Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Pilitick, you're quite right, there has been no explanation as to why they want to remove Zhang and Ma. There were unfounded rumours put about by the Board that they could not get a new Nomad with Chinese directors on the Board. This does not stand up to scrutiny. What I have heard, however, is that no Nomad will touch ANR having done their due diligence on Zorbas and Hogan - the puppet masters in this scandal. Please see my post last Thursday 14.42. It sets out Zhang's admirable strategy to get us on our feet again.
There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that Nick Lyth is touting his CV around the City looking for work as his current CEO role will soon become part-time. Is this someone who is committed to developing the business? What is his plan?
The share price is now at an all time low under Nick Lyth. As you know, a number of long- term shareholders have been in touch with Mr Zhang to ask what his plans are for Altona for 2019, and why shareholders should vote against the resolutions to remove him and Mr Ma Chi from the Board.
Here are his reasons to remain as a director:
" 1. Altona's most valuable resource is the coal resource in Australia. Nick Lyth was trying to find a mining expert to explore around the edge of the three tenements, with shallow buried coal seams. The plan was not supported by Wintask and Sino- Aus, who are still focused on UCG technology and coal-chemical production which is very popular in China. Sino -Aus is still very supportive of UCG and is prepared to invest the $Aus 35m which it set aside in 2015 for the project.
2. Currently, we have good news, which is that Leigh Creek Energy has done UCG successfully at their site close to Arkaringa, and the production of the first syngas occurred on the 10th October 2018. It means UCG is developing under the support of the South Australia Government. Mr Zheng, from Leigh Creek Energy, has invited me to visit their demonstration on site.
3. We have to wait for the opportunity and make a breakthrough in our coal resource in Australia, because under the support of the South Australia Government, Leigh Creek Energy has completed the preliminary work of UCG, and soon they are going to the stage of commercial production. We have 7.8 bn tonnes of coal, which is suitable for the development of UCG, and if we focus our efforts on the UCG project, we may get incalculable benefits. We will enter into discussions with Tri Star Energy who hold the PELA which we require.
4. I have also made a proposal to the Board before about investing in a vanadium mine with Altona. There is a very big vanadium mine in China with very good quality of ores. Currently, the price of vanadium pentoxide is 460,000 RMB per tonne. I'm not familiar with the international price but I think it will be more than this price. I suggested the Board include this project into Altona, and I also sent documents and information to the Board. However, they did not recognise it.
5. I get the feeling that they wanted to be involved in the plastic to power ( pyrolysis) generation project. I do not recognise this project because many poisonous gases are released when processing waste plastics, including dioxin which is a big headache of environment protection organisations all over the world.
6. Both this and the new Leinad are involved with John Zorbas's company in Canada, and Leon Hogan and I do not think they are acting in the best interests of shareholders, but for themselves. I am trying to prevent this continuing."
My understanding john389 is that Mr Zhang and Mr Ma were both misled and misinformed by Lyth and his so called associates. They were certainly not appraised of the disastrous failure to secure the Petroleum Exploration License ( PEL) until too late. They have been kept in the dark as to what was really going on. Hold your fire: let's see what Mr Zhang and Mr Ma have to say. We shall know soon enough.
Thank you MCAMikeB. You're quite right: we should know very soon Mr Zhang and Mr Ma's strategy for Altona for 2019 and beyond. Nick Lyth has proven to be quite useless since he took over. The Market knows this, witness the almost complete collapse in the SP and investor confidence. He has surrounded himself with chancers who know nothing about running a business and are purely in for their own selfish personal gains. Let's see the back of them.
That's right Nightgaunt. And please spread the word to like-minded shareholders who want to see ANR back on its feet again.
Night gaunt - that is correct about the email.
Please note we have had extensive discussions with Zhang Qinfu and Ma Chi. They have a clear and plausible strategy for 2019 and beyond should they remain on the Board. This will be shared with investors shortly.
We must defeat both resolutions to remove Zhang Qinfu and Ma Chi from the Altona Board. We have received no explanation from Leon Hogan, Nick Lyth and Robert Hales as to why they have served the shareholder requisition notice. Since Hogan, Lyth, Zorbas and their appointed puppets on the Board became involved, the SP has collapsed with hare- brained schemes, meaningless MoUs, all designed to shore up a rapidly falling SP. They have no prospect for success or revenue.
Mr Zhang and Mr Ma add stability and independence to a board which apart from them lacks all credibility in the market and with potential investors. No Nomad will touch Altona at the moment. Mr Zhang and Mr Ma are highly successful businessmen committed to Altona's success in the Arkaringa basin. They have the financial backing. Yes, they have been quiet but they have badly misled by board members, particularly over the Petroleum Exploration License. Please join the shareholder action group to defeat the Resolutions. You can find the email address if you go to the website (www.leanderpr.com) More information to follow on how we can crush the resolutions. If we don't, that's the end of Altona and our money. Thank you.
Quite right reggie72 and jonny_five, we don't buy a word of it. You know it's a smokescreen as soon as InvestingGenious, that is Hogan, puts out an immediate post to try his usual ramp. And Lyth on another jolly to Australia. As the Aussies say, ' big hat, no cattle'. We all know their game now; their comeuppance will come soon enough.
No date as yet for the General Meeting for the shareholder requisition, or AGM. Lyth and his ' disreputables' will be cooking up a meaningless RNS, ' jam tomorrow' so as to win support. Don't believe a word of it. Lyth couldn't run a tea trolley.
You may have to hide behind the sofa as you read the posts on URU metals on LSE by ' King77'. Read about Zorbas's conduct. Terrifying. We're in a parallel world.
Smallcappyscho - always good to see you're still in the game. Lyth is a coward and doesn't return any calls from shareholders except his fellow gangsters; I suspect he'll try and have the AGM in some place that we will find difficult to get to. And remember, we need the element of surprise - first principle of attack if my memories from Sandhurst are correct. As soon as we now the date of the AGM, I'll try and co-ordinate a meeting.
Reggie, you would have thought it's an incentive for Lyth; what a hill to climb though as the SP needs to reach £25 in today's money for his options to kick in. No doubt, they'll change the goalposts at the AGM.
I see that several of Jones's AIM companies with which he has been involved have gone into liquidation. Beacon Hill Resources has uncanny parallels with Altona. If you were putting a Board together of AIM of professional ' bottom feeders', this Board would be it.
Pretty well what I expected. Sadly, Lyth for the moment is relatively safe as he's shored up by Hogan, Zorbas etc. They have the shares. Good to see Sutherland finally hoofed out after ten years high on the hog with no results whatsoever.
Timothy Jones's record is hilarious : look at Beacon Hill, Falklands Oil and gas and Xcite. You couldn't make it up.
Not one of the Board knows how to run a business, let alone something as complex as Pyrolysis technology. What happened on the US junket? Looking forward to the AGM.
I'm not going to betray any confidences. I don't need to : just look at the SP price collapse. None of us have sold - what's the point? Mr Zhang can't do anything. He no longer has enough shares - they're with Lyth and his cronies.
If a respected Chinese businessman says ' may you live in interesting times', he doesn't mean ' well done, now go and enjoy yourself'. Rest assured, we're not going to let Lyth et al get away with this shambles. Anytime soon he will be working the till in a new McDonald's franchise in Russia's Vostok Station in Antarctica.
And very promptly. I have forwarded Quinfu Zhang's response to the Nomad and to those shareholders I know personally. It would wrong for me to share his response on line. But I can summarise it by referring to the old Chinese proverb, ' May Mr Lyth live in interesting times'.
A number of shareholders have now written to Quinfu Zhang, the ANR chairman expressing our grave concern about the company's mismanagement, lack of strategic direction, poor corporate governance and reputational damage under Mr Lyth. Quinfu Zhang bought in at £14 a share in today's money ; that's now £1. The Chinese do not like ' losing face' let alone a heap of money. Let's hope we can soon say ' hasta la vista' to Lyth and his cronies.
Zorbas and Hogan have been a big part of the problem. They're investors but their continuing involvement means no sane person/ new investor will have anything to do with ANR. The rest of the Board are completely useless. Sutherland in Australia should have nailed the Native Title Heritage survey years ago. Too many snouts in an almost empty trough. We need a clean sweep of the whole lot of them, but who would want to take this mess on?
My informants tell me that we can expect an RNS soon with Lyth falling on his sword. Not before time. Completely out of his depth, he's driven the company into the ground. The share price manipulation may, as jono44 has correctly pointed out, have serious consequences, legal or otherwise.
ANR's chief executive, Nick Lyth, completely disappeared into his bunker reminiscent of Adolf H in the film ' Downfall' No longer capable of returning emails and telephone calls, he lives in a fantasy world of MoUs, breakthroughs by mythical pyrolysis divisions, fairytale trips at our expense to the USA to grovel for reinforcements, and fake news/ RNSs disseminated to veterans shareholders. No chance of another Nomad coming to his aid. SP 0.10 in old money by November 30th.