SP Angel . Morning View . Wednesday 10 11 21
China desperation for energy drives factory inflation at record pace
Base Resources* (Base Resources Limited (AIM:BSE, ASX:BSE)) – Presentation to TZMI conference highlights Toliara project scale and capital cost increase along with indicative timeline of March 2025 to first shipment
BlueRock Diamonds (Bluerock Diamonds PLC (AIM:BRD)) – BlueRock on track to meet production guidance by the year end
Ferro Alloy Resources (Ferro-Alloy Resources Ltd (LSE:FAR)) – Commercial sale of ferro-molybdenum
KEFI Gold & Copper* (KEFI Gold and Copper plc (AIM:KEFI)) – Hawiah MRE update in Dec/21 to improve on grades and scale; PFS targeted for 2022
Karelian Diamonds (Karelian Diamond Resources PLC (AIM:KDR)) – Diamond indicator minerals identified in Northern Ireland
Kore Potash (Kore Potash PLC (AIM:KP2, ASX:KP2, JSE:KP2)) – Kola Optimisation Study on track for Q1 2022 completion
Power Metal Resources* (Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW)) – Uranium property holding significantly expanded
Savannah Resources* (Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, ETR:SAV, OTC:SAVNF)) – BUY – Galp lithium refinery project update
Tirupati Graphite (Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE:TGR, OTCQX:TGRHF)) – Mining license granted at Balama Central Graphite Project
Vast Resources (Vast Resources PLC (AIM:VAST)) – Baita Plai update
Copper: Las Bambas suffers another round of protests with road blockade
A key mining corridor at MGM’s Las Bambas copper mine has been blocked by protestors.
There had been a preliminary agreement (Oct. 27th) to avoid blocking the road with the community.
Limaypuma of the Cotabambas Defense Front expects the blockade to last 48 hours. (Reuters)
The road has been blocked for a total of 300 days since 2016.
Landslide at Codelco’s Ministro Hales copper mine
Codelco have stated that the landslide went ‘without consequences for the safety and integrity of people, equipment and infrastructure’.
The area had been identified and segregated since 1Q21.
Ministro Hales produced 144kt copper Jan-October.
Dow Jones Industrials -0.31% at 36,320
Nikkei 225 -0.61% at 29,107
HK Hang Seng +0.67% at 24,978
Shanghai Composite -0.41% at 3,492
Economics
Evergrande due to pay $148mn coupon payment today as Chinese developer crisis looms
No sign that Evergrande has paid a c. $150mn payment due today despite 30-day grace period. (16:30 China Time)
The developer has $255mn worth of offshore payments due Dec. 28th.
Shimao Group downgraded from BB+ to BBB- (considered speculative grade) by S&P Global Ratings.
Fantasia shares fell 50% today having missed a $205.7mn payment due Oct. 4th.
Fantasia’s sales fell 62% October vs Oct. 2020.
Evergrande and Kaisa have been selling property and assets including jets to finance loans repayments.
China junk bond yields hit 27.9% yesterday close.
China – Soaring energy prices see China’s factory inflation rise at record pace
China PPI up 13.5% in October vs year earlier. Up from 10.7% in Sept. (NBS)
WSJ-polled economists predicted 12.5%.
Fastest factory gate price rise in 26 years.
China consumer inflation up 1.5% from October from 0.7% Sept.
Extreme weather and coal shortages are being reflected in rising prices.
Flooding has caused some vegetable prices to rise.
Economists expect persistently high Chinese prices to have knock-on effect with Western economies’ inflation.
Chinese inflation is expected to ease as the coal crisis subsides on Beijing’s intervention.
Copper slid to $9,458/t on concerns of a slowing Chinese economy but has since ticked up.
Chinese province scraps power rationing as electricity crisis eases
Zheijiang stopped electricity rationing this week but calls for cities to reduce general energy use.
China’s State Grid Corporation has noted an ease of power shortages.
26/31 of provinces seen power supply and demand reaching equilibrium imminently.
Global automakers expected to spend over $500bn for EVs by 2030
Global automakers are planning to spend $515bn on EVs and batteries by 2030. (Reuters)
Similar analysis from Reuters, conducted three years ago, found the figure was closer to $300bn.
New zero-carbon mandates in countries and cities have increased the urgency for EVs.
Most investments from automakers are aimed at improving the range and performance of batteries, lowering the cost of EVs and expanding EV production globally.
German manufacturers VW, Daimler (ETR:DAI) and BMW are planning to spend a combined $185bn by 2030, while US companies GM and Ford have plans to spend around $60bn.
Chinese automakers have also announced well over $100bn in investment targets for the next decade, but Japanese automakers Honda, Toyota and Nissan have only publicly committed less than $40bn combined.
Battery manufacturers are also investing tens of billions for additional production capacity and battery development mostly in cooperation with automakers.
Dry bulk rates slide on weak Chinese steel production and reduced congestion
S&P Global’s Cape T4 index fallen 51% from Oct. 20th.
Kamsarmax and Supramax indexes measuring key Asia Pacific trade routes fell 30% and 44% respectively.
The declines reflect China’s crackdown on steel production, with China’s October iron ore imports down 4% month on month from key exporters Australia, Brazil and SA. (Down 4% y-o-y)
The slide may also reflect China’s weakening real estate appetite, accounting for 40% of steel demand.
Rates also reflect China’s increasing domestic coal supplies – China imported 27mt in Oct vs 33mt Sept and 28mt August.
The reduced import levels suggest Beijing’s success in ramping up domestic coal production.
The Pacific has seen congestion demand fall 11% since October.
Currencies
US$1.1569/eur vs 1.1594/eur yesterday. Yen 113.12/$ vs 112.93/$. SAr 15.101/$ vs 14.935/$. GBP $1.356/gbp vs $1.357/gbp. 0.737/aud vs 0.742/aud. CNY 6.393/$ vs 6.396/$.
Commodity News
Precious metals:
Gold US$1,824/oz vs US$1,822/oz yesterday
Gold ETFs 97.9moz vs US$98.0moz yesterday
Platinum US$1,055/oz vs US$1,052/oz yesterday
Palladium US$2,030/oz vs US$2,061/oz yesterday
Silver US$24.30/oz vs US$24.33/oz yesterday
Rhodium US$14,350/oz vs US$14,350/oz yesterday
Base metals:
Copper US$ 9,616/t vs US$9,616/t yesterday
Aluminium US$ 2,580/t vs US$2,574/t yesterday
Nickel US$ 19,425/t vs US$19,595/t yesterday
Zinc US$ 3,290/t vs US$3,258/t yesterday
Lead US$ 2,344/t vs US$2,360/t yesterday
Tin US$ 37,430/t vs US$37,425/t yesterday
Energy:
Oil US$85.1/bbl vs US$83.5/bbl yesterday
Oil prices rose to a two-week high yesterday after the US lifted travel restrictions and other signs of a global post-pandemic recovery boosted the demand outlook, while supply remained tight
Prices also rallied after the EIA in its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) projected retail gasoline prices would decline over the next several months
Biden’s administration said it would use price forecasts in the STEO report to determine whether to release oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve
If the STEO had shown a huge rise in projected gasoline prices, the Biden administration would be likely to release more oil from the SPR quickly, which would have depressed prices
In the STEO, the EIA projected average prices for retail regular grade gasoline would decline from US$3.32 per gallon in November to US$3.16 in December and US$3.00 in the first quarter of 2022.
Any release from the US SPR, although it would likely have a temporary bearish effect on prompt prices, is not a lasting solution for an imbalance between supply and demand
Global oil spare production capacity could diminish next year as air passengers return to the skies, removing further reserves
Travelers took off from the US again, while the passage of Biden’s US$1trn infrastructure bill and better-than-expected Chinese exports underlined a recovering global economy
In India, fuel demand rose in October to a seven-month peak, with gasoline sales surging to an all-time high
Natural Gas US$4.942/mmbtu vs US$5.394/mmbtu yesterday
European natural gas prices fell materially as Gazprom announced that it had approved and started implementing a plan to send natural gas into five storage sites across the continent
The volumes and the transportation routes for the gas flows have been determined, concerns on the market and sending prices lower
Natural gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark for European gas, traded 2$ lower early yesterday
US supply of natural gas increased slightly last week
The EIA expects Henry Hub prices will decrease after the first quarter of 2022, as production growth outpaces growth in LNG exports, and will average US$4.01/mmbtu for the year
US exports of LNG are establishing a record high this year, a new record high anticipated for next year
The EIA expects LNG exports to average 9.7Bcf/d this year (3.2Bcf/d more than the 2020 record high of 6.5Bcf/d) and to exceed annual pipeline exports of natural gas for the first time
The year-on-year increase in LNG exports coincides with slight growth in US natural gas production
US dry natural gas production is expected to average 92.6Bcf/d this year, which is 1.1Bcf/d more than in 2020 but 0.3Bcf/d less than in 2019
Uranium UXC US$45.8/lb vs $45.6/lb yesterday
Bulk:
Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$86.7/t vs US$93.0/t
Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$747.2/t vs US$770.5/t
Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$109.8/t vs US$115.3/t
Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$160.0/t vs US$161.5/t
Coking coal swap Australia FOB US$330.0/t vs US$341.0/t
Other:
Cobalt LME 3m US$59,500/t vs US$59,500/t
NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$123,964/t vs US$121,568/t
Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$27,765/t vs US$27,441/t
China Spodumene Li2O 5%min CIF US$1,770/t vs US$1,720/t
Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$2,134/t vs US$2,139/t
China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$315/t vs US$315/t
China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$635/t vs US$635/t
Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% 7.5/lb vs US$7.5/lb
Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% 32.05/kg vs US$32.25/kg
China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$387/t vs US$387/t
Spot CO2 Emissions EUA Price US$70.1/t vs US$69.6/t
Battery News
EV-maker Rivian raises $11.9bn in year’s biggest IPO
The EV-maker priced shares in its IPO at $78 apiece to raise about $11.9bn – the biggest first-time share sale this year.
Rivian was heavily backed by investors including companies such as Amazon and Ford, despite only delivering its first vehicles a couple of months ago.
The company expects to produce 1,200 units by year-end from its plant in Illinois.
Rivian, which lost nearly $1bn in the first half of the year, estimates production will hit 150,000 vehicles by late 2023.
The IPO values Rivian at about $76.4bn on a fully diluted basis.
Portugal’s largest utility company looking to introduce 1.5GW of hydrogen capacity by 2030
EDP, Portugal’s largest utility provider is betting on green hydrogen and aiming to reach 1.5GW of installed capacity by 2030.
EDP presented a strategic plan in February that envisaged investing in 250MW of hydrogen electrolysers capacity by 2025.
It was not revealed how much EDP would invest, but the plans involve recommissioning coal power stations as hydrogen centres.
Orsted plans 3.9-GW offshore wind farm in Vietnam
Orsted has announced plans to invest up to $13.6bn to build 3.9GW of offshore wind turbines in Vietnamese waters.
If built, the project would be capable of generating approx. 13.7m MWh of electricity annually.
Orsted signed an MoU with Vietnamese industrial conglomerate, T&T Group to collaborate on offshore wind projects in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s offshore wind potential is estimated at around 500GW.
Company News
Base Resources* (Base Resources Limited (AIM:BSE, ASX:BSE)) 16.15p, Mkt Cap GBP195m – Presentation to TZMI conference highlights Toliara project scale, capital cost increase and indicative timeline of March 2025 to first shipment
Base Resources is presenting to the Titanium industry today at the TZMI virtual congress this week.
The presentation is available on the Base Resources website – https://baseresources.com.au/investors/
Toliara (Madagascar): Base Resources have increased the parameters of the Toliara project to improve its economic viability
Raising the production rate in the revised feasibility study ‘DFS2’ by 33% to 25mtpa adds $375m to the NPV helping the overall NPV to $1,008m
The Toliara project mineral resource at Ranobe has increased to 904mt grading 6.1% of heavy mineral giving a 38 year mine life.
Stage 1 capex has risen US$78m to US$520m due to input cost escallation.
Stage 2 capex has risen US$68m to US$137m
Management have increased the project scale by 23% to 960,000tpa of ilmenite, 66,000tpa of zircon and 8,000tpa of rutile building up to peak production in 2030
NPV $1,008m in the revised DFS2 from $652m
IRR 23.8% from 21.4
Operating costs $88/t produced DFS2
Revenue $306/t produced DFS2
Margin $218/t DFS2
The presentation highlights the indicative timeline for the Toliara project: January-2022 – Fiscal terms
11 months of pre-FID work streams including early works and Front End Engineering Design
Legal and fiscal stability agreements
Land acquisition
Funding
Offtake agreements
December-2022 Final Investment Decision
Construction – 27 months to first shipment
September 2024 – Mining and Wet Concentrate Plant begins
December – 2024 – First product from Mineral Separation Plant
March – 2025 – First shipment
Kwale (Kenya): The presentation highlights how the SML extension to the Kwale mineral sands mine in Kenya will extend the mine life to December 2023.
The PFS at Bamamani is said to support further extension to Mid 2014.
*An SP Angel analyst has visited Base’s operations in Madagascar
BlueRock Diamonds (Bluerock Diamonds PLC (AIM:BRD)) – 46.9p, Mkt cap GBP6.6m – BlueRock on track to meet production guidance by the year end
Bluerock Diamonds reports the hot commissioning of all areas of the upgraded process plant on a short-cycle basis.
The company also reports production of 19,362cts for the year to 3 November indicating good potential to achieve guidance of 22,000-26,000cts by the year end.
BlueRock produced 7,682cts in Q3, 5,442cts in Q2 and 3,507cts in Q1 making 16,631cts for the first nine months of the year.
Today’s statement implies production of 2,731cts for the 34 days from end September to 3 November.
We have around 57 working days to the year-end implying potential for a further 4,578cts of diamond production by the year end.
However, much slows down in South Africa over the Christmas break, and we feel 4,000cts may be a more realistic forecast taking total production to around 23,362cts by the year end.
The team are reported to be making minor modification to the processing circuit to manage the characteristics of the ore and higher throughput.
Management appear able to operate the old plant and new plant to raise throughput to >3,000t a day raising the theoretical throughput to around 1.1mtpa though this is unlikely to be sustainable.
This should also reduce unit processing costs.
Conclusion: We expect BlueRock to record nearly $11m of sales by the year end with an average value of around $470/ct for the year.
We expect BlueRock to post a significant turnaround in the second half posting a profit of around $2.5m for the year vs a loss of GBP0.5m for the first half
*SP Angel act as nomad and broker to BlueRock Diamonds
Ferro Alloy Resources (Ferro-Alloy Resources Ltd (LSE:FAR)) 26.75p, Mkt cap GBP98m – Commercial sale of ferro-molybdenum
Ferro-Alloy reports that it has signed a contract for its first commercial sale of ferro-molybdenum product and is “now recovering around 4.5 tonnes per month of ferro-molybdenum as a by-product from its recovery of vanadium from bought-in concentrates and this is expected to grow as throughput of the plant increases”.
The company explains that the “molybdenum is initially recovered as calcium molybdate which was previously sold at a discount to prevailing molybdenum prices, but this is now being converted and sold as ferro-molybdenum, avoiding the discount”.
Ferro Alloy Resources also says that it has successfully completed testing “the production of ferro-vanadium using a similar process to ferro-molybdenum … allowing the Company to choose in future whether to sell its vanadium production as vanadium pentoxide or ferro-vanadium, depending on which is the most profitable taking account of pricing and costs”.
The company clarifies that “ferro-vanadium typically sells for some US$3-$4 per kilogramme more than for the same quantity of vanadium in vanadium pentoxide, roughly reflecting conversion costs, but the ability to make ferro-vanadium opens up a wider range of customers and, in particular, customers in Kazakhstan which minimise transport costs and provide other fiscal advantages”.
CEO, Nick Bridgen explained that vanadium prices are “at a relatively high and stable level, and with our growing production, our existing operations now fulfil their objective of providing cash flows to support our feasibility study and ongoing development of the Balasausqandiq deposit”.
KEFI Gold & Copper* (KEFI Gold and Copper plc (AIM:KEFI)) 1.0p, Mkt Cap GBP22m – Hawiah MRE update in Dec/21 to improve on grades and scale; PFS targeted for 2022
The Company released an update on the Hawiah Copper-Gold VMS Project developed by the local JV (KEFI owns ~32% interest) in Saudi Arabia.
The Company completed Phase 4 infill drilling programme (~16,300m across 92 drillholes) focused on Crossroads and Camp Loads with final assay results in.
This takes total drilling at Hawiah to ~41,800m.
Selected Phase 4 drilling results include:
Transition Zone
HWD-137 – 19.45m (11.5m Estimated True Width (“ETW”)) at 1.26% Cu, 0.29% Zn, 0.87 g/t Au and 10.91 g/t Ag
HWD-152b – 8.57m (5.0m ETW) 2.61% Cu, 0.10 Zn%, 0.95 g/t Au and 9.24 g/t Ag
HWD- 164 – 17.6m (13m ETW) at 2.6% Cu, 0.4 g/t Au and 5.8 g/t Ag
HWD-170 – 12.71m (6.5m ETW) at 3.0% Cu, 0.7% Zn,0.6 g/t Au and 10.2 g/t Ag
HWD-186 – 10.68m (9.1m ETW) at 2.3% Cu, 0.4% Zn, 0.8 g/t Au and 11.1g/t Ag
Fresh Sulphide
HWD-097 – 22.9m (14.5m ETW) at 1.1% Cu, 0.5% Zn, 0.61 g/t Au and 9.2 g/t Ag
HWD-102 – 22.2m (12.2m ETW) at 1.6% Cu, 0.2% Zn, 0.52 g/t Au and 9.0 g/t Ag
HWD-104 – 10.1m (5.5m ETW) at 1.5% Cu, 0.2 Zn, 0.16 g/t Au, 3.36 g/t Ag
HWD-108 – 7.4m (4.7m ETW) at 1.3% Cu, 1.3% Zn, 0.47 g/t Au and 8.6 g/t Ag
The team engaged SRK to prepare an MRE update targeted for in Dec/21 that is expected to include new higher grade zones improving average grade and the size of the resource.
Previous step out drilling extended the higher grade zone at the Camp Lode down plunge to the south by for nearly 700m.
Preliminary estimates suggest ~10mt of Hawiah MRE may be classified in the Indicated category with further infill drilling planned to grow the category for a subsequent conversion into reserves as part of the PFS.
PFS is targeted for 2022 with a potential start to project development works in late 2023.
On further exploration potential, the team highlighted the Hawiah mineralisation remains open and the Company is yet to locate the “feeder zone” to the massive sulphide lodes that are a “separate and potentially much larger-scale target”.
Current Hawiah MRE stands at 19.3mt at 0.9% Cu, 0.8% Zn, 0.6g/t and 10.3g/t Ag (all Inferred; SRK Aug/20).
Conclusion: The Company completed Phase 4 drilling programme confirming higher grades and mineralisation extensions intersected in previous step out programme. Updated MRE is due next month and is expected to increase average grade and size of the mineral inventory improving economics of the project. The team is working closely with consultants for the release of the project PFS in 2022.
*SP Angel act as Nomad and Broker to KEFI Gold and Copper
Karelian Diamonds (Karelian Diamond Resources PLC (AIM:KDR)) 3.15 pence, Mkt Cap GBP2.1m – Diamond indicator minerals identified in Northern Ireland
Karelian Diamonds has announced that diamond indicator minerals have been identified in ten stream sediment samples collected from stream sediment samples taken in Northern Ireland.
The company explains that the “sampling programme was being carried out in relation to the reported discovery of a diamond in the Colebrooke River and previous reported recovery of chromite minerals which can be associated with the presence of diamondiferous kimberlites”.
The company says that results from nine of the ten samples are “being interpreted as either anomalous or highly anomalous … [and that initial interpretation of the results] … is suggestive of a non-kimberlite source rock which is indicative of additional targets for mineralisation within Karelian’s licence area”.
Conclusion: We have not previously heard of Northern Ireland as prospective for diamonds. Indicator mineral sampling is however a well-established, though early-stage, prospecting technique in diamond exploration. Although there may be alternative explanations for the presence of indicator minerals we caution that even if they are related to kimberlite lithologies they do not necessarily signify diamond-bearing kimberlites or economic viability. We await further news on the exploration programme with interest.
Kore Potash (Kore Potash PLC (AIM:KP2, ASX:KP2, JSE:KP2)) 1.18p, Mkt Cap GBP39m – Kola Optimisation Study on track for Q1 2022 completion
Kore Potash reports that its optimisation study for the Kola Potash Project in the Sintoukola Basin of the Republic of Congo is on track for completion during Q1 2022 and that it also remains on course “to present a financing proposal for the full Kola construction costs in the first half of 2022”.
The company says that the study has identified and considered 53 potential capital cost reduction opportunities including a possible relocation of the processing plant closer to the mine area and 41 potential plant optimisations as well as possible mining and infrastructure savings.
The process plant optimisations include eight potential modifications to the layout, 21 chances to improve the design and equipment selection and “12 initiatives related to the muriate of potash product produced, processing reagent management and MoP product storage”.
Kore Potash adds that “the potential for cost reductions in the marine area has not yet been assessed and there will be focus on this area during the next few months”.
The company is currently reviewing the cost saving opportunities but confirms that this process “will not impact the timing of completion of the Study in 2022”.
A presentation dated January 2019 available onn the company’s website Microsoft PowerPoint – Kore Potash DFS presentation describes a project producing 2.2mtpa of MOP product over a 33 years mine life and generating an NPV10% of US$1.45bn and IRR of 17.2% from a pre-production capital investment of US$2.10bn and explains that Kola is potentially the lowest cost supplier of MOP to Brazil.
Process plant costs, which are where the majority of today’s potential cost savings have been identified are reported at US$495m in the 2019 study.
Power Metal Resources* (Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW)) 1.7p, Mkt Cap GBP22m – Uranium property holding significantly expanded
Power Metal reports a significant expansion at its Athabasca Basin Property in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
Total land holdings surrounding the Athabasca Basin have now been increased by 144.84 km2 to a total land holding of 411.96 km2 – representing an increase in total land holdings of 54.2%.
An additional 107.48 km2 were staked surrounding the company’s Reitenbach Uranium Property, with the claims covering three additional uranium mineral deposit index points as well as a lake-sediment result of 130ppm uranium.
The lake sediment result represents the 11th highest sample in the entire provincial database, in the top 0.01%.
An additional 21.95 km2 were staked surrounding the company’s Thibaut Lake Uranium Property.
An additional 15.41 km2 were staked surrounding the Company’s Clearwater Uranium Property, covering three base-metal mineral deposit index points.
Power Metal is now progressing with historic data compilation in order to analyse the full portfolio and target further areas for exploration.
The claims have been registered with the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan and the total cost of claim staking was C$28,141, valid for two years and with no minimum spend requirement.
*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Power Metal Resources
Savannah Resources* (Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, ETR:SAV, OTC:SAVNF)) 4.0p, Mkt Cap GBP67m – Galp lithium refinery project update
BUY
Galp Energia is accepting expressions of interest from parties interested in coordinating all authorisation and licensing procedures for “the construction and operation” of the lithium refinery in Portugal, Publico reported in its article on Monday.
Galp Energia, a major Portugues integrated energy group (Mkt Cap EUR7.4bn, EUR11.4bn in 2020 Revenue), is planning to close the gap between lithium concentrate producers and battery manufacturers building an EU based refinery.
Previously, the Company engaged with Savannah Resources and the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt as Galp’s most likely partners for the new line of business.
Conclusion: EU based refinery will unlock significant value in the local hard rock lithium resources offering low in carbon emissions footprint lithium compounds for expanding domestic battery supply chain. Savannah’s wholly owned Mina do Barroso lithium project hosting the largest European hard rock spodumene deposit is an obvious feedstock source for the refinery should Galp move forward with construction plans.
*SP Angel act as Nomad to Savannah Resources
Tirupati Graphite (Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE:TGR, OTCQX:TGRHF)) 83.5p Mkt Cap GBP72m – Mining license granted at Balama Central Graphite Project
(On 17 August 2021, Battery Minerals announced that it has entered into agreements to sell its Mozambique graphite assets, including the Montepuez and Balama graphite projects to Tirupati Graphite for a total aggregate consideration of $12.5 million in cash and shares)
Tirupati reports that ASX-listed Battery Minerals has been granted a mining license for the Balama Central graphite project for production of 50,000tpa of graphite concentrate.
Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite commented: “The granting of the Mining Licence for the Balama Central Graphite Project is great news, which further enhances the value proposition of the acquisition for Tirupati. Both the Montepuez and Balama Central projects now hold granted mining licenses which, on completion of the acquisition, advances Tirupati on its journey to becoming a material supplier to the high growth EV and battery markets and playing a part in the global energy transition.”
Tirupati and Battery Minerals expect to complete the sale of the Mozambique graphite assets in the coming months.
Vast Resources (Vast Resources PLC (AIM:VAST)) 2.8p, Mkt Cap GBP7m – Baita Plai update
The Company completed another sale of the concentrate from the Baita Plai polymetallic operation in Romania with Q4/21 production and sales update to be released in Jan/22.
Recent Interviews:
IGTV: Stock picks in the small-cap mining space:
Evolution of Chinese construction and implications for commodity demand: https://youtu.be/jB2nURL8uPw
VOX Markets: 10/06/21: https://audioboom.com/posts/7884446-john-meyer-talks-about-cornish-metals-empire-metals-anglo-american-ncondezi-energy-mkango-r
BBC: Catalytic converters https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09jl6c9
*SP Angel almost invariably acts as nomad or broker or nomad and broker to companies mentioned in the above videos and podcasts.
We speak more about these companies as we have a good understanding of their business and can talk with a greater degree of confidence. As ever, however, it should be noted that our views do not take into account the circumstances and needs of any particular investor or investor type. So enjoy the talks, but please do your own research, including other companies not mentioned by us but operating in the same areas, and get professional advice where appropriate.
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No1. In Gold: “SP Angel’s trio took the top spot for the gold price prediction throughout the year, with an accuracy score of 97.59%”
The SP Angel team also ranked 1st in Palladium, 3rd in Tin and 5th in Silver in the fourth quarter of 2020
Analysts
John Meyer – [email protected] – 0203 470 0490
Simon Beardsmore – [email protected] – 0203 470 0484
Sergey Raevskiy [email protected] – 0203 470 0474
Joe Rowbottom – [email protected] – 0203 470 0486
Sales
Richard Parlons [email protected] – 0203 470 0472
Abigail Wayne – [email protected] – 0203 470 0534
Rob Rees – [email protected] – 0203 470 0535
Grant Barker – [email protected] – 0203 470 0471
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*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)
+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.
Sources of commodity prices
Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver
BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London)
Gold ETFs, Steel
Bloomberg
Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt
LME
Oil Brent
ICE
Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore
NYMEX
Thermal Coal
Bloomberg OTC Composite
Coking Coal
SSY
RRE
Steelhome
Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Tungsten, Spodumene, Ferro-Manganese, Graphite
Asian Metal
