Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Tuan stated that the banks own the company and the company has no inherent value. Untrue on both counts. Scaremongering.
Fully accept a range of outcomes including wipeout possible, but for people to post complete rubbish is not acceptable.
Complete rubbish to state that the 65% completed mine holds no value. How did they get the original loan against the green field site if it had no value? Why would La Mancha seize control of the board if administration was to be the outcome? Then the senior debt banks really do own it and the major shareholders can lose everything - La Mancha, Glencore, Orion etc.
Stop deliberately scaremongering and misleading.
I think if a bridging loan is arranged and announced, and hopefully quickly, the share price would rapidly rebound as the intentions of the new board would be more clear.
In fact, even a clear statement of intent would be enough.
The longer it goes without that statement, the more nefarious the board’s intentions start to look and the SP will drift accordingly.
If JM’s final announcement is to be believed the money dries up in mid-December, so not too long to wait IMO.
I re-read the August 4th construction update RNS last night and noticed that there was no reference to whether the project was on-budget, in contrast to previous announcements. It is my hunch that they were aware of overspend at that time although not necessarily the extent. Who knows, just speculating.
I think we’ll know before Christmas as the cash is due to run out by then. There will have to be a cash injection pending a more comprehensive plan if this is to continue as a listed company. The RNS was pretty clear they intend to keep building the mine. It’s just how and at what/who’s expense.
So at the moment cash runs out mid-December, but due diligence of the other parties completes mid Q1. So some sort of deal needs to be done just to keep the lights on until late Q1. I’m not sure how this will work, but it could be the beginning of the turnaround. Being below nominal does not help of course.
Is there precedent for banks releasing funds to keep the lights on whilst funding discussions continue when a company is distressed like this? The clock is very much against the company without more funds. Proper roller-coaster… This was supposed to be de-risked!
Your first point is pretty obvious. Your second point I would disagree with.
I get the feeling they are waiting for market/copper conditions to improve. Big buy from CEO is a big market of confidence.
I just wish they would hurry up now. I think it was supposed to be spades in the ground in 2019…
Is it possible that today’s RNS is intended to rattle Orion and La Mancha that they risk losing their holding unless they step in urgently? Even if it is I doubt it will work.
I have to say administration is looking likely - money is running out in six weeks.
Can a company of this size be sold in six weeks? Due diligence seems to take months these days.
I suspect anyone looking to buy the company will prefer to buy it out of administration and take their time. Any reason to jump in sooner than that?
Sadly the company is to blame for all of this. They went to the money markets with a firm plan to build the mine for sum x, and it turns out that the true figure is x +35%. Massive f-up.