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We await the revised costs following CC's pruning exercise but we still have the overhead of BE, Belco and Lemur all of which are not providing any income streams. We also have the previously agreed wage increase (from April?) , a legacy from FMs 2022 deal.
There is also the minor matter of the 7 million payment due at the end of this quarter , although an option exists to roll this over the associated increased costs are high. Need an update asap from CC.
I agree but suspect this endgame has been playing out for some time with the various interested parties positioning themselves with an eye on the core assets, i.e. the mines. I think the removal of BEE interest was part of this , it removed a major obstacle in the event of a fire sale/liquidation.
I don't understand why he hasn't jettisoned BE yet, it looks like Lemur cannot be given away. How long this can limp along is unclear, but it will be the PIs who will lose out. Always do, especially on AIM. If the company had focused on its core business (vanadium to the steel sector) and left the energy side alone it would be in a far better position and not on the brink of insolvency.
The company has run out of cash, it has not got the funds to pay these creditors, and I assume with that does not have any overdraft facilities with the bank, assuming whatever they had is already up to or possibly beyond its limit. Everything would be pointing to it depending on this money reaching the company from SPR at the end of this month. Quite why the position has escalated to such a serious nature is worrying, I think there was an assumption that we had a bit of cash to carry us over in an emergency situation which this is.
I am wondering what the non-executive directors were doing and how fortune was pushed out. It should've happened at least a year before it did. I know that the non-exact directors changed in 2022 with three new appointments, but one of them resigned after a few months and as far as I can tell has never been replaced.
Three major factors now need to happen. The money from SPR at the end of the month. A reduction in the companies operating costs, and an increase in the price of vanadium.
The money has been promised and all we can do there is wait. We know Craig has implemented cost-cutting measures but we need to know what effect they have had. It may take some time for the picture to become clearer here, but we certainly need to have reduced our operating and other costs.
One thing that does concern me is this five year wage agreement fortune agreed with the unions for Vanchem in 2022, at a rate of 6.5% each year. Is this going to negate any cost gains as it is going to be very difficult to get out of or amend. The price of vanadium is completely outside the company's control but at present there is no sign of any sort of recovery in the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately the damage done by FM and his over ambitious vision of where the company was going has proved unrealistic and a very expensive mistake. It really should have been flagged earlier by whoever is supposed to be auditing the company strategy - NEDs ?? However the debacle with SPR is down to CC, he brought them in.
I don't know if there is any background manoeuvres to gain control of the Vanadium assets, by Orion or whoever else.
With regard to the price of vanadium the US market has been relatively flat since early October. That is our main market. I am hoping that the cutbacks CC has been implementing will result in more profitability for the company. We seem to have a figure of between $5 and $7 for each kilogram which was allocated to hidden or administrative costs which obviously affects the bottom line. I know he won't be able to eradicate all of this, we still have Lemur and the electrolyte plant to service but I believe he is looking to dispose of these as and when he can. He may also be able to reduce the operational costs which he hinted at, an overall saving of $5 kg could make all the difference whilst the price of V remains at current levels.
The only problem is that it is going to take some time to find this out - Q1/Q2? My other concern is the lack of a CFO, I know someone is filling in, but this is a crucial role in the company
The recents RNS's relating to the equity refinancing have definitely had a very serious negative impact on sentiment which was already very low. It comes over as a series of bad excuses, changing over the various notices, starting off as a delay due to holidays and assurances being given which were never met.
This all coming on the back of the selling off of various assets , and the complete repositioning of the company to a pure miner/processor. The electrolyte front has gone quiet, I expect that to join the sell off list at some point, I don't think CC sees this as core business have heaven knows how much has been squandered by the company on this and other ventures.
Well Sattar is hoping to buy some cheap bmn stock on Monday, just tweeted he is funding it from Reabold stock. Obviously expecting a drop and looking to trade to try and recoup losses. Too many trying to play that game
I still cannot find any information on SPR to determine whether their credibility is affected, the only information is what was released in the RNS's. There is a Uk registered company which has three directors and nothing else , no filings or reported assets having been formed in 2023 and incorporated last year. Even the SA mining presss don't know anything about them, aside from it was set up my mining entrepreneurs.
No, I think he reassessed the risk exposure he had due to the large number of shares he held. The situation has changed quite dramatically ib the last 6 months or so. We don't know how many he has sold as he has now gone below the reporting threshold. My guess he has top sliced and retained some based on a couple of his twitter posts. He could have stuck the boot in but didn't, which implies to me he still has some.
I don't think he has lost as much as some think, though has sold below purchase price. He has definitely bought some sub 2.
CC How do you know Sattar purchased at 3p? He bought shares over time and some of his purchases look sub 2. The SP has not been 3p since July. , his first trq was end July following a high volume day. Nor sure about the stop loss theory, but not entirely sure what is being played out. One thing is that the last rns could have been worded less suicidal as thats really spooked the market.
Always questioned if the company are that bothered what the sp is at times. Also note we still don't have a CFO.
The company announced to the market yesterday that production has been constrained, it has suspended other operational activities and deferred creditor payments. Without any detail that could be quite far reaching and have a wider impact, they probably need to clarify what this effects and any financial implications. Notwithstanding they may have to consider suspending operations. What a mess.
I think the company was far closer to administration when FM was in charge that people realise hence why he was booted, alarm bells have been sounding on this for a long time. Always believed CC is trying to salvage something but ultimately this will be taken private, and there are numerous routes to achieve that. The amount of money that has been wasted over the last few years is mind blowing.
Its hardly surprising as SPR have no information listed against them, no sight of any assets and what they actually do. Nothing filed regarding accounts as its a fairly new company. The delay due to xmas/new year is weak, I'd guess they have been having trouble contacting anyone at SPR. It would not be the first dodgy company BMN has dealt with.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14312609/filing-history
The timing of this is interesting. She was on the teleconference call only last week for the third quarter update. She gave an update on the financial side. If CC has discovered something, it’s surfaced after that. She will have been heavily involved in aspects of the Orion loans, and with FM being out of the way she was probably the only one left with detailed knowledge of that.
This is not good, he has somebody move up to hold the fort temporarily whilst someone else can be recruited, but these things can, and will, take time.
I have operated stop losses at various points from 17p down (when the directors started selling - red flag) and now have 20%ish of what I had three years ago , having sold some in the 20s/30s before that. You need to have a risk plan on AIM. The only people who will get rich off this if the v price remains suppressed are SGPR,Orion and the Bushveld Management.
The company has not got 5 years let alone 10. It needs the vanadium price to go up to get profitable to be able to service the huge debts, and the continue being profitable to pay the increased costs it is encountering (wages,diesel,etc). I sense the vultures are now circling, some pieces have already been stripped away.
How long is Craig Coultman going to be around? he has not updated his linkedin profile to show Bushveld but his two other roles are there. FM has a lot to answer for , so do the non-Exec directors, what is the point of them? They are supposed to act for the stakeholders and monitor executive directors.