Member Info for steward1

Forgot to mention the balaclava and sledge hammer he was carrying!

Loitering outside RBZ in Harare... wheelbarrow at the ready!

I'm not sure what the point of that interview was other than making it clear that he wasn't going to stump up... so, if the boss isn't prepared to back up his words with cash, why would anyone else put their hard-earned in?

btw, just in case anyone believes that he has stumped up £15m already... that is way off the mark.

He has to go!

Unusually, the sp has seen a steady growth for a week. Something is brewing.

Market cap hit a high of £200m(?) - GR has lost £190m of shareholders' value. He could cough up the £3.5m that's needed now.

Lloydyboy - I don't think the price was the issue. With GR still at the helm, I reckon that the market still will not give Prem the funds. If he steps down, the sp will rise (significantly?) and funding will come.

I'm not disputing any figures at all, Jaglith (good to see that you're acknowledging that they're not $100m in debt). And I'm sure that all those creditors will recognise that they will get nothing if they push Prem over the cliff. All of them have had months and months to take action and they haven't... I'm sure that none of them are happy with GR's mess and I'm sure that none of them will want to get into a tangle with Canmax over Zulu either.

Jag - my strong preference is that GR leaves now and I believe that funding will then come. Remember, someone was prepared to cough up £1.2m. In some ways if that doesn't happen, I'd be happy to roll forward 10 weeks and for Prem to be the junior partner at Zulu or take $60m or whatever from Canmax. Canmax are owed $40m or so and that leaves a healthy chunk to Prem.

Jaglith - the problem that all the creditors have is that they'll end up with nothing if they push Prem over the cliff. The only asset is Zulu and Canmax have that tied up (Circum, RHA and MNH appear to be worth zero!). The best solution is for Prem to get funding and to get the plant working. Because of the offtake agreement, I don't think Canmax, if they decide to, will move to take over before April... and, at that point (and I know we probably disagree), the value of Zulu will be $100m... either Canmax need to cough up the balance to Prem or Prem retain an interest as the junior partner.

Martinigirl - I'm not convinced that there have been billions of shares forward sold. Apart from Friday, where there were 2 billion shares traded (and the sp didn't plummet) there doesn't appear to be any days of significant trading. I am surprised that the sp has held up today though.

Crinsing - have to admit that I have wondered that in the past but concluded that I'm not really in to conspiracy theories or that everybody is motivated by greed. The world really isn't that sad or bad... there are good and honourable people out there... maybe not in your world but there are.

And personal jibes say more about you than me!

If I can put GR to one side for a moment…

I come back to two questions about Zulu – is there the quality of lithium to produce sc6 and will the plant be capable of producing sc6?

I think there is sufficient evidence to say Yes to both.

I can’t believe that Canmax would invest so much in Zulu if they themselves didn’t know that the lithium was there (and in sufficient quantity to make it worthwhile). Prem have had it tested in independent labs so, other than a niggly doubt because it is GR, I’m relaxed about that question.

With the plant, as others with experience will say, it is a matter of adjusting. I do think that the experts have been all over it since it almost got to production and that they know how to fix it. There are no fatal flaws as far as we know.

I think that the market knows the above.

And now GR… the guy has eroded all trust and the market this time has said enough is enough… you’re not getting anymore cash… especially when you’re not willing to put new cash in to Prem yourself. In fact, he has looked to benefit personally from the mess that he has caused by getting partial repayment of his loan, albeit in shares. Ultimately, this whole mess is his doing.

IMO, Canmax have been honourable so far. I personally don’t expect that to change and I reckon taking Zulu will be a last resort. I have a suspicion that GR has been given some sort of personal reassurance from Pei to that effect but there is some level of protection for shareholders in the offtake agreement.

The way forward has to include GR stepping down whether voluntarily or from Canmax applying some pressure on him. GR must realise by now that he is the issue, the market doesn’t want to give him the cash and, if he were to step down, the sp would rise and there would be a greater chance that Zulu ultimately succeeds. Assurances that he will step down in the future are not sufficient for the market.

Surely Canmax have someone capable enough to step in to temporarily replace GR and to get the plant adjustments made and the test run done.

Even I am shocked that the sp hasn't tanked!

You win some, you lose some!

GR really needs to resign. He is the issue here!

Hey AlertRNS - hope that life is treating you well. I'm under no illusion here - I've not thrown the kitchen sink in. Tomorrow morning will be the first hurdle and then the real work begins and loads more hurdles. There is an extremely tricky path to recovery. If the offer gets over the line then it is game on. If sc6 is produced then the sp rockets and Prem can get funding without the constant dilution, pay off it's debts, etc.

I've said before that I've got more confidence now about getting sc6 produced than previously and we can look forward to GR walking off into the sunset soon.

It all depends on tomorrow morning though!

There's no way of knowing today if the retail offer is successful unless we get an RNS stating that it has been. The retail offer buys are not being reported... trades being reported today and Friday are simply normal, standard trades over and above the retail offer.

There were over 2 billion shares traded on Friday and the sp stayed stable above the offer price... that might indicate that a lot of folk have some confidence that the offer will succeed. Remember, there's also 36 billion shares currently in issue and there hasn't been a mad rush to sell. It's clear some on here are shorting... let's see if they're brave enough to keep those shorts open until tomorrow!

It's relatively small amounts, clueless... risk/reward and all that!

I do think that VSA and Canmax have brought a certain level of realism to GR and that's why we've got a whole load more detail than at anytime before. The market in general doesn't trust him and that trust will not be recovered even if sc6 is produced in this next period. VSA/Canmax realise this and that's why I think they are now calling the shots. My own view is that GR will step back soon... he'll definitely be gone by April one way or the other.

The problem with anything that GR says is that hardly anyone believes what he says, including in an RNS! He would need to have provided evidence of the 'reaffirmation' to the NOMAD so I'm going to take this as true and genuine.

I've changed my mind on whether the retail offer will be successful - if one adds up the cash that is itemised in the 16th Jan RNS then it amounts to around £1.6m. I reckon a good chunk of the remainder (£1.9m) which is due to other creditors will be paid in shares. There is already £1.2m in the pot from the first round so I don't think that retail offer is as onerous as I first thought. I also think that GR and Canmax(hence this morning's RNS) are likely to step in to get it over the line.

So I've added a couple of times this morning.

Follow the money!

Martinigirl - I had to read that again this morning just to check myself. Initially, I thought that they would take a chunk of the retail offer but that's not going to happen. There is significant jeopardy here... I'm far from convinced that the retail offer will get over the line.