Last checked at 
6 Feb 2018 07:00
BAKER STEEL RESOURCES TRUST LIMITED
(Incorporated in Guernsey with registered number 51576 under the provisions of The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 as amended)
6 February 2018
31 January 2018 Unaudited NAV Statement
Net Asset Value
Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited (the "Company") announces its unaudited net asset value per share at 31 January 2018:
Net asset value per Ordinary Share: 53.4 pence
Since 29 December 2017 the NAV per share has decreased by 6.0%, primarily due to a fall in the share price of Ivanhoe Mines on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the fall in the US$ exchange rate against Sterling.
The Company had a total of 116,139,980 Ordinary Shares in issue with a further 700,000 shares held in treasury as at 31 January 2018.
Portfolio Update
The Company's top 10 investments are as follows as a percentage of NAV:
Polar Acquisition Ltd | 37.8% | |
Bilboes Gold Limited | 12.9% | |
Cemos Group plc | 9.8% | |
Ivanhoe Mines Limited | 9.6% | |
Metals Exploration plc | 6.4% | |
Queensland Coal Investment Holdings Ltd | 4.6% | |
SME Inc | 4.5% | |
Black Pearl Limited Partnership | 4.0% | |
PRISM Diversified Inc | 4.0% | |
Nussir ASA | 3.4% | |
Other Investments | 1.8% | |
Net Cash, Equivalents and Accruals | 1.2% | |
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Investment Update
Ivanhoe Mines Limited ("Ivanhoe")
Shares in Ivanhoe fell 17% during the month following reports that the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") parliament had approved a new mining law that increased mining royalties from 2% to 3.5% as well as introducing a "super profits" tax of 50% if the relevant commodity price rises by more than 25% above that used in a mine's feasibility study. The bill will not become law until it has been signed by the President of DRC and if it does Ivanhoe could take the DRC to international arbitration following its agreement with the DRC government in 2016 which ceded 15% of the local company to the state.
Metals Exploration plc ("Metals Ex")
On 22 January 2018 Metals Ex announced its quarterly update to 31 December 2017. Production from the Runruno gold mine in the Philippines for the quarter totalled 11,236 ounces gold taking total production for the year to 36,006 ounces of gold compared to around 100,000 ounces of gold targeted in full production. The Investment Manager undertook a site visit during January 2018 to achieve a better understanding of the difficulties the Runruno gold mine has encountered. The majority of the operations appeared to be working well however the key technical issue is for Metals Ex to achieve the requisite throughput and recoveries from the BIOX® circuit.
Overall during the fourth quarter the Runruno gold mine generated positive cashflow despite achieving only 50.8% recovery compared to the feasibility study target of over 90%. However current cashflow is insufficient for the servicing interest and capital repayments on its project debt and Metals Ex is in discussions with lenders to restructure the debt facility.
Should Metals Ex be able to solve its issues with the BIOX® this would transform production and therefore revenue with a high majority of this passing through to operating profit.
PRISM Diversified Inc (formerly Ironstone Resources Limited)
During January 2018, Ironstone Resources Limited changed its name to PRISM Diversified Inc ("PRISM") to position itself for its commercialisation stage of development and to reflect PRISM's focus on process and technology together with manufacture of strategic commodities.
After successful preliminary tests revealed efficient lithium concentration from a reservoir brine sample on PRISM's permit (using leading-edge patented technology), the company quadrupled its permit holdings in the Peace River Region. PRISM now holds permits over 1.88 million acres, the largest contiguous block of metallic and industrial mineral permits in Alberta. PRISM plans to conduct further studies on its carbonyl iron powder and lithium carbonate projects in 2018.
Further details of the Company and its investments are available on the Company's website www.bakersteelresourcestrust.com
Enquiries:
Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited +44 20 7389 8237
Francis JohnstoneTrevor Steel
Numis Securities Limited +44 20 7260 1000
David Benda (corporate)
James Glass (sales)
The Net Asset Value ("NAV") figure stated is based on unaudited estimated valuations of the underlying investments and not necessarily based on observable inputs. Such estimates are not subject to any independent verification or other due diligence and may not comply with generally accepted accounting practices or other generally accepted valuation principles. In addition, some estimated valuations are based on the latest available information which may relate to some time before the date set out above.
Accordingly, no reliance should be placed on such estimated valuations and they should only be taken as an indicative guide. Other risk factors which may be relevant to the NAV figure are set out in the Company's Prospectus dated 26 January 2015.