashpi."
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----These articles are becoming ever more frequent, and are going largely unchallenged.---People are being drip fed the Open Pit option as the only solution to the county's import and FX problems, and there doesn't seem to be any major opposition-----Even Anu Moh seems to be excepting that a major U TURN is needed to correct the current disastrous energy policy.
-Petrobangla are still trying to push the case for further underground mining to keep the power plant at Bara fed, but at a predicted $160 a ton (and an 8 year start up at Dighipara) even they have admitted that Open Pit mining is necessary, and they are seeking approval to OP at Bara.
-When this is presented to Hasina next month, lets hope she at last makes the only practical choice and goes all out for quick, cheap production at Phulbari
..... Happy Birthday mate.... 60 today and you don't look a day older than 70.
Well they are talking 90 mill tones over 30 years, so that is only 3 mill tones a year.... And those sort of numbers usually turn out to be pipe dreams.
.. Bara has only produce 14.5 mill tons over 19years and you can bet that this mine will fare no better., and at close to 160 dlls a ton, and 8 years before first coal, it just doesn't help at all.
. They need 34 mill tones a year, so 3 mill tones wont touch the sides.
. The headline is misleading, as this is just a proposal put forward by Petrobangla, and not a firm decision by the gob.
.. With or without this new underground mine, they NEED phulbari