Member Info for TigerByTheTail

The Burundi constitutional referendum seems to have passed off mostly peacefully. (The President won, of course, but that goes without saying). IMO, good news for Rainbow, as country risk is the biggest potential risk this company faces. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if we won't get the next drilling results (in June) before the company looks to raise new equity to fund the JORC (if that is indeed what it does).

Surely even the most impatient short-term investor understands to hold here until the Star Zinc estimates and the signing of the Glenover deal?!?

The Central African Copperbelt runs through the south of Congo and the north of Zambia. Unlike many other copper deposits, the CAC is also rich in cobalt. Thus, it produced (in 2016) about 10% of the world's copper supply, and 63% of the world's cobalt. Many of the copper mines in Zambia are quite old, and their large dumps and tailings are still rich in copper. (Up to 20% of the original copper content of the ore may still be present in the tailings. In some cases all of the cobalt will be there, too.) In short, these mines would be ideal partners for JLP and the new process that Leon Coetzer talked about in his last interview. I don't think BMR have anything to offer JLP in the way of copper assets (the previous CEO was simply a fantasist). But I do think a partnership with Vedanta (ir a similar copper mine operator) could be extremely worthwhile for JLP.

Strigner01 - Your prejudices are a bit out of date. Zimbabwe changing rapidly. Very big opportunities now. Hopefully, VAST can add to their recent acquisition there in the next few days / weeks.

Hi Moneyhawk! BMR copper tailings as fictional as the supposed copper plant at Kabwe. However, plenty of copper tailings in Zambia in the copper belt. They're rich in cobalt, too. Ideal for JLP's new process. A while back somebody on here suggested Vedanta might be JLP's new Zambian copper partner - with some likelihood, I thought.

Firstly, the market-makers are looking for shares. If you don't believe me, run a dummy order; they'll happily buy all you've got. To me, that indicates that the MMs have a large open "buy" order to fill - possibly from the same institutional investor who bought La Mine Petite's shares. IMO, tomorrow we'll get another drop on the opening, and maybe a final wash-out of all those who can be bullied and scared into selling. Secondly, DropInMonkey - your logic is brutal, but there's truth in it. If Dan and Bert can't get the share price up to reflect the true value of the company, then Hummingbird will get taken over. Simple as. If I were running a growing West African goldie with access to debt finance on fairly normal terms, I'd be making such an offer tomorrow. Right now 45p a share should take HUM out; 50p definitely would. Given HUM's cash-flows and growth potential, that's a steal.

Who else thinks there is a technical trade to be made here? Surely the issue of the new prospectus, the relisting to the LSE main market, and especially the new listing on the Spanish stock market is going to attract some new buyers for BKY shares? 10% SP gain over next month on technical factors alone? Thoughts, anybody?

RNS with annual results of 2017 out. The cash position is worth studying closely - was 2m GBP a couple of months ago. There will clearly need to be a placing at some point this year to fund all the planned exploration activities - but when?

https://www.herald.co.zw/government-working-on-new-diamond-policy/

IMO, Mali, Ghana, Botswana are all good places to be in Africa. (Nowhere is entirely risk free, of course). But, also, post-Mugabe, the former mining powerhouse of Zimbabwe is improving rapidly, and assets are incredibly cheap there. In contrast, Congo (DRC) seems to be losing credibility. Worldwide, I'd agree that developed countries are pricey, and that permitting there is often a problem. Russia is, of course, a big no.

I just read the board - good grief! In an attempt to correct a few misconceptions... 1. Africa is very big and very diverse. I can't imagine countries more different than, say, Morocco, Tanzania, Madagascar and Congo. So if you generalise about "Africa" and " greedy Africans" you will make mistakes (and cause considerable offence). 2. I recommend that anybody who invests in natural resources studies closely the link that Barnaberible posted. Here it is again: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/survey-of-mining-companies-2017.pdf It's a respected annual survey of which countries / states / provinces are most favourable to mining operations. If you turn to page 37, you'll see that Mali is the second best jurisdiction in Africa, just behind Ghana, but ahead of Botswana and South Africa. Over the years, the best jurisdictions for mining worldwide have been some Canadian provinces, some Australian states, Nevada (in the U.S.), and Finland. (That's why you'll pay a premium for the shares of miners with operations there). But Mali also posts very respectable scores. 3. Mali itself is very big - bigger than France - and very diverse. There are security issues in the north, on the edge of the Sahara, particularly with the nomadic Tuareg people. That's why there are UN peacekeepers in the country. But Yanfolila is as far away from this area as it is possible to be in Mali. It would be like not investing in Kent in the 1980s because of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. 4. The southwest of Mali is gold country. Many big Western miners (Randgold, Endeavour, B2, Iamgold, Anglogold Ashanti etc.) have operations there. I believe that not one of them has ever lost a day's production due to security issues. All in all, Mali isn't perfect, but it's a pretty solid rules-based place to be operating a gold mine. And, as others have noted, the Malian government owns a 20% share of Yanfolila. Finally, two other notes: 1. Hummingbird also own the 4.2m oz Dugbe project in Liberia. Liberia would be a substantially more challenging environment in which to build and operate a mine (rain forest, no infrastructure, etc.). All in all, I'm hoping that Hummingbird can sell Dugbe off to a major (as Dan Betts mooted in the last results conference call). IMO, it's too big and difficult and project for Hummingbird right now. I'm thinking Hummingbird might get something like $60m for it (plus a back-end royalty). 2. Don't assume that when trouble does hit in Africa it's only because the locals are "greedy and corrupt" and the Western mining company is "whiter than white". Acacia (ex-Barrick Africa) recently hit big legislative trouble in Tanzania. But the more you study that dispute in detail, the more you realise that Barrick and Acacia truly had it coming to them. (E.g. Acacia's security guards and the local police (in pay of the company) are estimated to have killed / murdered between 50 and 150 artisan miners

Both Giles Clarke and Tracarta have invested in duds before. Quite a few times, in fact. I suspect "reality to date" is quite simple - it is proving impossible to produce enough tantalum to make the mine pay its way. (Of course, that's only my opinion. Given the levels of self-imposed secrecy around this company, no outsider can ever know for sure. But perhaps that's a red flag in itself!)

I can't remember the exact year (2008?), but then the mining equipment stood abandoned in the hot desert sun for years before Kennedy Ventures (i.e. KZG now) bought it. (Which is presumably why so much of the kit has proved unreliable, and has since had to be replaced). If you need the precise year, I assume it will be mentioned in the old KENV RNSs.

FYI - It will be very difficult for KZG (i.e Kennedy Ventures) to get away another placing of any size without a very steep discount. The share-flippers are still smarting from the previous 6p placing. They lost money on it, despite forking out for a substantial sponsored tweet campaign to back it up, and they are more than a little resentful about it. This (I think) is why management here are looking to sell the Tantalite Valley Mine. It is seemingly currently loss-making, and they simply can't raise the new capital to progress it further. The trouble is, unless the new "blue sky" drilling turns up some extraordinary results, I can't really see the mine appealing to a buyer. It's not like it hasn't gone bankrupt before!

Hi Sands1971! I know, it's awful - SP only 50% up in a year, even given the current drift. And only 10,000+ ounces of gold poured in the first month of full commercial production, on target to achieve production guidance for this year. And only a very strong cash position, increasing by about $200,000 per day. And only very favourable recent broker notes from Mirabaud and Cannacord. And so on, and so on, and so on...

Zimbabwe press coverage of BOD / VAST joint venture... https://www.newzimbabwe.com/will-foreign-investors-help-zimbabwe-to-transform-itself/

Referendum day in Burundi. I don't think there is any doubt about the referendum's result - the constitution will be changed to allow the President to stay in power. The question is more whether the result will be accepted peacefully, or whether there will be serious civil unrest. Hopefully, Burundi can stay out of the news...

I've been wondering if a buy-out might be on the cards here, as well. Or, if not a full buy-out, whether a "strategic stake" isn't being acquired. My "most likely" candidate for corporate activity is Lynas Corp. - they have the money, they have the expertise, they have the beneficiation plant.

Hi Tones7777! Just to say I agree with your investment logic here. I'm a mild gold bull, but the real attraction here is the free cash flow that Hummingbird will generate, even with gold at "only" $1,250. Every day Hummingbird banks another $200,000 or so - that's really not too shabby. Sooner or later the market will catch up with the progress that Hummingbird have made on the ground. In the meantime, this share is simply a very strong buy.

Thanks for the name check, RH69! I came across this morning's RNS whilst checking my own shares. It's a very weird statement - I think it translates as, "we're winding down the mining operation, as we're still losing money on opex. Water is a real production problem (still!), and it's going to be too expensive for us to lay a pipe from the Orange river. And the drilling so far hasn't really turned up much interesting. So we're going to drill some "blue sky" holes in the hope of attracting a buyer for the whole damn thing, coz we're sick to death of it." All in all, I'm very glad I took my loss when I did. I'm very sorry for all here, and the lesson for us all should be, NEVER INVEST IN A COMPANY WITH ANY CONNECTION TO GILES CLARKE!