Member Info for steward1

I guess some folk are selling because there's no RNS first thing.
There's an expectation that we'll get assay results every 2 weeks or so - the last 2 were published on a Monday. One was timed before open and the other was intra-day. I'd hope for one today or tomorrow... however, it is Prem, isn't it?
His last RNS highlighted that there was a lot of effort going in to refinement and upgrade to the resource so let's hope that we'll get more solid information soon.
This Saturday marks 1 year since the announcement of the EPO grant - I'd hope that we would get some significant news before the end of this week!!

RomanWolf - where have you been all this time... so much wisdom and funny as well. So glad that you're here to bring some gravitas to the board. Us mere mortals have clearly got the purpose of this investment business and these boards way wrong. I'm quite relieved that you're here to save us all from our inane dribble!

It's clear tbat whoever gets 1st go at Zulu isn't going to get a free run... a few interesting months ahead!

Piedmont could be the dark horse in this race but I'd love it if it was RT.

Bath on a Friday afternoon?? Must have a big evening ahead!!!

So GR published assay results on Monday 7th Feb and then on Monday 21st Feb - will we get another RNS on Monday with more assay results?
I seem to remember someone saying that we should expect them every 2 weeks.

"Was it safer to buy in then or now" is the wrong question but, since you ask, of course the answer is obvious if you only go on hindsight!

PS Not sure where you get the "600 posts a day".

Daz - to suggest that the rise in the sp last month was due to some "punters" being misled by rampers is such a misrepresentation of what happened. And, therefore, to imply that the sp now is at the correct level is completely unfounded.
Rather than being emotional about ramping and de-ramping, look at the buying that did happen 2 or 3 weeks ago - it wasn't "punters" who were buying. And look at what has been happening in the world in the last 2-3 weeks and you'll get a better explanation of why the sp is where it is at than "ramping" and "de-ramping".
Just to emphasise a simple summary of where we're at - we need funding soon and there are plenty of folk out there who want to give us some funding! That's factual!

Bick/Progress - in terms of getting to a working mine then the DFS is significant. GR has been (deliberately?) vague about the scope of this DFS so we're left speculating and it might be that he delivers a DFS with a smaller scope much sooner than you're implying...
BUT we know that the DFS doesn't have to be completed before a deal is done for funding... I think that funding then accelerates the whole project (including the EPO area) especially if it's with a major. Boardrooms will be getting a sense now of how things might play out with the Ukraine invasion and, ultimately, the demand for Lithium... it seems that the clamour to get more Lithium to the market will only increase and accelerate. Personally, I think those majors will see GR's involvement as a barrier to their goals and priorities and that's why I'm more convinced than ever that we'll see Prem at best become a minor partner but most likely, I think Prem will get taken over. It might not happen tomorrow but governments across the globe will now be accelerating plans to move to greener energy and lessen dependence on any other country. GR and his team may well be working flat out BUT they just can't compare to an experienced team from a major running the show, I'd suggest.

Johnny/Snowking - you both allude to work on drilling/RUS/DFS continuing and with the additional support brought in last month, I suspect that the work has accelerated, especially the RUS and DFS. I might have this wrong but, due to the backlog at the South African labs, there must be a whole load of assay results expected. I imagine that we should see these coming through more frequently if the lab is back up to full speed.
GR may well be still weighing up which approach or deal to take. - if he does need a fundraise then I expect him to do it at a large premium to the current price... now that would be something to see.
FWIW, whilst the Ukraine situation is desperately sad, I'm taking the view that Europe isn't going to get involved militarily and that an escalation to WW3 is unlikely now. I'm fully back in the market.

Thanks Degrasse - just an observation but I guess that it's very unusual for GR to spend 3 days onsite! I doubt if it's an issue or problem that he's there for - he strikes me as someone who would delegate problems to get sorted. What other explanation? Have they found something unexpected? Are they mapping out resource areas to be packaged up for a deal?

The war in Ukraine is casting a shadow over the whole market. It looks as if Putin is pressing ahead to take Kyiv... desperately sad. Eyes will then turn to the West to see what they might do over and above sanctions. I think the strategy will be to contain the conflict in Ukraine and to punish the Russians through sanctions hoping for an internal revolution... but who knows!
As for Prem, you have to ask why we are where we are (despite my de-risking, I still have a holding of Prem shares)... why are we not already knocking on the door of 1p? Yes, the stock is easily manipulated and it seems fairly easy to create volatility for traders... but why is that?
It's because there is still a load of uncertainty about what is in the ground, there is the major question of funding and there is still the track record which doesn't look so good. To some extent, the solutions to the latter are in the former... get those assay results done and published (it's still happening but still slowly), get the RUS done asap and get the funding deal. By the time this happens, I'm hopeful that the drag because of the Ukraine situation will be over and the sp will stabilise. Going forward, I would still advocate that we will be better off as junior partners!
If the Ukraine crisis is over (or managed) by the end of this month, I can still see us well over 1p on the announcement of a deal.

Johnny/Progress - I get what you're saying too but for me in the short term there's a risk that things could escalate. Whilst there are some talks underway, Putin doesn't seem to be in any mood to compromise and he is becoming more and more unpredictable. The stakes have been raised over the weekend and there is a risk that there is a further shock to the whole market.
Specifically on Prem, I don't see a RUS this week. A deal could be announced anytime but I'm inclined to think that the preferred partner will have taken the foot of the pedal slightly! Every boardroom in the world will, at the very least, be assessing what is going on in Ukraine and making their own judgements about how things might play out. So if the plan last week (before the invasion) was to announce a deal this week, I'd suggest that, at a minimum, that deal announcement would be delayed by a few days. If things escalate in Ukraine then that might delay things further.
In the longer term then, absolutely, there is no doubt that the sp will fly but in the next few days, in the next week... well, I've de-risked.
My hope and prayer is that the Ukraine situation is resolved asap - unfortunately, for me, there's too much risk in the market.

Johnny - given what's happening in Ukraine and the escalation over the weekend, folks might be deciding to move to cash until things become clearer. There's a risk that things escalate further and I guess it's a personal call on whether you think it will or won't.
One possible impact on Prem is that the demand profile for Lithium might shift - if there is a major economic downturn globally (and it could happen) then that shift to EV's might be further down the line. The clamour and mad dash for Lithium might slow. Who knows, the potential partner might want to pause negotiations and/or might want to negotiate the price down. It is one scenario that may or may not play out but if I was sitting on the other side of the table to GR negotiating a deal, I'd be using whatever I could to get a better deal!
GR might then move to do a fundraise to finish off the DFS and to progress the EPO area.
Will the above happen? I don't know but I've reduced my exposure to that kind of risk until things become clearer.

Mafs - interesting article. All the analysis that I've seen says that no-one thought that Putin would actually launch an invasion and there's a lot of speculation that he's become unhinged so, perhaps, any impact from the current Ukrainian situation will be felt in other ways - as I write, Putin apparently has put his nuclear arsenal on special alert. Any escalation won't be good for anyone and we're all in trouble if this gets further out of hand. Putin doesn't seem to be someone who is likely to back down easily and, as I've said before, he aims to hit the West hard in the pocket. That may or may not change the profile of Lithium demand over the next couple of years.

I agree that after this blows over things may well look more rosy for Prem but, in the meantime, because we've got an unpredictable tyrant creating havoc, I've moved some of my portfolio to cash. I think the Ukrainian crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better and there could well be some more days when the market is rocked. I might regret this financially but if there's anything that I've learnt from Prem is to expect the unexpected!!

Thanks Profitbags - I could say that the concern about lives lost goes without saying but you're quite right to say it.

"Wars" are fought on all sorts of fronts and I guess that I was trying to highlight the economic war... even prior to today's military action, for whatever reason, Putin has been attacking the West economically... his action has contributed to higher oil/gas prices and I'm speculating that he wants to make the West a lot poorer!

I hope and pray that this war is over soon with as little loss of life as possible. Yes, the Chinese will take any advantage they can... if I was in their shoes, I'd be making some noises to GR about global uncertainty, etc, etc!!

What's your view?

The Ukraine invasion is a shock globally and potentially has long term consequences.

a) Would potential partners assess that the events in Europe do not impact Zulu, except that, if anything, the demand for Li will accelerate? The deal goes ahead.

b) Would their assessment be that the impact is negative in the short term but longer term demand estimates are still healthy? They look to re-negotiate the deal or they adjust timescales.

c) Would they assess that the impact is unclear and stall signing a deal until there is clarity, potentially pushing Prem to need a placing?

I can't see a worse case scenario where things turn so bad that all potential partners would walk away.

Wolf - yes, you're right but the demand for Li could be severely impacted by war in Europe. After the pandemic, another economic blow will be hard to take and recovery could be years away.

We might not get oil from Russia but they're clearly dictating the price and could continue to do so.

I think that we all hope for the best with regards to Ukraine and that whatever happens is contained but it seems that we're going to have this hanging over us for some time. This isn't just a military attack but it's also an economic attack on the West. I think Putin wants to drive Western countries into recession and worse... oil/gas goes up, inflation continues to go up, interest rates go up and recession beckons.
So the question is how will the West act to not just protect themselves militarily but economically as well. Can the West "afford" to allow Putin to act in whatever way he likes?
For us Prem shareholders, and quite apart from any ecological drivers, what will the impact be on Li demand and price?
Have to confess questioning whether I want to hold any investments at all!
That all sounds a bit doom and gloom!