Member Info for SharketMare

"It's like being Harry Kane... and no one ever talking about buying him from Spurs."

I must have totally imagined last summer's high profile transfer saga when Man City did everything they could to sign Harry Kane.

To clarify the above - credibility issues to raise funds *to build Alpala*.

I did wonder late yesterday afternoon whether the ~7.5% rise would hold up today given the pretty low volume of stock that drove it. We have our answer today. The idea that we would rise so much off the back of a CFO appointment was a bit silly regardless. Her background seems impressive, and various posters on here had a good crack at spinning it to match their desired outcome or predictions about the direction of travel. In truth, as jerryspaniel said, it doesn't really pose or answer any questions we may have.

I'm looking forward to having a proper read of the upcoming MD&A (published May 14th last year) for any clues as to what the company's strategy truly is. As addicknt has pointed out, we seem to be trying to straddle two horses at once, and - like most of us - the market is really none the wiser as to what the real plan is here. I genuinely also believe that current management might suffer from credibility issues when trying to raise funds, particularly if BHP and NCM kick up a fuss over the next few months. But on that point we shall just have to wait and see.

Let's hope that we at least hold 25p and that the inevitable placing is done at this level or above (that would be a welcome surprise!).

GL to all the long termers - been a tough and disappointing few weeks but value will out.. eventually.

MrBasse, yes the asset might be valued at roughly double our current MCAP, but we now only own 30% of it by my understanding?

CD, your 'best way forwards' changes by the day. I'm not sure who you are trying to convince anymore, other posters or your own self.

Quady, you've answered a question, but it certainly wasn't the one I asked. I suggest you look up the term 'bid rumour' to understand what it means.

Quady, if one of the most reputable industry publications writing about a potential bid doesn't constitute a bid rumour in your eyes, I'd love to know what does?

Quady, I have unfiltered you after taking a couple of weeks break from this board. Here is an article from Mining Journal in March 2022, stating rumours of a joint bid for SOLG 'within months'.

So your statement below that 'we don't even have the rumor of a bid' is simply untrue.

https://www.mining-journal.com/london-to-a-brick/opinion/1428389/joint-bhp-newcrest-bid-for-solgold-%E2%80%98within-months%E2%80%9D

CD, what in my post have you 'put to bed'?

You assume that a further royalty deal will result in BHP/NCM making a bid for the company. If it were that simple, why haven't we already done so?

medar, if that is the case then you can expect retail investors to be well and truly shafted in 2023. I said in December last year if SOLG still exists this time next year we're all in trouble. Given the market reaction to the PFS, which I imagine the BoD would have hoped would've meant raising funds at a half decent price, I don't see BHP/NCM bothering to make a bid prior to the next AGM unfolding. Why would they need to? They will be able to maintain their share in the company with any new fundraise, and have a few months to prepare another crack at undermining market confidence in the 'old guard' still sitting as directors BoD.

As a retail investor looking for an exit in the next 6 months I'm now pinning my hopes on 1) a 'white knight' type situation whereby a third party comes in and bids for SOLG, thus forcing BHP/NCM's hands 2) a discovery at one of our tenements that the market simply cannot ignore. If we find 'Alpala 2' then we surely have to re-rate substantially. In all honesty, I wish I'd sold up and taken my 70% profit a few weeks back at 40p (good old hindsight).

Many of us - myself included - claimed that 'this time felt different' as we started to re-rate in the first quarter of this year. Then the PFS was delivered and the market shrugged its shoulders (admittedly not helped by the broader macro picture that is hurting most equities). Ultimately, if you have the time this share will come good by virtue of the sheer quantity of metal we own, for those of us looking for a swifter exit, who knows.

rcgl2, echoing the sentiment below - your post is spot on. I had foolishly thought we were in for step change in corporate comms when Daryl came on board and we (after a short while, admittedly) were treated to an in-depth piece in Mining Journal outlining the priorities for the next few months. It was honest, refreshing, transparent and basically said - listen, we're going to focus on nailing the PFS before we begin to discuss anything else.

With the PFS now delivered, I'd like to see something similar from the company outlining what we can expect from the remaining ~6 months of this year.

Yes Colonel, I'm the brother of the only person on LSE I have filtered. Give me strength.

You're beginning to sound unhinged Colonel. I just prefer to deal in facts and reality as much as possible over wanton speculation.

Colonel - go back through your own history, since the Boliden news you have mentioned Norges fairly regularly as if they are some white knight type support for the share price (recent price action suggest they're not). They're just a fund taking a position in a Tier 1 deposit that is going to be around for a long time.

I never claimed you said they were looking to flip anything, so put your straw man away. I'm merely reinforcing my point that asset managers invest for the long term, and that the short term price action is going to be of little interest to them, assuming they've reached their target position, which I think they most probably have.

Colonel, your obsession with Norges is bordering on the desperate. Asset managers don't go out there and stealthily buy up as much of a company that they can. The fund manager will likely have a target holding, most probably already reached, based upon a myriad of factors: risk, make up of the fund, exposure to certain geographies, ESG. They have quite clearly stopped buying and most likely couldn't care less about the recent SP action. As recently pointed out on here, these guys own a slide of almost all emerging markets miners. They've bought into the copper/gold mine, investing for the long, long term. I highly doubt they're here to flip the stock quickly and hoping for a buyout.

Stand up all you want mate, just not on here where we're meant to be discussing SOLG. There are plenty of fora on the internet if for you to rant and use rac.ial slurs - try Twitter or better still, that knock-off version your idol Trump created. You'll fit right in!

Excellent post, rcgl2

SeisNav, sorry to play devil's advocate here, because I'd love AA to announce a JV with ARCM so I can sell up and move on from this share. But as the new CEO of a FTSE100 mining company, trying to fill the boots of the great Mark Cutafani, there is no way in a million years would I want my first announcement to be a JV with a company that has achieved very little over the last 6 months aside from settling court cases, regardless of their legitimacy.

Padmaster, I think that might be the clearest indication yet that this company is well and truly up for sale. Or at least Alpala is. No hardline “we’re going to production”, a clear and honest admission that we are open to being taken over.

I’m guessing that having sober types like Keith Marshall in the room warning just how difficult block cave mining can be has helped other come to their senses and realise that going it alone would be fraught with risk.

Let’s hope something reasonable is tabled sooner rather than later.

CD, I think the same can be said of the conditional finance package alluded to in the first proper paragraph. That's twice now SOLG has suggested this - firstly in a cryptic post on LinkedIn and latterly in today's RNS. There is no detail on what's this actually looks like, which to me implies that negotiations are very much still ongoing. The subtext is - bid for this now or we will be carving up the royalties for others.