Member Info for roundthetrap

China. Humble apologies but it is obviously me who lost the plot. We have a $BB project (Longongo + Saltend) - we do not know the breakdown of the relative values - with magnificent NPV's/IRR's. Major shareholder (Angola) must be delighted with this opportunity for a lovely profitable ESG project, to enhance their reputation on the world mining stage (British Govt ministers have visited site etc to enhance the mystique) , but the company decide instead to initially procure 3rd party feed for Saltend, unless I've mis-read the unofficial announcements. Longongo is a minimal Capital cost, very low operating cost (according to the figures), easy construction operation, and will develop cash flow from day1, and surely is the lowest operating cost around. We are repeatedly told about the low cost available infrastructure for the project. I cannot find any reference to the June/December bond issues alluded to on this site - were these communicated to shareholders? I sincerely hope that Mgmt plan is not to ultimately ditch (farm out) Longongo and focus on Saltend where the team is high on pronouncements but has no relevant experience!. You are close to the boss - all we need is clarity. How many meaningful announcements have been made since V came on board? Just tell shareholders where the f... we are. I don't give a s...t what they plan to do - I would just appreciate knowing what that plan is!
Tell management - treat shareholders as the company's owners (because that is what we are)!

Firstly I am a long term shareholder and believed in the story. But
- the company has produced amazing figures, so why have we no finance, or advice on the status, which presumably is the key to getting any momentum on the project
- all the talk on this site about process etc is crap. If the company had 132 established FEED packages, the financers would (or would not) be happy. Bankers do not understand the processes, but they do the understand whether the company has a viable route to profitable production..
- nothing in the company 's glossy presentations actually tells shareholders where the project stands. As a shareholder, I am personally not interested in the company spouting off on EV's/Magnets - I want to know how they propose to deliver shareholder returns, starting with a high NPV mining project in Angola, which they need to establish for their credibility..
- China and his lieutenants need to face reality. This company has not delivered thus far and long standing shareholders need far better information as to where the company is viz-a viz Longongo and Saltend. It is amazing that a low capital mining operation in Angola is not yet commissioned. In late 2020 the company had allegedly a BFS for this project!
- So, if the figures are to be believed, why is no finance available? The Nordic Gods were on the job 9 months ago. Surely it is incumbent on management to advise shareholders of the status quo, even if to say ongoing negotiations are confidential.
I trust PRE's board are aware of their fiduciary duties.

From a frustrated shareholder, can no-one hold this mgmt to account? The Indaba slides tell nothing. What is the new IR lady doing? From having a near allegedly complete BFS at end -2020, we are no nearer to knowing if Longongo is financeable. Its a relatively small Capex earth moving job (we are told) with a proven process route, but we have not put a shovel in. All the crap about visiting delegations etc is a smokescreen. The Angola govt must surely be asking questions if they want development. FEED is an even bigger smokescreen- considering the project was at BFS status 18 months ago. Feed is PA's way of hiding behind why they did not deliver on the promised, near complete, BFS. Anyone who has been involved with bringing a SMALL project to closure must realise that this mgmt seems incapable. Saltend may take a long time to sort out but do we have a viable project at Longongo or not? It looks like 3rd rate mgmt with a 3rd rate engineering company (Wood) who must be loving the time delays. Suffering shareholders seem to be the last thing on mgmt mind and now we have the chairman also focussing on TVL what can we expect?? I have nothing against mgmt, other than recognising none of them have successfully brought a project to fruition, and they appear to have no conception about looking at shareholders interests. Mark and Neill should have been replaced with capable NED's who could bring this mgmt (?) to account. They pulled the plug 12 months ago - nothing done!
Start behaving like a reputable company - remember the promises last Sept re communications! All shareholders want is to know where the company is going - all the flash about EV/Wind Farm projections etc mean nothing unless you are capable of developing a project where you have (Angolan) Govt support etc with no visual hurdles. Get the IR lady to put a clear update out to shareholders!

Rather than take pot shots across this forum what is the reality? A relatively small, earthmoving(?) project in Angola was due for a BFS in late 2020. Some genius decided, against anything most reputable mining companies would do , that FEED was the answer (I'm still searching for a similar successful project) . Look at the subsequent announcements re geotechnical etc - the promised BFS to international standards was nowhere near ready. Most mining companies produce a BFS and then undertake FEED when they are confident that finance should be attainable based on the BFS . The one item that could have generated cash flow has languished whilst we have listened to all the crap re Saltend/magnets etc. Pensana started as a mining company - get back to what shareholders invested in rather glossy crap which may or may not lead somewhere. What have the Norwegians taken six months to discover? There is no-one on the PRE team that has executed a successful project, and Wood group would probably rate as a C team . Pensana does not get a mention on the Paradigm website. Get some personnel on board who have successfully built mining projects, focus on basics - finance for Longongo should have been easy, if the numbers are to be believed, and shareholders don't give a damn where the product goes to in the interim whilst the fluff continues. It is untenable that we still sit in hope without a real clue on what is happening. Reducing the capital costs from $525 to 494 (at the expense of what) is not going to impress any financier. Instead of "Pensana being excellently positioned to bring high value manufacturing back to the UK" it would be nice to hear "Pensana is excellently positioned to develop a high margin project , with Govt support, in Angola"

Mumbles. I am not questioning the resource and would certainly not question a company of SRK's integrity. The resource was confirmed by them in late 2020. The next stage is to then define an economic reserve which for some reason has not been declared (as far as I can determine). With the SP tanking, one would expect some positive reassurance of what progress is being made. In late 2020 Paradigm were getting equipment package quotes to allow construction to commence at Longongo in Q1 21. One year later and shareholders are in the dark of how/if this mine is to be developed. It may well be that finance/offtake/Saltend are intertwined and hence the delays - if so advise shareholders of what the plan is, rather than b.s . announcements of agreements with Equinor etc

All this site seems to focus on is what is the position on Saltend and what marsh or otherwise is the site for some hypothetical plant. Any plant needs feedstock and PRE shareholders were told that there is a magnificent project at Longongo. Unfortunately we still do not have an ore reserve, which is usually a pre-requisite for finance. At end-2020 the BFS was "nearly" complete (a total lie) but that did not happen as management, to hide their deficiencies, decided that FEED was the new may to develop projects, and more test work was needed. During the year more geotechnical was proved necessary, showing that the promised BFS was misleading. In mid-2021 we had a Business Case that was so well advanced that it needed a 10% contingency. In September we were promised more transparency and shareholder information. The presentation at the AGM said 122 FEED packages issued - for what? From earlier statements Longongo should be an earthmoving project -why the delay? What are they going to show the clueless diplomat when he visits?
Forget Saltend for now - Longongo will (should) provide cash flow and some shareholder return. This company needs someone to prioritise what is best for shareholders, and actually developing a mine and showing progress would be a good start. We lost Neil and Mark who had the expertise in mine development - unfortunately none of the current management has that ability.
Re-focus the project. Saltend will happen when it happens. In the meantime get this small ($115M? - this could have been easily financed with a BFS)) mine off the ground and thwart any Eastern predator. There is no transparency and shareholders deserve better. It's comforting to know that there is rail/hdropower/port etc for Longongo but what would be nice to hear is that someone has put a shovel in the ground, and frustrated shareholders could look forward to some progress.

China. I have a huge holding in PRE ( by my standards). I also hold shares in MKA, RBW and Peak so am very interested in other REE producers or potential producers. The major problem I have is that PRE "ditched" the BFS to come out with a Business Plan - anyone who has any knowledge of financing a mining project knows that the "Business Plan" was waffle/crap. ( no back-up in the public domain) Great to hear that the ground work is progressing at Saltend ( great for the market) BUT what is happening at Longongo. The two directors with mining project development are gone, not replaced as yet. The key to Saltend, unless PRE sees themselves as a toll treater, is Longogo but where is the mining reserve - where is Snowden's report? What is the product recovery? PRE in late 2020 focussed the market in a promised BFS and then changed tack, without informing the market why. All the PRE/media hype is on Saltend (which may be a successful stand alone project) but the market needs to know the economics of Longogo, or alternatively where the Saltend feedstock will come from.

DP. Perplexed? Read the PRE announcements of Oct/Nov 2020. 30/10 "BFS ( for the Angolan operations) is well advanced. Update by 16/11" /11 ""BFS well advanced". We all know what it takes to produce a BFS -if it was "well advanced" in Oct/ Nov where is it? If there has been a change due to Saltend then tell shareholders. Not too much to ask.
China. NM and MH are both professional non-execs - if there was a transition because of change in skills they would have been part of the transition, and PRE would have emphasised in the announcement. This is a potentially dynamic company, with first mover advantage, being held back by a lack of clarity to shareholders.

Why have the two non-execs with mining experience stepped down with immediate effect? Lets hope it has nothing to do with the promised BFS that has not materialised and appears unlikely to do so. All the speculation is just that - what is the mining reserve - presumably Snowden produced one. What is the metallurgical recovery and grade of product? It is time for PRE to show shareholders some respect instead of us all just playing guessing games.

Torna. Not being a chemist, can the plant handle both feed stocks (carbonate & sulphate) in parallel or would they have to campaign the different sources?

As others, I invested when the SP was ~ 20p, believing in a junior miner with a potentially great project. One surprise, at the time, was that the Chinese Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) had been contracted to provide EPC financing. The BFS was then due in October 2020 to provide the economics. Since then have heard nothing re CGWIC involvement or the BFS - are they still involved with the (Angolan) project, or have they done their bit and departed? Unlikely, given the Chinese interference/influence in Africa. The studies went from a mixed REE carbonate product to a mixed RE sulphate product. Is the delay due to additional test work on the 100t sample sent to Perth? Just give investors some info, rather than the continual second guessing.

China. Your confidence is admirable and good to see the ASWF and Chairman taking part in the placing. Yes Saltend has the advantage if there is a Longongo feedstock. I'm not an expert but presumably the intention is that the refinery will in the first instance be designed around the Longongo product. Which goes back to the lack of info. There are plenty of mineral resources around the world but they need developing into an economic mining reserve, on which investors have no info, but which presumably Snowdon have designed. Then to downstream processing, recovery, product grade etc. What are they? A BFS was promised nine months ago and as previously noted Longongo is not a high Capex project ( < 300M) and has good reported infrastructure. "Nasties" can be handled - a well designed, lined tailings facility is fairly routine, and should not be an issue. The DFS is needed to allay fears and it is not contributors to this forum that are holding the SP back - it is the lack of detail from the PRE Board and management. Let the Chairman do his promoting on Saltend, but IMO the CEO should be interfacing with investors on the Angolan side of the business.

A lot of the dialogue seems to be hypothetical scenarios on what might happen. At present no one knows as yet what the Longongo product is and if there are any "nasties". I invested in PRE as a junior miner company when Tim G was saying in March last year Longongo could "open up markets in Europe, Japan and Korea as well as China". At the time Saltend was not on the radar. Since then we have a "proposed" Business Plan with discount rate of 8% and a contingency in the BP of less than 8%. These indicate a high degree of confidence (by PRE) in the BP and figures developed to BFS standard (say +/- 10%). The Capex for the Longongo operation is $257M, pre-contingency, which should be pretty easy to finance, especially with the Angolan SWF, ( we don't know if some Capex may be offset into Opex by factors such as contract mining etc). With Saltend we ostensibly have a project with a NPV of +£2Bn. The one advantage that PRE has is its own feedstock from Longongo, so why can't we see the economics of that as a stand alone project. Is there an issue with the processing?
With all the value add being in the downstream treatment, European companies could easily jump on the bandwagon ( the cost of the Saltend refinery is peanuts), to build a refinery in Europe.
If there are issues of confidentiality, tell shareholders. Otherwise the suspicion of something not right continues. Shareholders deserve better.

8% is the discount rate applied and is quite low for a REE project in Angola with many imponderables. 8% would indicate a strong degree of confidence. Reverting to basics, whilst there may be a defined JORC resource, nowhere has the company indicated what the mining reserve, and the finalised treatment route, recovery etc is and these will contribute to determining the economics. Late last year the company said they were producing a BFS - where is it? FEED is irrelevant, if there is a BFS. All the hype is on Saltend , European market, magnets etc but why is there no info on Longongo, which is why many invested originally. A lot of the speculation, yo-yoing around the SP could be erased if investors could be given a clear picture on the economics of the mining/treatment operation which has to be the cornerstone feedstock for Saltend. Not too much to ask/expect.