George Frangeskides, Chairman at ALBA, explains why the Pilbara Lithium option ‘was too good to miss’. Watch the video here.
bald_eagle, Sorry if I mis-interpreted the aim of your posts.
I thought that there would be a loan or something later this year but before the December bond repayment date.
When I saw on Friday that the status of the russian bond application had moved from planned to cancelled
https://cbonds-ru.translate.goog/news/1903119/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=nui
I assumed that it was MOEX that ended the bond listing as the application had timed-out, it did not occur to me that perhaps Altyn requested the cancellation as part of a clearing the decks process to secure a loan.
bald_eagle on 24-07-2022
"...due to almost zero chance of a loan at the moment .."
Altyn on 25-07-2022
Behold our shiny new loan.
Humble pie for breakfast? ;-)
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The issue the auditor stated in their qualified opinion in the annual report has been read and discussed by those interested, the prepayment has largely been converted into increased production. Derampers will have to look elsewhere for rocks to throw.
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If this loan is converted into an increase in the operational mill capacity from 605,724 t p/a (q1 2022)
to 1,000,000 t p/a
then that 65% increase will be reflected in increased turnover
turnover for year to 31-12-2021 = $50m
The loan and interest should be easily covered by the increased cashflow, well before the end of the term of the loan.
Two other companies reported fund raising today at 12% interest and share warrants and risk of bond converting into shares. Altyn's 6% loan says that it is not viewed as being on the risky end of the investment scale.
The auditor did sign off the accounts and has applied to continue in their role as auditor for the company.
The interest rate they have now got for the loan is probably better than they would have got from bonds, worth waiting for.
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Today's RNS
"Funding update
AltynGold plc (the Company) is pleased to announce that its application for an additional credit line for an amount of US$40m from Kazakh Bank JSC “Bank Center Credit” (BCC) has been approved by the bank’s credit committee.
The loan is repayable in instalments over a term of six and a half years and bears interest at 6%.
The loan will be used to expand the capacity of the processing plant to 1mtpa in anticipation of the expected increase in mining production at Sekisovskoye.
The signing of the loan agreement will be carried out after passing the necessary internal procedures of the Bank. The Company will update shareholders as plans progress.
Altyn’s CEO Aidar Assaubayev commented:
“The goal was to obtain the necessary financing at competitive terms and in the best interest of shareholders. After exploring a number of opportunities and an extensive due diligence period we are very pleased to update our shareholders on the funding approval. The proceeds will accelerate our growth strategy by expanding production and processing capacity towards our midterm target of 1mtpa. Timely execution of this ambitious plan should set the stage for a sustainable dividend policy.”
The listing allowed them to raise money via convertible bonds (which have been repaid/converted) and non-convertible bonds which will be repaid later this year ( share options incentivised full bond issuing). Service providers have also been paid with shares instead of cash. All the broker has to do is convert the prospectus for the russian bond into english and sell bonds in the UK.
https://cbonds-ru.translate.goog/news/1892935/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB
"... The main shareholder of the gold mining company Petropavlovsk, Konstantin Strukov, has applied for the purchase of its assets. This was reported by Kommersant on Thursday,..."
I would not expect much to be said about Teren-Sai, until after the Kazak mining authorities have finished reviewing the documents which have been submitted as part of the application for further exploration works and proposals for production at Area No.2 .
From memory the bondholders do not have security on the mine, and are due to be repaid in December 2022. However the bank loan ( due to be repaid in September 2026) from Bank Center Credit is secured on the assets of the Group (cautious creatures those bankers).
Of the total prepayment of US$14.5m live as at 31-12-2021, at least US$8.4m has now been utilised against mining services provided to May 2022. At that rate the remaining $6.1m could be converted into better mine infrastructure by the end of September. Whether each dollar spent on expanding the mine feeds back into worthwhile increases in production is part of the investment/gamble.
Item 6 to be voted on at the AGM which starts at 11:00 tomorrow is:
" To reappoint BDO LLP as the Company’s auditors to hold office until the conclusion of the next general meeting at which the annual accounts are to be laid before the Company. "
Which either means both BDO and Altyn are happy to continue working together or that a few days later a GM will be held , the AR for year ending 31-12-2021 will be presented and a different auditor could be proposed.
With regard to the subcontractor that received the prepayments, the statement by auditors BDO that
".. two current principals of the sole subcontractor, its owner and director, have been business associates of the Group’s major shareholder ..."
Is being interpreted by some negatively, but for balance it can also be seen as a positive.
Some people who now work for company "A" previously worked with, got to know, trusted and respected, some people who now work for company "S". They trust and expect that the goods or work required will be delivered as per the verbal agreement, as maybe it has indeed been.
Of course BDO are quite correct in saying that deals should be promptly documented to eliminate later confusions, and that strict controls on what staff in subsidiaries are authorised to spend is necessary, what is sufficient for a lemonade stand may not be quite enough for a gold mine.
Kazakhstan will always have close ties with its neighbours including Russia. But there are also some signs of divergence from russian influence.
Kazakhstan will switch from its current Russian dialing code, +7, to its own national international dialing code, +997
Kazakh language is intended to be simplified from its present 42-letter Cyrillic script into a 25-letter Latin alphabet.
Altyn's auditor BDO have adopted the new latin alphabet for the local office by including the new spelling of the country's name "BDO Qazaqstan"
Of the Kazakhs voting in this month's constitutional referendum, 77.18% of the votes were in favour of the amendments, which decentralise decision-making, which is the opposite of what is happening in Russia.
Seeing as Altyn's assets are in Kazakhstan and "...the sales off-take agreement currently in place with the Kazakh national refinery, which continues to take all of the Company’s output. As in the prior year, sales are translated at the spot US$ Market rate at the point the gold is sold. .."
Then it should have no direct effect.
The footsteps of Altyn's gold, from mine to refinery to bank remain inside Kazakhstan. If the bank then sells gold to the UK or elsewhere that would not be affected by sanctions on the export of russian gold.
Whether the global gold price moves up in response to a theoretical reduction in supply (countries not willing/able to import gold from Russia) is another matter.
In 2012 following the open offer, when the major shareholder African Resources total shareholding reached 59.884 per cent the company was under AIM rules.
At that point in time, any other investor that did not like having shares in a company with a major shareholder (with more than 50 per cent) could walk away.
It was stated at that time and on later occasions that it was their intention to maintain a listing for the benefit of all shareholders. Their website still states "... our progression to the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange in December 2014 represented not only a natural step in our growth strategy, but also our commitment to the London investor base and regulatory environment, and we remain committed to meeting best practice governance standards...."
In 2014 the company moved from AIM to the Standard Segment of the Main Market on the London Stock Exchange.
At that point onwards the rules for The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers apply.
However as the major shareholder was already more than 50%, they would have been granted an exception by the takeover panel from rule 9 of the takeover code.
The only limits in terms of % shareholding I think that now exist are that they should not:
1) go above 90% = must make cash offer for all remaining shares. Would breach listing rule of maintaining at least a 10% free float.
2) go below 50% = rule 9 of the takeover code would then re-apply if they later went back over 50% (unless they were granted another exemption from the panel)
Their percentage shareholding has since 2014 gone up a bit, then down a bit (they were diluted by new shares being issued). They also chose to have their bonds repaid in cash rather than convert to more shares.
So there is not a concerted trend to buy up shares at every opportunity
The company now is:
UK registered office
UK share register
UK shares main market (standard) listing (small secondary KaSE listing)
Kaz bonds AIX and small secondary KaSE listing
Kaz Mine, Plant, licences and operational offices.
Although the Moscow Stock Exchange has resumed issuing new bonds, the level of activity is very low, the interest rates are very high 17% - 20% and many russian banks have stopped all currency transfers to other countries except for rubles.
ibug,
If you need a line in a report to remind you that airports were shut the skys were free from planes, that ferries and cruise ships were layed up, that people were no longer going to work, that businesses shut, that full oil tankers remained moored because there was drastically reduced demand for crude, then your memory may need testing. 2020 and 2021 were not normal years for most people.
ibug,
Picking the supply demand figures for 2020 is only relevant if you expect pandemic lockdown to be the new normal mode with no travel, no business activity, low consumption .
Before the pandemic hit, plans were for a rebalancing of the UK refinery capacity to closer match the UK demand. More heavy UK oil would have been refined in the UK to make diesel for UK vehicles.
Or monday.
https://www.pura.go.tz/news/apt-tpdc-commended-for-implementation-of-upstream-petroleum-projects
"...capacity building workshop organised by the ARA Petroleum LCC from Oman that is undertaking a project of drilling the Chikumbi-1 well in Mtwara Region...."
"...the General Manager of ARA Petroleum, Mr Erhan Saygi said so far, they have created employment opportunities for 200 Tanzanians, who are taking part in the execution of the project."
"We are also employing local companies to perform the work of drilling," he noted, adding that the project will be accomplished in 2023, whereas the gas will be used for the next 25 years. .."
Various Tanz Oil and Gas people PURA ,TPDC speak to ARA at local employment workshop (today?).
https://dailynews.co.tz/news/2022-03-02621f1ac7d46f7.aspx
The company that makes the seismic nodes, posted on 24-02-2022 that the work had started.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strydefurther
" 37,000 STRYDE Nodes™ are currently being deployed in Tanzania by seismic acquisition contractor, Africa Geophysical Services LLC (AGS) to enable a 3D seismic survey for oil and gas exploration.
Sherif Younis, Field Geophysicist at AGS is featured in this photo using our custom-made deployment backpacks, which are capable of transporting up to 90 Nodes per person, and designed to hold our Navigation Tablet, rope-spool, and Initialisation Device™ for highly efficient deployment and retrieval operations. "
As the oil is waxy, it is expensive to store (requires heating) so the oil pipeline should be finished before the oilfields start producing.
Total say that the oilfields "...are expected to start producing in 2025 ..."
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/TTE/totalenergies-uganda-and-tanzania-launch-of-the-lake-albert-resources-development-project/15311248
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TPDC who are 15% partners in the pipeline have today updated the format of their website.
https://tpdc.co.tz/
Pura and Tpdc reference maps differences?
Sept 2021
https://www.pura.go.tz/pages/reference-map
Nov 2021
https://tpdc.co.tz/activitymap.php
Tanesco criticised for focus on future power sources.
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/oped/tanesco-is-chasing-the-wind-again-in-the-dark-3655260
Slightest mention of Altyn, in russian.
https://qmonitor.kz/news/3188