Will a 93% takeover premium spur M&A drama?
First on the list today is a juicy takeover story. We start with a London-listed miner which just received a 93% take premium… which it rejected. We ended up unpacking most the mineral sands industry, looking to understand where the value is in this niche market.
We then ventured into the world of visible gold announcements, running through a plethora of outrageous announcements from years gone by.
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(0:00:00)Introduction
(0:01:49)Kenmare rejects 93% premium
(0:13:53)Will Rio do mineral sands M&A?
(0:26:02)Is Sovereign Metals a target
(0:37:20)The best visible gold announcements ever
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Right eye buddy miners.
Welcome back to another week,
2
00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:04,840
boys.
You got a big bloody humdinger
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00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,920
of a segment deal in the big,
big cap space to go through
4
00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,400
here.
We do it it extrapolated
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00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,640
massively from the the initial
kind of story, but we're talking
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00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,320
mineral sands most of.
In small caps.
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00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,080
Yeah, Most of the mineral sands
players in that kind of niche
8
00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,640
part of the mining world.
And yeah, M&A has its big place
9
00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,280
in this story as well and a bit
of history as well that you you
10
00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,120
love Maddie.
I love Speaking of history on
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00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,360
the back of some visible gold
intersections.
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Today I'm going through visible
gold history slash visible gold
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00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:38,400
porn.
Really.
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00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,200
We've got a lot of bloody few
pictures and there's one picture
15
00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,920
I cannot get ahold of, but I'll
keep it for the money miners.
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00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:46,200
I think I know the one you're
talking about.
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Hmm, this was a photo from
underground.
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00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,800
Hmm, yes, did did the rounds
maybe like five years ago.
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Was it maybe 90, 90?
He was in the 90s, so.
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00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:00,200
That's a bit more than oh mate.
Elusive from the photo anyway,
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00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,320
I'm a bit slow today boys.
I just had a gut full of
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00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,280
Italian.
Down at 6011.
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Cheers sals.
I'm a bit bloody parched
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actually.
Hold on, I've just got to get a
25
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,800
water.
Hey Gerard, James, can you get
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us some water mate?
WA water boards?
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I could get you a bloody drink
of water if you want.
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Direct to your hand.
That's the relationship we have
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with him mate.
Great to have him back in the
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back in the team finding water
for the WA mining industry.
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Buddy and matey can find water
and get rid of the water if they
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want.
But he's but the mines are
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parched.
He gets him, he gets some.
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Water he's he's ending around
Mount Franklin's like they're
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going out of fashion up at site.
So mate, you want anything water
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bore drilling related?
Gerard James at the team at WA
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Water Bores.
He'll go anywhere as well.
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Anywhere he will go.
Any I know where for a fact
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he'll go anywhere.
He'll get and he'll do anything
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for you.
Right lads?
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Take it away.
What's going on?
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00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,680
Riya, Tinto, Kenmar and Oryx
Global.
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00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,600
Yeah, exactly.
And we've been taught Maddie
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that it's Ken Mayer, apparently.
So I know how grating it can be
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00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,320
listening to a podcast and
somebody sort of pronounces
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things and I'm sure.
We do this Kenmare, Kenmar.
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Kenmar Which?
Is exactly how I pronounced it
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to start with, but we've been
taught it's a.
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Kenmare Yeah, that's obvious,
yeah.
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It's a company from Dublin,
they're based in Ireland and
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listed on the LSE.
So there was an eye-catching
52
00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,440
takeover attempt on Friday that
came out Maddie Orix Global.
53
00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,200
This new sort of PE shop, which
will give a bit of a one O 1 on
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00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,840
in a moment teamed up with
Michael Carville, who's the
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00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,360
former managing director of Ken
Mare resources.
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00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:37,400
It only left in September of
last year and they came in to
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try and take over his old
business bidding at a 92%
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premium.
The the last close, so is.
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That Cash, Cash, all cash, all
cash, all cash.
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There's a fair bit.
To this one, all right, mate.
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So.
So who are The Who are the
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00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,280
parties involved?
So we've got Ken Mare, like I
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said, LSE listed, Dublin based.
They've been around quite a
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00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,440
while.
They were a oil and gas shell
65
00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,280
back in the day, 70s and 80s.
And then and then Michael came
66
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,520
along in 8687 and sort of took
the company to what it is today.
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He's run the company for about
four decades.
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00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,400
So the company itself operates
the MoMA titanium mine in
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Mozambique.
This one came into production in
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2007, fourth largest producer in
the world of titanium
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feedstocks.
So we're talking ilmenite,
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00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,720
brutal zircon, all these kind of
products and that makes up a bit
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00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:35,080
under 10% of global supply, one
of these mega long lived assets
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00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,480
sort of 100 years they say at.
100 and my life.
75
00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,400
Crazy crazy.
So I assume it.
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00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,400
Like there's probably more
beyond that too.
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If you've got 100 years, there's
probably some other shit you can
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take.
Too, There's no point counting
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beyond that kind of irrelevant
at that point.
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00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:53,360
The the company after the share
price bump is capped at £360
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00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:58,080
million and it's also in a bit
of an investment phase right
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00:03:58,080 --> 00:03:59,880
now.
So they've guided to $150
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00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,280
million to be spent this year
alone.
84
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,360
That project that they're kind
of in the midst of comes in at a
85
00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,680
total of $340 million.
It's already kind of exceeded
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00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,280
initial plans, which has
agitated a few shareholders out
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00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,240
there.
So in the context of all of
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00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,399
this, you've got a mineral sands
market which has been fairly
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00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:21,600
weak since really the the back
end of 2022, which was a
90
00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,720
volatile time for the market.
More company specific.
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00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,720
You've got political upheaval
that we touched on late last
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00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,240
year following an election in
Mozambique.
93
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We saw miners like CSIRO as well
as S 32 were both impacted by
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00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,360
this and their operations in in
country there.
95
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,560
And added again to be a bit more
specific on Ken Mare is a few
96
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,360
question marks around royalty
agreements and these sorts of
97
00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,680
things, but won't dive too much
into that side note at the
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00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:51,240
moment.
How about how about Michael
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00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:53,440
Carville?
Yeah, so.
100
00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,080
Obviously knows the company
inside and out, ran it for the
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00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,160
best part of of four decades.
And it wasn't that long ago that
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00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,520
he kind of stepped down, stepped
down and became a consultant to
103
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,640
the business.
He's in his mid 60s now, but
104
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,600
clearly is a big believer in the
business, has always been a big
105
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,280
believer.
He was resistant to takeover
106
00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,560
attempts throughout the the 20
tens.
107
00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,920
But yeah, he's come back for
another part of the cherry and
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00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,040
you've got RX Global Partners,
the group that he's teamed up
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00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,080
with.
They're a relatively new private
110
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,600
equity group.
Some people might recall just
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00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,760
last week Elizabeth Gaines,
obviously the the former boss at
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00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:34,040
Fortescue Medals and Laura Tyler
who people might know from her
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00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,920
time at BHP as well as more
recently at at Adriatic.
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00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,680
They joined the team in in
varying kind of capacities just
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00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,760
last week.
So the group itself is Abu Dhabi
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00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,360
based, very limited info on
them, don't really know how much
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00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,120
capital they've got to deploy,
whether that cash is kind of in
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00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,440
the accounts yet or what kind of
stage they're at.
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00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,560
There's no other sort of big
deals that they've got their
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00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,320
name tied to as far as I could
kind of tell.
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00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,000
And their mandate is pretty
broad.
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00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,200
So they talk about looking at
opportunities through the entire
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00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,040
minerals value chain that can be
from mining itself to mining
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00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:10,000
tech related to services, power
generation, a whole suite of
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00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,920
things.
So there's, yeah, a bit more
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00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,600
questions than answers on the on
the front of Oryx Global, but
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I'm sure in due course we'll
find out a bit more about them.
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00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:25,680
So, so a bit of a bit of £5.30
cash, but the market didn't
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00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,320
didn't go anywhere near that
that share price.
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00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,200
So really, really interesting,
right?
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00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,080
So like you, like you said,
they're Trev, 5 lbs, thirty, all
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00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,600
cash.
Kenmark came out and rejected
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00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,520
it.
When they told the market about
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00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,720
this, they said that added
they'd given the consortium
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00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,240
access to limited due diligence
info, which is kind of funny
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00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:46,920
because I don't think there'll
be anyone in the world that
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00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,480
knows more about the business
than Michael given his sort of
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00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,520
tenure there.
But that'll perhaps help them a
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00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,880
little bit because of course,
these UK and or more
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00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,040
specifically Irish takeover
rules in in this case, those two
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00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,920
are kind of similar in the fact
that you guys will remember when
142
00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,320
we spoke about Anglo and BHP,
you've got these kind of put up
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00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,320
or shut up rules, they call them
within a sort of month or so.
144
00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,520
I think April 17th is the date
where they have to announce a
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00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,120
firm intention to make another
bid.
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00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,040
Or.
Walk away.
147
00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,040
But like you say, Trev, 93%
premium, but the stock only
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00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,480
closed up 40%.
So that tells you a fair bit
149
00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,920
about the the market's belief on
the bid itself, on the sort of
150
00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,400
solidness of the bid, you might
say on whether they might come
151
00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,240
back, what the kind of actual
intentions are.
152
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:34,800
It's yeah, it's an interesting
one, right?
153
00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,120
Totally.
It it tells you that the bid
154
00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:40,920
might have some uncertainty
about it in the market.
155
00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:45,000
Absolutely.
I mean, a Oryx, like you said,
156
00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,720
does, do we know how much money
they really have?
157
00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:48,920
Like there might be uncertainty
about that.
158
00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:51,480
The wording of the announcement
itself was kind of interesting.
159
00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,600
It said the most recent proposal
received was at a price of
160
00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:56,120
£5.30.
So there'd been previous
161
00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,920
proposals in place, but they've
chosen kind of now to disclose
162
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,360
to the market that they've
rejected a, a proposal.
163
00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:03,880
So what's the, what's the
rationale for that?
164
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,280
Is this like an attempt to try
and kind of elicit a, a, a
165
00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,480
competitive outcome with, with,
with other parties?
166
00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,720
Like what's, yeah, what's the,
what's the motives?
167
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,040
Regardless of what that is, what
the share price is telling you
168
00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,040
is that there's there's some
doubt about the the realness
169
00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,360
that this will convert into a
real offer.
170
00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,400
Yeah, it's, it's super, super
juicy that the wording again
171
00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,720
leaves a few more questions and
answers, but we're we're getting
172
00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,440
closer to what's going on.
And I think we should feel that
173
00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:28,760
the money mine is in on a bit of
history.
174
00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,080
We found out not that long ago.
We're talking about 2024 here.
175
00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:37,799
You got Rio Tinto as well as the
UA ES international resources
176
00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:40,600
holding those.
Both of those parties ran the
177
00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,240
numbers on Ken Med's sort of
been reported.
178
00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,720
So money miners, right might
remember IRH, that group, that
179
00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,640
really generically named group,
they came in with a last minute
180
00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,640
bid to buy 51 per stake in
Zambia's Mopani copper mines.
181
00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,520
So it's some famous assets and
they got very close to actually
182
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,360
picking up Con Cola also in
Zambia off Vedanta, some pretty
183
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,200
well known copper operations.
That one didn't pan out.
184
00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,520
And we'll talk a bit more to the
the Rio Tinto angle in a moment.
185
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,480
But this all came from an
activist investor, the big
186
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,960
london-based investor, Jo
Hambro.
187
00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,760
They ran a bit of an activist
campaign early last year.
188
00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:22,640
They got in touch with the
company.
189
00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,960
They put forward obviously a few
suggestions, one of them kind of
190
00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,160
being that perhaps more value
would be realized if this were
191
00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:34,320
to be merged into a bigger group
and didn't have that solo asset
192
00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,360
single, you know African
jurisdiction kind of rich risk
193
00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:39,960
associated to it.
And you know, I think at the end
194
00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,520
of the day, they were a bit
frustrated having seen their
195
00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,800
shareholding go up through 2122
and then write it back down.
196
00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,160
They wanted to see a bit more
action on that that price front.
197
00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,160
Is Ji related to heavy hambra?
Yes.
198
00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:54,600
What?
What brothers or some or?
199
00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,800
I think the firm goes back
longer and my understanding is
200
00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,680
Evie is one of the children.
Yeah, right.
201
00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,760
Yeah, go, Evie.
Yeah, it's a, it's a kind of
202
00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,840
important money manager and
family in in London there
203
00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:10,800
they're.
Right.
204
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:12,880
Come on the show whenever you
want, Ham Bros.
205
00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,760
Get back in touch.
So it was a bit more history,
206
00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:17,880
Maddie.
This is what I was referring to
207
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,080
earlier that I wanted to dig
into.
208
00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,440
And this is the the 20 tens.
And I've just found it super
209
00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,160
fascinating.
And I think it gives more
210
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,840
context to the the story that
we're talking about here.
211
00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,480
So the early twenty 10s Kenmare
is just flying.
212
00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,120
This is on the back of the China
boom.
213
00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,320
Everyone wants these titanium
feedstocks.
214
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,920
Global GDP is moving upwards,
specifically driven by that
215
00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,800
China boom.
Dow Chemical were apparently
216
00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,040
circling the company, as were
Rio Tinto back then, and they
217
00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:51,400
reportedly considered a £2.4
billion bid just be enormous,
218
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,040
but that didn't actually
eventuate.
219
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,560
It's got to be said that Ken
Mayer's Max valuation only
220
00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:59,800
peaked at £1.2 billion, but
that's still pretty lofty.
221
00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,920
And then unfortunately, as China
kind of cooled, you get to the
222
00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,680
point in 2014 where the sting
has really come out.
223
00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,920
The stock, they've taken up a
massive CapEx program to expand
224
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,200
production.
They've debt funded that, which
225
00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,920
has put them in a world of pain.
Aloka comes in and bids €500
226
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,920
million for the stock, but over
the next 18 months, they
227
00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,000
continue to revise that down as
conditions continue to fall and
228
00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,800
the ability for the company to
service its debt looks more and
229
00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,680
more precarious.
So at the end of the day, in
230
00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:36,360
about December 2015, about when
commodity markets are reaching
231
00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,320
an absolute low, Aloka just
walks away and they kind of call
232
00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:44,800
it and Kenmer OPS with the route
of a capital raise.
233
00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:49,560
And this capital raise is done
at a hugely dilutive price.
234
00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,760
There's a 90% dilution on all
the previous shareholders.
235
00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,720
So complete rapid
recapitalization of the
236
00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,600
business.
The previous equity investors
237
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,680
get wiped out.
The Armani monarchy, the
238
00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,680
Sultanate of Oman comes in and
takes a 30% stake in the
239
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,800
business.
And they over the last 10 years
240
00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,000
have bit by bit.
It took them a while, but
241
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,640
they've been selling into
buybacks and other capital
242
00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:15,800
returns programs from from the
company.
243
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,560
And the final little twist here
that I think is particularly
244
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,600
relevant to the the takeover is
that Ken Mayer signed up
245
00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,760
Rothschilds to be on defence for
them.
246
00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:30,520
And subsequent to that, about
four years ago now, you've got
247
00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,440
the lead banker who ran defence
for them, joined Ken Mayer as
248
00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,720
the chairman.
Then you've got the long time
249
00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,120
managing director step back from
the company and he's the one
250
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:42,320
who's now come and try to buy
it.
251
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,480
So there's been a bit of role
reversal between two guys who
252
00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:47,720
were formerly on the same side
and now one's playing off
253
00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,840
against the other, trying to
extract a bit more value.
254
00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,560
Yeah, right.
Every time you bloody.
255
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,680
Here's another twist for you.
When you mentioned Rothschilds,
256
00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,280
it just gets me.
I'll just think of Sean Russo
257
00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,800
'cause that's his old employer.
You think of hedging, you think
258
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,000
of hedging risk, you think of
CRE insurance.
259
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,840
That's you've sent me down
another 7° of separation J.
260
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,280
It's the logical connection.
Didn't you think of that?
261
00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,440
Didn't you?
Didn't CRE insurance just pop in
262
00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,200
the air there?
I couldn't get CRE out of my
263
00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,400
head the whole time.
I could imagine anyone listening
264
00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,840
in Orange right now be already
thinking of them 'cause they
265
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,880
would have probably had a coffee
next door to them at their
266
00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,000
Orange office.
You could say the same about
267
00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,320
Perth, Brisbane and Sydney as
well mate.
268
00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:28,520
Where's next?
Mining in Mozambique.
269
00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,960
They are phenomenal at operating
interdictions like that.
270
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,080
Maddie, have you got any spare
office space in Mozambique?
271
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,520
I reckon we've got a tenant CRE
insurance ready to tackle
272
00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,760
Mozambique.
I think that'd be perfect over.
273
00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,400
There in the meantime, they'll
do it from Perth.
274
00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:43,640
They will, they will.
They'll go over there if you
275
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,320
need them.
Too, But there's there's a fair
276
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,200
bit of business interruption
that can sometimes happen from
277
00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,640
time to time, including in the
story I'm about to tell, and CRE
278
00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,240
Insurance can help help help in
those situations with the
279
00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,440
insurance required.
Yep, just give them a call
280
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,200
regarding what Trav is about to
tell you.
281
00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,440
Right, Take it away.
What is take?
282
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:01,880
Just take it away.
What?
283
00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,120
One of one of the One of the?
Yeah, like questions we're
284
00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,920
trying to answer in in, in going
into this story is it's maybe
285
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,480
the revelation of this, this,
this bid from Marks or whatever
286
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:12,840
is it.
Is it a bit of an attempt to try
287
00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,720
and get Rio to come to the party
and and pay up for for for Ken
288
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,400
Mayer at A at a pretty elevated
price?
289
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,720
Bit of gamesmanship.
Chunky premium, yadda, yadda,
290
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,800
yadda.
They've had, you know, interest
291
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,920
dating, dating all the way back.
And, and so I, I just, I was
292
00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,800
kind of, I've got down a bit of
a rabbit hole to, to really look
293
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,320
at Rio Tintos like history and
mineral sands in this part of
294
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:39,360
the, in Africa specifically.
And I came away with some big
295
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,600
kind of takeaways as they relate
to where they're at right now
296
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,680
with their infrastructure and
their operations in South
297
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,120
Africa.
Their, their mineral sands
298
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,120
history in the African continent
is so interesting.
299
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,760
If we, if we take a good look,
we can try to have a guesstimate
300
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,400
about, you know, whether they're
going to pop up and, and, and
301
00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,160
bid for, for Ken Mare, but also
like, are they going to, are
302
00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:01,320
they going to bid for ASX listed
sovereign metals, for example?
303
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,600
And I'll, I'll get to that.
So rethink those major mineral
304
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,840
sands operations in South
Africa.
305
00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,240
This is the, the Richards Bay
Mineral sands operations, but
306
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,480
they also have operations in, in
Madagascar near Fort Dauphin.
307
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,480
They've got a growth project in
Mozambique themself, but that's
308
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:16,880
got complications I'll talk
about soon.
309
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,480
Plus they own 19.9% stake in
sovereign metals in Malawi,
310
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,880
which I'll get to.
Richard's Bay Minerals.
311
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,080
It's a complicated asset for
Rio.
312
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:30,720
They, they're basically sold
like Rio's sold, I think all of
313
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,280
their other assets out of Rio
Dinto except for Richard's Bay
314
00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:35,280
Minerals.
But they've kept this and that's
315
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,480
as South Africa has become an
increasingly challenging
316
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,240
jurisdiction to to invest in,
but they've kept rich as Bay
317
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,080
Minerals and that's because it's
a strategic asset for them.
318
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,240
It's, it's one of the largest
sources of, of titanium
319
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,720
feedstock and, and zircon on a
globally and real.
320
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,120
They've got, you know, vertical
integration in this market.
321
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,640
They've got, yeah, they've got,
they've got a smelter at
322
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,960
Richards Bay as well, which
helps produce an Illmaris slag.
323
00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:02,160
And they've also got some
downstream stuff going on on in
324
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,800
Quebec.
It, it and and collectively all,
325
00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,040
all of these sort of assets
position Rio with like a 14%
326
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,760
market share in that titanium
feedstocks kind of market, which
327
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,920
which is an an important market
share if in an industry where
328
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,440
you kind of want to have some
volume and pricing power because
329
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,000
prices are often times contract
based and opaque.
330
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:24,040
So when, when JD, when you said
Ken Meyer was the 4th biggest
331
00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:28,640
producer in the world?
Is Rio's sovereign in the top
332
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,160
three items?
Sovereign's not a sovereign
333
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,040
stock.
There yet?
334
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:35,440
You've got, you've got Iluka,
you've got Tronox as well.
335
00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,480
Rio being the the biggest.
Yeah, yeah.
336
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:45,680
These guys at 4th, I want to say
Aramet do a bit as well.
337
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,280
And Sierra Rizal.
Leon Oil.
338
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:49,480
Come Sierra Rizal.
I.
339
00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:52,440
Haven't forgotten where it is.
Yeah.
340
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,000
And then you and then you've got
about 35% of the market coming
341
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:56,240
out of China.
Yeah.
342
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,920
And a lot of that is a byproduct
from iron ore mining.
343
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:00,520
What?
What's where's Sovereign going
344
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,240
to sit once they do start?
Once they eat 9 plate I.
345
00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:07,160
Don't quote me on that.
Yeah.
346
00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,800
Yeah, it's a, it's a very big
asset, but yeah, I'll.
347
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,880
Yeah, there's a bit of framing
on what size it comes out at and
348
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,160
and how we kind of go.
I think, I think we should put
349
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,800
in in perspective the, the size
of this kind of market and think
350
00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,200
about what, what these earnings
kind of mean for for Rio.
351
00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,119
Make Rio.
Rio is like a funny company,
352
00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:27,960
right?
They've got like exposure to so
353
00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,960
many different commodities, but
like really when you look at
354
00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,360
their earnings and what actually
moves the dial, it's like
355
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:36,040
Pilbara iron ore and and that's
it.
356
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,960
And I say that kind of like
tongue in cheek, but it's, if
357
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:45,120
you just like compare the EBITDA
from their entire what they call
358
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:48,640
this, this this kind of business
line, they call it titanium and
359
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,760
iron.
And that is in 2024 a mere
360
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:57,080
$609,000,000 in EBITDA.
Compare that to Pilbara iron
361
00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,000
ore, $16.5 billion.
So I mean, it was just we're
362
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,680
just like in a whole another
ballpark, but.
363
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,280
Then you got the north of
Canadian iron ore as well.
364
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,440
Yeah, yeah.
But even that's tiny in here.
365
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,360
Like that's only 700?
Million, but just iron, iron ore
366
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:11,680
for them.
Well, you think Rio?
367
00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,800
Rio's a smaller company than
BHP, but they produce more iron
368
00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,320
ore.
So that shows how leverage they
369
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,920
are to iron ore.
Yeah, absolutely.
370
00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,200
On the on the Richard's Bay
front, you, you gave a bit of
371
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,640
colour on them.
The there was a, a pretty
372
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,160
important part of the history
sort of in, in 2021, there was a
373
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,000
pretty sort of violent event
that happened.
374
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,200
This is kind of following after
Rio Tinto had already tried to
375
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,960
make a, a partial kind of exit
from South Africa.
376
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,160
They were, they were holding
onto Richard's Bay.
377
00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,040
But this would have done a bit
to their thinking.
378
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,440
Hey, right.
It's, it's, it's, it's horrible
379
00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,640
this part of history.
Look at, you know, an executive
380
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,760
was murdered.
So the context, which is Bay
381
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,880
Minerals operates in in an area
of, of South Africa historically
382
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,840
occupied by Axillo speaking
communities.
383
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,880
There's there's several
different clans with the with
384
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,880
the influence over the area and
and they've got kind of
385
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:08,800
contested claims themselves.
In 2018 to 2019, there were
386
00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,760
violent protests at Richard's
Bay Minerals Basic demonstrators
387
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,040
were blocking roads, setting
vehicles on fire, damaging
388
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,720
property.
This set of protests led to a
389
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,240
temporary mine shutdown mid
2018.
390
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,360
The cause was put down to local
communities demanding more and
391
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:27,840
preferential jobs and also just
rival rival clans forward over
392
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,400
contracts for transport security
supply services.
393
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,640
When RBM resumed operations
after some government
394
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,520
intervention like in in due
course, but but then that unrest
395
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,080
did set the stage for for future
disruptions.
396
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:45,440
In 2021, more protests, so arson
attacks and disputes over jobs.
397
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,360
Nico Swart was the general
manager of Richards Bay
398
00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,680
Minerals, responsible for
security operations and he'd
399
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,120
been involved in in managing
tensions with some local
400
00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,920
communities.
On the 24th of May that year, he
401
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,480
was on his way to work when his
car was ambushed by gunmen.
402
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,040
He was shot at least 27 times in
just an utterly horrible event
403
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:06,600
in the history of RBM and Rio
Tinto.
404
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,880
So what?
What kind of happens subsequent
405
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:15,200
to to that awful, awful murder?
So Rio, Rio, they suspend the
406
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:21,680
operations, they, they also put
the development of Zulti S on
407
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:24,360
ice where it still remains on
ice today.
408
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,000
And Zulti S is an incredibly
important part for for Richard's
409
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,800
Bay Minerals because when when
this development was approved in
410
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,920
2019, there was, you know,
nearly 500 million U.S. dollars
411
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,520
that was agreed to be invested,
which would effectively sustain
412
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,280
RB Ms. current capacity at that
point in time and extend it's my
413
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,960
life.
So as RBM sort of sits today,
414
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,720
they are yeah, producing out of
out of four mines in the Zolti N
415
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,400
lease area only.
And plus there's a giant kind of
416
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,200
mineral separation plant and a
smelting facility as well that
417
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:57,680
constitutes the the
infrastructure.
418
00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,720
So Zolti S underpins Rio's
substantial kind of
419
00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,280
infrastructure already to, to
keep things you know, like like
420
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,240
at full capacity or what not,
but it's, it's been on ice for
421
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:12,080
four years and that sets the
same for for Rio's potential M&A
422
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,960
appetite today.
I think because they, they, you
423
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,440
know, they have the, the
infrastructure which requires
424
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,280
kind of concentrate in order to,
to be fully, fully utilized to,
425
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,400
if you think of their mineral
separation plant that they've
426
00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,160
got, that's being fed from these
four mines.
427
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,800
And each of those mines has its
own kind of concentrate plant.
428
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,520
So there's 35,000,000 tonnes of
ore from those mines generates
429
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,720
1.2 million tonnes of heavy
minerals concentrate and that
430
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,200
feeds the mineral separation
plant.
431
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,640
That mineral separation plant,
you know, separates into
432
00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,600
ilmenite, zircon and rutile.
And the ilmenite, which is rich
433
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,920
in titanium is sent to the
smelter there for further
434
00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,720
processing into a titanium slag
and also pig iron.
435
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,760
Our our word on the decline is
that Richards Bay's
436
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,120
infrastructure is is being
constrained by its inputs.
437
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,280
All right, let's kind of run
through those those inputs.
438
00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,280
There's a couple big ones that
come to mind, right?
439
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,840
It's twofold.
First is concentrate supplies.
440
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,760
They can't get enough
concentrate at the moment to
441
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,720
keep the the minerals at the MSP
and smelter fully utilised.
442
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,800
And the second one is is power
issues like which is by
443
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,040
minerals.
They face frequent kind of load
444
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,600
shedding issues.
It's connected to the state
445
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,160
owned power utility S Com, which
has had a litany of issues over
446
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,920
over recent history and the
smelting phase here is really
447
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,600
energy intensive.
These are electric arc furnaces,
448
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,800
which require stable and A and a
really high amount of power.
449
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,560
So you can imagine the power
side of things has undermined,
450
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,160
you know, the the the
competitive positioning of the
451
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,080
product production you're
actually making and reagent is
452
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,720
pretty concerned about that.
Their current predicament.
453
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,320
They they came to get more
concentrate and frankly they've
454
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:49,920
got limited options here as
well.
455
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,360
Yeah, it's really interesting.
It looked like South Africa last
456
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,080
year was kind of turning a bit
of a corner on the on the power
457
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,520
front.
S commerce troubled a lot of
458
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,640
downstream production in in
country for years and years and
459
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,000
years and years far, far too
long.
460
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,320
And it looked like they were
kind of turning a coin actually
461
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:07,840
up until this year when we were
there.
462
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,800
And then they had these yeah,
power outages again, which is a
463
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:13,880
bit sort of disappointing to
see.
464
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,520
But you know, that's going to
kind of run its course and
465
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:17,520
hopefully it turns to the
positive.
466
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,200
Let's focus.
On a few Pbas as well of power
467
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,840
purchase agreements with, you
know, separate, independent so.
468
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,200
They don't have to rely on on
SCOM.
469
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,960
Let's focus on the the
concentrate side of things
470
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:30,960
because there there are a few
options on the table.
471
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,600
And you know, in time was kind
of circle back to to Ken Mare,
472
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,400
but they can look at a few
different projects around the
473
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,240
world as well as what they've
got in their their own growth
474
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,280
projects.
I think I think their first
475
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,800
choice would be develop Zalty
South.
476
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,920
This is complicated given the
the historical tensions and
477
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,680
violence, but it appears Rio is
is gearing up to pull the
478
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,800
trigger on, on this development.
You know, absent kind of any,
479
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,720
any more tensions or escalations
or violence or property damage
480
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,600
etcetera.
We, we, we think that they have
481
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,640
signalled a decision around mid,
mid year this year to, to, to
482
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:10,880
develop Zalty S second choice or
potential choice is Mozambique
483
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,960
And not, not that not can can,
can, can be like you talked
484
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,200
about.
But remember I said Rio Tinto
485
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,120
had a growth project of their
own in Mozambique.
486
00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:21,520
It's called a Tumba and a pilot
plant was even built there in
487
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,320
2020.
I, I, I don't get a good feeling
488
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,240
about its prospects to fit in
the mix here because there isn't
489
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,800
much information since and the
JV partner Savannah, they pulled
490
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,120
out of the JV in 2021, which let
Rio take the lot for a pretty
491
00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,160
small sum of money.
What what we hear is this
492
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,680
project Matamba is kind of
compromised by the very large
493
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,680
community displacement that
would be required to to mine
494
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,120
there.
So yeah, put a, put a, put a
495
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:47,800
question mark slash lines with
that one.
496
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,880
And then we go to Madagascar,
don't we?
497
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,880
Not the movie.
Their choice.
498
00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,560
Yeah.
So Rio actually has a mineral
499
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:58,760
sands operation in in Madagascar
already.
500
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,520
And best I could tell operations
late life grades are declining.
501
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,520
You know, my, my life will
extend, but it's sort of five to
502
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,520
10 years my life remaining at
the moment that there's already
503
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,800
an MSP at that operation.
And best I can tell some of some
504
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:17,600
of the, the ilmenite that comes
from the MSP does in fact get
505
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,360
shipped to this, this Rio's
smelter in, in South Africa
506
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,720
already to produce the titanium
slag.
507
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,440
But also in in Madagascar is a
substantial mineral sands
508
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,960
development project which used
to be owned by Base Resources.
509
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,720
Now Energy Fuels, I think they
call it the Toliara approach.
510
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,400
Toliara, yeah.
And that sounds all systems go.
511
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,280
So in the next few years, you
know, that'll, you know,
512
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,080
hopefully be a be a fully
operating mine.
513
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,480
But the fact Energy Fuels
acquired Base Resources and not
514
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,800
Rio Dinto acquiring base
Resources sort of begs the
515
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,240
question about Rio's long term
view of remaining operating in
516
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,400
that country in that industry
itself, I think.
517
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,880
And then sovereign metals kind
of is worth worth raising in
518
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,160
this in in this discussion you
got to Katia.
519
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,600
Absolutely mate.
I, I think I, I pronounce it
520
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,200
Kaija but I'm probably saying
that wrong.
521
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,920
But yes, this, this, this one
will pique the interest of the
522
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,240
ASX punters.
Kaija is, it's one of those
523
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:15,520
exciting rutile development
projects.
524
00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,600
It's in Malawi.
It's it's owned by ASX listed
525
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:22,200
sovereign metals.
Rio Tinto actually owns a 19.9%
526
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,840
interest in sovereign metals
already from a a strategic
527
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,960
agreement struck between the two
companies in 2023.
528
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,920
Part of that agreement, Rio has
the exclusive right to, to take
529
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,000
operatorship.
And if they do that, then they
530
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,800
maintain 40% rights to the
product that comes out of Kasia.
531
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,000
And yeah, but there's a, there's
a few parts to, to Kasia itself.
532
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,680
It's, it's enormous.
It's the largest natural route.
533
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,880
Our project globally, the the
PFS says it will produce 2
534
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,200
products, one natural rutile and
the other one is a graphite
535
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,360
product.
And whenever, whenever we think
536
00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,400
graphite, I always just get sick
feeling in my stomach.
537
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,600
But yeah, that's just because of
the historic, historic stuff
538
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,120
around graphite.
Yeah, it's been a tough Rd. for
539
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:12,800
some Aussie listed graphite
producers in that sort of part
540
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:13,720
of the world, hasn't it?
Has.
541
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,480
Anyone done graphite good or
been successful at it?
542
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,560
China natural graphite.
Not yet.
543
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,280
Tough market.
Just we're we're one day closer.
544
00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,680
One day closer, yeah, one day
closer.
545
00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:31,240
If you, if you look at the the
PFS of it like it's, it's in
546
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:32,440
Malawi, right And that's
landlocked.
547
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,320
So to get the product to one of
the ports, you know, you're
548
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,200
paying substantial kind of
logistics costs here about 100
549
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,240
bucks per tonne is required to
to get it to a a port.
550
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,560
But that's OK because the two
products they want to sell sell
551
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,720
for a fair bit more than that.
But you've got a really long my
552
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,480
life because it's a big resource
that the PFS has an initial my
553
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,360
life for 25 years and an IRR of
27%.
554
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,480
So that's certainly in in, you
know, in the in the ballpark of
555
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,080
an asset that is is fit for a
major like Rio Tinto.
556
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:03,200
When you've got the healthy IRR
long my life and, you know, in
557
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,080
the in the in rutile, which they
care about.
558
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,520
While graphite has been a
disaster fair for everyone that
559
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,120
has kind of tried to make it
work in the West.
560
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,040
Hopefully the project could buck
that trend.
561
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:20,160
Both brutal and graphite make up
roughly half of the revenue each
562
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,280
in there in the optimised PFS
economics.
563
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,880
I, I, I think, I think the KJ
is, is, is interesting, but it
564
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,880
isn't, isn't cheap.
There's a $560 million market
565
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,320
cap and the stock's near all
time highs.
566
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,800
But they're going to have to
kick a few goals on that
567
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,240
graphite product.
They're risking too.
568
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,160
They've been putting out, you
know, more and more information
569
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,400
as it relates to this, and I've
listened to Jacob Starsam at at
570
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,840
reginto talk about, you know,
the potential of entering the
571
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,400
graphite market.
And he said, where's the effect
572
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,280
of, you know, we're already in
their gene commodities, like it
573
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,760
doesn't bother us if we're in,
if we get into one or two more.
574
00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,520
So they're open minded about
that referencing, you know,
575
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,480
graphite specifically.
And I think just given the
576
00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:05,000
complexities of of the market,
it's, it's worth a bit more
577
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,760
scrutiny as well.
When we just look at the study
578
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,440
numbers of Keja, because
Sovereigns PFS they use a
579
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:17,800
graphite price of roughly US
$1300 per tonne and they defend
580
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,880
that as conservative versus fast
markets long term forecast of US
581
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,520
1846 per tonne.
But just look at the recent
582
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:31,880
prices, you can see the price of
flake graphite fines kind of
583
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,360
nosedives below $400.00 per
tonne.
584
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,760
And it's the fines which is
actually the big part of the
585
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,280
market, the course.
The course flake is a much, much
586
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,680
smaller part of the market even
though you get a higher price
587
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,360
for it.
It's the fines that is used in
588
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,440
battery anodes.
Yeah, it's a, it's a super
589
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,360
interesting market.
And also it stands out that they
590
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,240
don't really push The xx China
like that's the big sire route
591
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:03,680
that they've gone down, got that
DOADOD funding package sending
592
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,640
stuff to America that pointing
to that being the only way that
593
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:10,240
they can survive in this market
and that they're going to get a
594
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,680
differentiated price due to the
the manipulation that China has
595
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,400
done.
So it's a, it's a, it's a
596
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,080
strategy that stands out in its
approach in my eyes.
597
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,880
Well, you might get 19.9% more
now, less than the 20% China
598
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,320
tariff.
Yeah, and and maybe and now
599
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,040
Rio's like gobbled up Arcadium
then you know that there's
600
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:34,240
probably going to be internally
more efforts on the fully fully
601
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,040
integrated and downstream kind
of battery stuff.
602
00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:37,760
And this can kind of potentially
feed it.
603
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,920
But yeah, on on on my scan, you
know, you're looking at roughly
604
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:47,120
40% of cages products sort of
meets the the finds Micron cut
605
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,800
off or their thereabouts, which
which has me just wondering if
606
00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:55,720
if their assumption on on price
is, is is reasonable and it's a
607
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:57,400
pretty meaningful part of the
revenue, right.
608
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:01,760
So when you're talking about the
yeah, yeah, 50% of revenue
609
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,800
versus versus the retail itself,
all I have to say if Rio can get
610
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,240
comfortable on the on the
graphite part, which is where,
611
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,440
you know, the majority of the
question marks are going to be,
612
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,640
then then sovereign looks
attractive.
613
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,920
Absolutely.
And it's, I mean, it's hard to
614
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,400
distinguish with the, the share
price rise, how much is that
615
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,440
like other investors getting
comfortable with the fact that
616
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,880
Rio Tinto is now there or
rewarding the company as they
617
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,680
kind of get closer to, to making
a call.
618
00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,840
But at this point in time, it's
been a, it's been a really good
619
00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:35,080
last year or 18 months for the
company on that front as they
620
00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,080
continue to release all that
network that you kind of speak
621
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,360
to there, right?
Yeah, yeah.
622
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,840
And yeah.
So it is interesting, like I
623
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,040
think after doing all that deep
dive on, on, on Rio Tinto and
624
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,240
their history in, in mineral
sands, like they've got, they've
625
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,480
got deal appetite.
They're, you know, interested
626
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,880
in, in 3rd party sources of, of
concentrate.
627
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,160
I mean, there are going to be
logistics challenges to actually
628
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,880
get a concentrate, but maybe you
can get at least the almanide to
629
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,120
help feed the smelter from, from
somewhere else.
630
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:09,560
And yeah, so there's a there's a
bunch of a bunch of potential
631
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,760
things on the line there.
The one thing to just watch is
632
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,560
around around mid this year if
they pull the trigger on on
633
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,880
salty South or not.
Yeah, right.
634
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,600
What do you mean?
Speaking of Aussie based mineral
635
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,080
sands, Petrotherm that's getting
talked about, that's actually a
636
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,040
rutile in South Australia.
What's bloody what's the Goss on
637
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:28,480
that?
It's.
638
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:32,360
Been very volatile, hasn't it?
It came off a lot since it's a
639
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:33,600
yeah.
Right.
640
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,000
It just did, just did a rise I
think, Yeah.
641
00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,800
So come off a bit there, but
that's like Aussie based seems
642
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:43,280
to be the one behind sovereign
on the listed ones in Australia.
643
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,920
I mean, you, you look at Iluka
and their their working capital
644
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,480
build or their inventories,
whatever way you want to slice
645
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:52,040
and dice it.
But they call it a billion
646
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,280
dollars that they've now got in
inventory.
647
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,120
In inventory.
Wow, they're kept at less than
648
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,320
two billion.
So inventory has swelled
649
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,560
massively since 2022.
It's a, it's a, yeah, a super
650
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,720
interesting, somewhat opaque
market.
651
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,760
And to round it back to, to Ken
Meier, you've got a pretty
652
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,600
limited number of potential
buyers.
653
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,040
So obviously we went into detail
on Rio Tinto's interest and
654
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,880
capacity to to have a look and
and take them out.
655
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:22,720
I don't think they will.
It's my gut feel, by the way.
656
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,560
Yeah.
And then you've got Tronox, who
657
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,960
admittedly we went far less deep
on, but the gut read was that
658
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,320
this wouldn't be the right
opportunity for them.
659
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,920
So there's not an awful lot of
buyers for Kenmare if they're
660
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,440
thinking someone's going to come
in over the top.
661
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:43,880
But going back to Africa, Yep,
they've yeah, had a go at that
662
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,400
in the past.
And I think they'll stay on
663
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,400
Aussie shores for now.
So it's like the whole with this
664
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,800
increased activity on the back
of the Sierra rutile battle,
665
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:57,440
mind you, but even like take
away like considering the
666
00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,160
inventory you said that I look
has got is like the rutile, like
667
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:04,080
the global titanium market.
Is it is it peak?
668
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,760
Is there a structural supply
deficit coming up?
669
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:10,159
Like what's the market feel?
What's the vibe of it is?
670
00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:12,639
Is there differing views of it
or?
671
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,639
Every market's got a structural
supply deficit coming, Betty.
672
00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:16,760
Yeah.
They've got one of those charts
673
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,360
where supply goes down like that
and and demand goes up.
674
00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:25,600
I I think of the market as kind
of roughly following global GDP,
675
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,239
but you've got those opaque
factors, you've got those by
676
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,880
product elements that play a
play a role in it.
677
00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:35,440
A lot of it for a while was sort
of tied in with this Chinese
678
00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,880
property boom.
Obviously that's cooled down and
679
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,920
you know it's all happened at a
time that a lot of the producers
680
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:45,600
were expanding supplies.
So that all culminated in a
681
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,560
number of additional supply and
decrease in demand factors
682
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:51,960
hitting at the same time, which
was not good for the market
683
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,400
outlook.
So it is come off pretty
684
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:58,520
substantially since 2022.
The conflict in Ukraine and
685
00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:03,680
Russia impacted markets as well.
But it's, it's kind of cagey
686
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:04,840
right now.
And I think that's a bit
687
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,400
reflective of kind of how we
think of like iron ore and these
688
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,280
sorts of things as well, maybe
not so much on the supply side,
689
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:15,160
but just like the world's growth
is looking a bit more shaky at
690
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,480
the moment.
So it's kind of 1 lens to think
691
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,440
of it as.
Yeah, what What gives the what's
692
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,920
the most leverage to titanium?
Like what's the biggest factor
693
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,440
in increasing demand for
titanium globally?
694
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,440
Increasing demand, increasing
the standard of living across
695
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:31,240
the world.
Paint.
696
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:32,320
Paint it.
Paint.
697
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:33,160
How many?
How many?
698
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:34,720
How many coats of Dulux do you
want on you?
699
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:36,240
Yeah.
And how rapidly do you, you
700
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,960
know, repaint your stuff?
10% of the market is of the
701
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:44,440
titanium goes to titanium metal
which is used in aerospace, so
702
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:49,200
both defence and plane parts.
So again, that sort of has a
703
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,600
part military application as
well as just overall people
704
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,440
flying in more planes.
So yeah, they they put a chart
705
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,480
of GDP going up one way on their
on their map and titanium demand
706
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,280
kind of following that and
interesting.
707
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:05,120
The, the, the, the thing JD
mentioned too is like the
708
00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,680
tendency of producers in this
industry to build massive
709
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:12,440
stockpiles when they can't get
the price that you know is
710
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:17,280
appropriate really limits the
upside in this market.
711
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:21,080
You don't get big flex, flex UPS
in sort of price because the
712
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:24,560
producers build inventory and
then they release that inventory
713
00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,400
when prices are appropriate.
But that keeps, you know, you
714
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,520
don't get really volatile
upswings like you would in other
715
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:32,680
commodities as a result of that.
Yeah, look at 2022 and look at
716
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,560
Iluka's inventory balls of 21 as
well.
717
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,120
It started but 22 drops 23 it
starts picking up massively
718
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:41,400
again.
And so new supply is really,
719
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,560
really responsive to better
pricing environments too.
720
00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:47,440
There's a, if you think of this,
the types of operations these
721
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,480
are, you can somewhat easily
just start, you know, mining and
722
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,280
processing a bit more.
There's, there's often times
723
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:55,680
spare capacity.
Think of, think of Myluca having
724
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,640
their, their, you know,
synthetic kiln, one kiln 2.
725
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,440
This, this swing capacity that
can kind of come online as, as
726
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,320
the market requires a bit more
capacity.
727
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,720
And then it pretty quickly gets
supplied when the demands there
728
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:09,680
and and all of a sudden prices
don't stay elevated for long.
729
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,800
Very interesting.
I I know more about titanium as
730
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,120
of 10 minutes ago.
Thank you very much, gentlemen.
731
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:18,440
I know far more as than I did as
of this morning.
732
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,280
It's interesting one.
Good stuff, right?
733
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:24,000
A bit of bloody visible gold
porn we're going through.
734
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,960
Have a look at this period.
Oh, this is new Murchison gold.
735
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:31,640
Hit the bloody a good chunk of
flake here on Ding Ding Ding.
736
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,240
Oh yeah, Ding Ding alley.
GC is dinging the crap out of
737
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:38,200
the joint today, buddy.
I I looked at this chord.
738
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:39,960
I'm thinking holy snapping duck
shit.
739
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,240
I've not in terms of when you
say visible Guild, I'll bring up
740
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:47,360
some historical ones, but it's
usually a speck or something.
741
00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:50,600
There's not many that actually
look like this, which really
742
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,840
sparked my attention.
So doing a bit of extensional
743
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,120
drilling outside the resource
and the pit.
744
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:59,000
They've obviously, as we've
mentioned, got the West Guild,
745
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,000
have got their foot on them
pretty much for mine and a
746
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,560
million tonne out of that open
pit.
747
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,920
So this is beyond that for the
for the future.
748
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:11,920
So I thought why not looking at
that call, look at some visible
749
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,280
gold from history and just say
there's there's one I haven't
750
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,880
been able to get a hold of yet
but I'll I'll get it in due
751
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,480
time.
Got to go through type visible
752
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:23,880
gold in the chat.
GPT was the 1st starting point.
753
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:25,520
Walk us through history mate
there.
754
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,840
Was actually one in February
this year, Advance Metals,
755
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:32,440
they're down in the Victorian
gold fields.
756
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:37,320
So you can see, as I said,
there's me bloody what's me
757
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,520
going?
It's actually on mobile view too
758
00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:42,280
and it's bloody shitting.
Victorian gold fields have been
759
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:44,080
have been good for the visible
gold, haven't they?
760
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:46,240
Yeah, I think all one I've
probably missed was Southern
761
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:47,600
Cross.
I think they hit some as well.
762
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,960
So you say this one that's a
there's your visible gold, which
763
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:54,400
is for the money miners that
that don't know when like to
764
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,600
have visible gold is not as
common like most, most gold you
765
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,080
cannot see like 99% of drill
intersections is gold you cannot
766
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,120
see.
That's why it's in when it says
767
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,440
10 grams per, which is pretty
good grade, that's 10 parts per
768
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:10,640
million.
So hence you it's gold that is
769
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:12,880
very that small, you just cannot
see it.
770
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,760
So in these are the cases where
you can see it, which sometimes
771
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,560
not all the time is an
indication of higher grade
772
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,400
because it might be just very
isolated.
773
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,800
Yeah, I think it's important to
remember it isn't always.
774
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:28,640
So it can be a bit deceiving and
you can mentally throw you off
775
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:30,480
when you see a big chunk of
yellow stuff, but the grade
776
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:32,000
doesn't come out quite as good
as you think it might.
777
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,440
Yeah.
And then and you got to also
778
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:38,120
think of how they extrapolated
over the like if it gets smeared
779
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,760
across a resource here, if they
put top, and we'll show here
780
00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:43,480
where they put top cuts on
assays where they say, right,
781
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:45,840
we're not reporting anything
above 50 grams because they
782
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:49,240
don't want to blow out the area
of influence of this one bit of
783
00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:51,240
visible gold.
And then you end up mining next
784
00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:52,680
to it and there's fucking no
gold.
785
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,160
So so that's a that's a small
little speck there in the
786
00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,840
Victorian goldfields.
Next one we'll bring up on
787
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:05,240
visible Maddie's visible gold.
I'll stop saying porn ballymore
788
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:10,360
Ballymore resources.
This one's a bit of a fine spec
789
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:11,760
as well.
I think that was a picture I was
790
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,200
bloody talking about there.
What that come back at?
791
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:20,920
.4 of a meter at 54g per ton, so
even visible gold was still 54.
792
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:25,040
So it's not like knockout
knockout next one Odyssey gold.
793
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,800
These guys fly under the radar a
bit of I.
794
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:32,720
Remember this one?
Yeah, 2021 and it's like it
795
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:36,840
obviously looks so yeah, gold
like, but I remember it come
796
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:38,160
out.
A subsequent announcement said
797
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:39,960
that it broke the upper bound of
the machine.
798
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,160
Yeah.
So I've actually got that that.
799
00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:45,920
When that happened.
That, that one here, the central
800
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,920
sub sample has exceeded the
laboratory upper detection limit
801
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:53,400
of 12,000 grams per tonne.
So it's just pretty much gold in
802
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,480
that section, yeah.
That's West Perth Hall of Fame
803
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:57,560
I.
Love it.
804
00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,040
So they're 'cause they're
actually in the got it.
805
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:02,520
They're right in the right in
the Murchison.
806
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:06,200
Bloody thing.
But just north in between maker
807
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:10,520
and Q that which is actually
pretty close to where new
808
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,440
Murchison have hit theirs.
So that's that's not a bad look
809
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:14,720
at that's a pretty good looking
one.
810
00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:19,080
The Odyssey 1 great boulder.
They remember the this was the
811
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,320
one where they went into trading
halt straight away because
812
00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:26,360
visible gold was coming out of
the RC chips and paddow actually
813
00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:28,920
put in the announcement.
We had to go into the trading
814
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:30,680
halt before the drillers got to
the pub.
815
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,400
So that one actually, this one
actually come back at 1m at
816
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:42,240
3451g per tonne.
So that was a bit of a bit of a
817
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:47,440
hemdinger you'd think with
bloody Spartans resource they've
818
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:49,640
got, they should have had some
visible gold at some point.
819
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,200
They have these, this was the, I
think it's one of the early ones
820
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:55,320
from when they were still called
gas coin.
821
00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:57,840
You can see the bloody little
specks there.
822
00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:02,280
Not not huge amounts that come
back at you know, that was a
823
00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:06,680
like a pretty much did the whole
thing at 29 meters at 11 grams.
824
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,200
But as I was mentioned about top
cuts here, you say assays top
825
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:14,280
cut to 50 grams per ton.
So in the intervals they were,
826
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,720
if something blew the machine
apart like Odyssey did, they'd
827
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:24,000
just get a 50 gram top cut to
mean that right doesn't smear
828
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:28,200
across the resource and then
potential upside later if you do
829
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:30,000
have those top cuts in place,
it's a bit more of a
830
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,480
conservative approach.
I'll still remember this is one
831
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:36,520
of my favourites from back in
the day 2011, the early Northern
832
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:38,920
Star days.
This is actually when I was
833
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,480
there.
This is I think Voyager 2.
834
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:46,560
This was the and just the the
way that the announcement, just
835
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:51,320
the biggest baldest riding
12,178g per tonne.
836
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:56,040
That was bloody bill in bloody.
He was in Max gold mode then he
837
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:58,960
loved it.
So I think that's you can see
838
00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:03,200
visible gold on the corner there
at the top of the core.
839
00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,440
So it wasn't like a for that
grade.
840
00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:08,880
So there was obviously a shit
load of fine gold in there, not
841
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:12,360
just a big bloody gold flake.
So it comes in different shapes
842
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,680
and sizes.
Don't think the ASX would let
843
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:16,880
you do that one anymore.
Nah, yeah, Good, good.
844
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:20,360
Bloody a lot.
I love the font good font size
845
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:24,720
there now one of the biggest
humdingers of gold deposits that
846
00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:28,520
were found that just look like a
friggin Abscess come off this
847
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:32,880
ore body was Fosterville, which
was Kirkland Lake.
848
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:36,560
Then obviously Agnico Agnico
Eagle took over Kirkland Lake
849
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:40,360
and they're not in the the
heyday that Fosterville was like
850
00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:44,960
they the I think it was a 30
gram head grade going through
851
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,040
the mill there like it.
Was good Oz.
852
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:49,480
Phenomenal.
And here's a picture of the I
853
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:53,200
think this looks pretty zoomed
in of some core at Fosterville
854
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:56,840
and you but you look at you look
at the infill drilling results,
855
00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,360
these these drilling results
aren't that core, just it was
856
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:08,040
from a different time, but 976g
per tonne over 7 meters, 933g
857
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:11,880
per tonne over 6 meters like
that is the friggin gold.
858
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:14,760
The Fosterville was just this
absolute anomaly.
859
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:20,000
It was unbelievable.
The now the probably I don't
860
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,280
know if this was the one you
were talking about JD beta hunt,
861
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:27,400
beta hunt.
So beta hunt back in when was
862
00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:33,600
this 2019, around 2018-2019.
They were they were it was a
863
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:35,880
nickel mine.
They weren't even a bloody gold
864
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,280
mine.
It was owned by RNCS.
865
00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:42,720
That was a Canadian company and
it was, they're trying to sell
866
00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:46,160
it as a nickel mine.
And it was just, you know, it
867
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:50,400
was tough going there.
And they knew this.
868
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,720
They knew gold was in pockets in
random places.
869
00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:56,680
And I remember I was at, I think
I was working at Daisy Milano at
870
00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:59,000
the time.
So a lot of the people at Daisy
871
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,680
were in drive out of Cambalda.
So I was all part of that
872
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:07,920
Cambalda community and this
they've pretty much taken I
873
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:10,880
think he just took an air leg
drive cut and they've come down
874
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,080
and he started washing it down
and they were like that to ring
875
00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:19,640
up and say, I think Jr., you got
to get down here because there
876
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:21,880
it was just fuck and gold
everywhere.
877
00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:24,320
And you can see the see these
rocks here.
878
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:27,280
So you've just got these.
I don't know what it looks like.
879
00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:30,720
It's got gold mould on it.
Like there's just gold growing
880
00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:33,240
on the rock.
It was just, and it was, they've
881
00:45:33,240 --> 00:45:36,800
obviously just hit this patch
and then they've kept going on
882
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,680
it.
And then I think a year later as
883
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:41,280
well there they hit another
patch.
884
00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:45,840
And so the the sales process
just became so much easier.
885
00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:51,840
It just went from not being able
to sell it at all to assume they
886
00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:53,920
sold it.
RNC sold it to Korora.
887
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:57,400
Korora would just rename.
I'm not sure.
888
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:01,440
I'm not sure actually.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
889
00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:04,080
Maybe they maybe they did.
Maybe that that was it.
890
00:46:05,040 --> 00:46:06,040
Yeah.
So it was.
891
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:10,680
That's obviously the beta hunt
that W Guild have as we speak.
892
00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,080
So don't worry about the nickel.
This is gold.
893
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:15,880
So that was a 90K gold specimen
that rock.
894
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:19,800
So I don't know what the bloody
grade of that was.
895
00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,960
So the the one I can't find that
I remember getting showed at the
896
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:27,200
at the wet mess.
So and it was a photo.
897
00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:28,520
So it's one thing at the wet
mess.
898
00:46:28,520 --> 00:46:31,400
That was definitely true.
And it was this picture from an
899
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:36,480
all drive at Yulgan Star, which
is Southern Cross, which is on
900
00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:39,480
what is it, Bartow Gold Minjar,
now that area.
901
00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:42,120
And it was from I think it was
the 90s.
902
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:47,480
And it was so, you know, like
the yeah, Bellevue's and Horror
903
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:50,200
banders and that like you just
have the quartz vein going
904
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:54,640
through the guts.
This was a drive like that.
905
00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:59,160
But the vein which was like
pretty bloody thick was just a
906
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:03,360
gold vine.
Like it was just frigging pure
907
00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:06,800
gold.
I've never seen anything like
908
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:08,280
it.
It was just absolutely
909
00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:09,600
phenomenal.
I wish I had the photo.
910
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:12,720
If I find the photo I'll I'll
show everyone, but I'll it was
911
00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:16,400
just a thing of absolute beauty.
Chuck it in the director
912
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:17,280
special.
Mate, Yeah.
913
00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:21,000
And then I've also heard if
anyone's got photos, these are
914
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:24,040
real back in the day, I've heard
Norseman back in the day, like
915
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,560
Harlequin of.
Well, the shift boss who worked
916
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:32,840
with at Paulson said, you know,
most minds you got, what was it
917
00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:34,480
like?
It'd be all quartz.
918
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,120
Like I know Paulsen's was all
quartz in the ore body.
919
00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:39,480
And then you'd have a, you know,
the gold bearing vein in the
920
00:47:39,480 --> 00:47:41,680
middle.
He said, I think, I think it was
921
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:44,640
Harlequin or one of the northern
gold parts was the opposite.
922
00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:48,760
So you'd have all gold and then
just quartz veins here and
923
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,760
there.
So there's a yeah, God, but
924
00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:57,560
people were with all that free
gold comes a lot of gold in
925
00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:00,320
people's pockets as well, so.
There's socks and.
926
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:02,480
Yeah, yeah.
And there's all there's some
927
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:07,400
some stories from back in the
day of the gold that the the
928
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:10,400
reconciliation wasn't there and
like pay you like I've heard
929
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:14,960
people that like when once the
authorities actually came to
930
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:17,680
sight and people knew they were
buggered, there was yeah, there
931
00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:21,080
was some horrible events that
happened on the back of that.
932
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:25,200
So and that but and gold was
what, in the hundreds of dollars
933
00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:26,920
an ounce then when that was
happening.
934
00:48:27,120 --> 00:48:31,760
So could you imagine running
into that stuff now at 4600?
935
00:48:32,400 --> 00:48:34,880
So good luck.
Just keep fucking drilling
936
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:36,640
aisles everyone.
You will find it.
937
00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:39,280
To wrap up that'll.
Be into it, but I'm not going to
938
00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:40,760
RIP them out for you nice and
quick.
939
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:41,400
Was it?
Was it?
940
00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:45,240
Was it RNC?
Royal Nickel Corporation in June
941
00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:47,200
2020 changed its name to
Carolla.
942
00:48:47,200 --> 00:48:49,240
There you go.
Yeah, beautiful.
943
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:51,880
Nothing like a name change.
It's like M&A happened.
944
00:48:52,240 --> 00:48:54,200
Beautiful mate. 100 bucks off
yours.
945
00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:58,320
IMM underground operators
tickets April 7th to 9th in
946
00:48:58,320 --> 00:48:59,560
Adelaide.
Can't bloody wait.
947
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:05,200
Also got our great partners MMS
grounded, CMP ground sports, CRO
948
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:10,720
insurance K drill WA water
balls, swig watra project
949
00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:13,520
engineering, cross boundary
energy, hoodoo, money mods,
950
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:16,360
hoodoo.
Information contained in this
951
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:19,120
episode of Money of Mine is of
general nature only and does not
952
00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:21,760
take into account the
objectives, financial situation
953
00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:23,800
or needs of any particular
person.
954
00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:27,160
Before making any investment
decision, you should consult
955
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:30,200
with your financial advisor and
consider how appropriate the
956
00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:33,920
advice is to your objectives,
financial situation and needs.