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For those interested, Tharisa (THS) have their JSE-mandated "preview" of their interim results out this morning.
I won't get into the rather pointless subject of which is doing better, THS or SLP. But I will challenge anybody to find me a third company (debt free, dividend paying, well-run, highly profitable, stable) which is doing as well as these two.

Hi Xenor!
Yes, there is a certain lack of perspective on this board these days. This is a working copper mine in a safe jurisdiction with a viable turnaround plan led by a CEO with an excellent record in such things, all set against the background of a copper bull market, and all for £40m.
(And that's without putting any value on the two abandoned copper mines, which aren't past of my investment case, but just represent unknown blue sky upside for me).
Anyway, it's on these lulls it is good to accumulate.

Hi Salting's!
Yep, that's about it.
It's worth adding that RMM also have (existing) copper exploration results to die for - one hole is 75m at 9% copper. Let's see if Chesterfield (or almost anybody else) can beat that!

Hi Sotolo!
A few random thoughts:
1. The market doesn't seem to react much to these JSE-mandated results "previews". Rather, it will wake up when the interim results themselves are published next week. I've had good results on buying on these types of "preview" RNSs in the past, not just with THS, but also with (in particular) PAF.
2. Be careful with P/E ratios. They are not the best way to measure the success of a debt-free company like Tharisa, which is investing heavily in the future at the same time as turning a good profit. Yes, numbers of less than 5 (based on H1 earnings), and around 3.5 (based on about two months of current estimated H2 earnings) are attractive. But I'd argue that the overall picture of company health is even better than this. Perhaps EV/EBITDA is a better metric.
3. Yes, our seller is still here. Hopefully, Larus is right and they are finishing up.
4. The dividend here is officially "a minimum of 15% of NPAT", which is not a generous payout in the abstract. (It's usually around 17.5% of NPAT, which implies a very dividend cover of about 6:1.) It's remarkable that this will translate into something like a 5% yield for this financial year; which is a decent return by anybody's standards.

No, that Dugbe RNS really doesn't change much at all. In fact, I'm surprised that Pasofino bothered to report those results - it smells of desperation.
I still have massive doubts about the viability of the Dugbe project - they need at least a few hundred thousand ounces at better grades, otherwise I doubt this project will ever be financed.
Think of the risks - Liberia, Ebola, very hard rock (costly to mill), hilly tropical jungle, no roads, no power, no educated workforce, total government corruption etc. Pasofino has to put forward a VERY strong economic case to overcome all these risk factors. And that's just not happening.

Can we ignore Border Bob, please?
By his own words, he put money into SQM today - even though SQM's operations may soon be curtailed / banned / taxed to death as Chile's new left-wing Constitutional Convention gets to grips with mining.
He's not a paid deramper, IMO. He's just a clueless idiot.

Well, at least that explains the odd behaviour of the share price on the day of the RNS. I was wondering about that.
Personally, I'm not impressed with DJ's pumping and dumping. I wouldn't want to do business with somebody like that, much less have him as a friend. But he's done nothing outside the rules.

Hi Perry!
And for that matter, Bob might want to think about recent anti-mining developments developments in Chile. SQM's share price dropped 10% yesterday after the results of the elections to the new Constitutional Convention were announced. It's looks more than possible that Constitutional Reform will either ban or sharply increase taxes on lithium brine mining there.

Hi Mr008!
And you believe that nonsense?!? They have been saying that for ages, and failing to do it.
And, if you look at the personal history of the directors, you might see why. Would you lend money to them?

Hi Ragner!
Now you're just waving a red rag at a bull...
JLP's mcap I can understand, even if I don't agree with it and think it carries a lot of risk. EUA's market cap surpasseth my limited human comprehension.

I just checked - the ever excellent PAF had to issue such a trading statement for their interims back in February. So it seems the JSE rule does apply even to interims.
THS's EPS for H1 FY 2020 was 3.6c per share. I'll eat my hat if Tharisa haven't beaten that by 20%. Or even by 200%.

THS - £390m mcap
SLP - £387m mcap
Much as I love SLP (and I don't think it is overvalued), this is a misprice. I won't go through all the arguments again, but (IMO) THS should trade at a mcap of 1.5:1 or 2:1 compared to SLP, and not 1:1.
I think the months of persistent selling (and price suppression) here have worn out the buyers here. Volume has dropped, and everybody is waiting for the interims.
Talking of which, shouldn't we get one of those JSE-mandated "trading updates" in the next day or two, informing us that THS's EPS will vary from its last set of figures by more than 20%?

It seems that some people on here do not understand the business model of companies like Atlas.
In essence, they are the Wonga payday lenders of corporate finance. They are not interested in the wellbeing of Vast and its shareholders. They don't give a damn about whether Vast is well-managed. They certainly don't want to call in their loan security on Baita Plai and end up with a Romanian copper mine on their hands. They just want their money back with a big slice of interest, and they don't care if they have to trash Vast's share price to do it.
It is highly unlikely Vast are generating enough cash to pay off the loan, or will do so in the near future. Vast need every penny and more of cashflow to keep operating Baita Plai, make some necessary improvements, and to pay for their very high corporate overhead. So Atlas (or the their brokers) will go short in the market, convert a tranche of their "death spiral" loan to shares at 10% lower than the VWAP, close the short, pocket the cash, and then do it all over again and again, forcing Vast's share price ever downwards.
Some companies survive this ruinous experience; many don't. Atlas don't care as long as they get paid.
Andrew Prelea signed up for this, he should have known where this leads.

I would have thought that the acquisition value - if there is indeed a sale (which I doubt) - is almost certainly going to be lower than EUA's current mcap.
The assets - in the real world - are worth only a fraction of the fantasy numbers thrown around on this board. That or ALL other PGM assets in the world are vastly underpriced in comparison. There's nothing special about EUA's rather jumbled bag of early stage Russian exploration prospects; nothing which would justify a 1000% or more premium over other PGM assets around the world.
For once, the Motley Fool is asking the right question.

IMO, Atlas will convert sooner rather than later and sell off their newly issued shares (thereby depressing Vast's share price even more).
After the dismal failure of the first mine plan for Baita Plai, and assuming they are not idiots, Atlas have to be concerned for the safety of their investment (which is secured against Baita Plai). They will want their capital back asap.
I wouldn't put it past Andrew Prelea to place new equity either. Yes, I know he said more or less the opposite in a recent RNS, but liars lie - that's what they do!

Ruthenium rocketing upwards - now $600 / oz (JMAT). That's a 15 bagger over the last four years, and up more than 100% this year.
Iridium still $6,300 / oz and rhodium $28,400 / oz, so overall PGM basket price very high, but not quite at an all-time high.

There is a "death spiral" convertible loan in place. It is NOT "rational" to buy Vast shares until this loan is somehow settled. The share price can and most likely will still fall a lot further yet.
Would be investors also need to consider the fact that they are entrusting their money to proven greedy and incompetent directors.
Yes, copper fundamentals are appealing. But that does NOT necessarily mean this company will be a successful investment.

Here's another article:
www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/15/record-metals-boom-may-threaten-transition-to-green-energy

UG2 chrome ore prices up on improved buyer sentiment
The UG2 chrome ore market ticked up for the first time since March of this year in response to increased buyer interest over the week to Tuesday May 11, sources said.
Fastmarkets’ chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China price assessment was $150 per tonne on May 11, a rise of $1 (0.67%) from $149 per tonne a week earlier.
“The number of inquiries we received was the highest for three months,” a chrome ore seller said. “Market fundamentals haven't really changed but market sentiment strengthened due to the bullish downstream steel sector and concerns over seaborne shipments amid volatile freight rates.”
Similarly, the portside chrome ore market also firmed on renewed demand from smelters, sources said.
Also, I can't find any new news about the mooted chrome export tax - I can't say the idea has been definitively dropped, but months have now passed without any developments.
Finally, South Africa is sadly entering the third wave of Covid, particularly in Gauteng Province (i.e. Johannesburg), and it looks like tighter restrictions will be introduced on social gatherings. But we're miles away from any restrictions on an open cast business like Tharisa, and I think there is no appetite for a workplace shutdown again. It might not be so good for supporters of the Lions, though!

The Russian saying for what you're doing is "to divide up the skin/pelt of an unkilled bear".
It's considered extremely bad luck to do it - for (in one version of the tale) the bear comes and kills the hunters as they are planning to share out the spoils.
The Final Sales Process has concluded without a deal. It failed. Yes, the RNS went on about a possible sale later, but anybody who places their trust in that is being foolish. Given that nobody has made a firm bid for EUA for so long the likelihood is that nobody ever will - especially at EUA's current crazily overvalued market cap.
In short, the bear is unkilled. Counting out your winnings before you have them will just lead to bigger disappointment later.