CSM - Consolidated Minerals

[ozambersand]

Here's an update on this saga (which has gone quiet of late!)

Warwick acquires ConsMins gold, chromite projects
20-April-07 by Edited announcement

West Perth-based minerals explorer Warwick Resources Ltd will acquire eight tenements adjoining its gold and chromite projects, from Allarrow Pty Ltd and Consolidated Minerals Ltd subsidiary Pilbara Chromite Pty Ltd, through a scrip issue.

The company will acquire five tenements adjoining its Jimblebar gold project, along with 20 per cent interest in Pilbara Chromite, for 400,000 Warwick shares.

It will also acquire 3 tenements from Allarrow that adjoining its West Coobina chromite project, for 350,000 Warwick shares.

Warwick shares closed yesterday at 29 cents, up 16 per cent.

They were trading today at 29.5 cents at 11:20 WST

Will this have any bearing on the proposed take-over of CSM?

I am also confused about the Appendix 3B posting from 11/4. Why have a stack of options been cancelled? I note no names have been linked with it.

 

[Rimtalay]

Hi, I doubt whether the deal with Warwick Resources will have any impact with the Pallinghurst Resources deal with ConsMin. Although sounds like ConsMin will pick up $1.5 million on the deal ( 400,000 shares in Warwick).
I do think however the deal with Allarrow P/L for the exploration tenements that host Chromite ore whilst a low grade could be profitable. You might already note ConsMin is the only chromite miner in Australia. Chrome ore is rocketing in China due to the export tax of US$44/ton imposed by the Indian Gov't on Chrome ore.
ConsMin is making $$$$ on Chrome ore at present. This is from Chinese metal trading websites. Includes chromite and manganese details.
www.metal-pages.com 19th April 07
Chrome ore surges to new high
European Mn market consolidates gains
European manganese spot prices have been relatively steady in the past week after a strong bull run that has seen the market more than double in price since the start of the year, dealers told Metal-Pages today. Manganese flake prices are around $4,300-4,600/tonne.
www.asianmetal.com 19th April 07
Higher offers on Chinese manganese ore market 2007-4-19 10:54:08
Chromium metal prices firm in India 2007-4-19 11:39:39
FeCr demand still strong in India 2007-4-19 10:53:21
Mn alloys market out of control in India 2007-4-19 9:11:45
Ferromanganese market firming up 2007-4-19 8:51:04
Chinese FeCr producers raise prices further 2007-4-19 8:46:02
FERRO-ALLOYS Japan Q2 ferrochrome at record high of 90c [2007-04-17]
FERRO-ALLOYS Prices of Domestic Chrome Market Increased Totally [2007-04-17]
FERRO-ALLOYS The Influence of Chrome Price on SS Enterprises Is Limited [2007-04-17]
ORES&CONCENTRATES Global Chrome Ore Price Soaring [2007-04-17]

 

[wintermute]

I am also confused about the Appendix 3B posting from 11/4. Why have a stack of options been canceled? I note no names have been linked with it.

I suspect that an employee resigned, or was terminated, and their employee bonus options were canceled (I think they were unlisted weren't they)...

Tony.

 

[ta2693]

You might already note ConsMin is the only chromite miner in Australia.

Are you sure?

As far as I know, there is another one: BHP.

 

[Rimtalay]

Hi ta2693, Consolidated Minerals has the only chromite ore mine in Australia, as it has the only economical chromite deposit 42% Cr2O3, that has been discovered in Australia.
Warwick Resources has announced that it has now secured the West Coobina Chromite leases, but the grade is low, only 16% Cr2O3, and whilst it is possible to upgrade the ore, it does become more expensive.
Chromite ore has gone ballistic in China, mostly because they don't have much themeselves except for deposits at Norbusa and Donchao which are in Tibet. These deposits are becoming more viable since the openning of the railway line to Tibet last year. However China needs a lot of Chrome ore for its stainless steel factories, even with the low grade stainless steel , ie 'crap' 200 series they need manganese and chromite.
South Africa has the largest deposits, and yes BHP have some mines there, Xstrada etc. The next largest deposits are in Kazakhstan , at Donskol. Turkey and India also export Chrome ore.
The Indian Gov't has introduced a US$44/ton export tax on chrome ore. The South African Gov't is imposing a total ban on unbeneficated chrome ore.
AS a result chrome ore is up 100%. Consolidated Minerals should be starting to make a killing. The management either
(A) stupid and don't know that chromite has gone up 100% and are still selling it at the old price.
OR (B) they are making heaps and do not want to tell the market in case the shareprice goes up and the Pallinghurst Resources takeover deal is dead.
I would think it is (B) and remember that Consolidated Minerals produce 250,000 tons and at an extra $100/ton adds an extra $25 million profit.

 

[Rimtalay]

ConsMin don't forget about NICKEL 200,000 tons of conatained nickel at 1% cut-off worth $12 billion.
KITCOMETALS

 

[Rimtalay]

News story re Gilbertson's takeover of ConsMin. I will post the full story as its a subscriber story.

CONSOLIDATED MINING
From outpost to outback
By Brendan RyanExpect the present management to be working to a new strategy
Having made piles of money for SA, Australian, British, Indian and Russian investors - not to mention himself - Brian Gilbertson has now picked an obscure Australian nickel producer as his next growth vehicle.

The company is Consolidated Minerals (Consmin), listed on the Australian stock exchange and London's AIM bourse.

Gilbertson is bidding for control through a private investment company - Pallinghurst Resources - which he runs with Arne Frandsen, the former CEO of Incwala Resources.


WHAT IT MEANS
Consmin should fill an investment void left by takeovers
Big plans to build up a small operator

Consmin MD Rod Baxter is ex-Anglo American, though he has just taken out Aussie citizenship, and two executives, Garth Higgo and Alistair Croll, are former Anglo Platinum executives who recently emigrated to Australia.

If the deal goes through, Gilbertson will join the Consmin board as a non executive director. Frandsen will move to Perth to become executive director responsible for strategy. The existing Consmin management team will stay.

Gilbertson and Frandsen go way back, through involvement in deals in Frandsen's investment banking days at JP Morgan. Gilbertson helped create Incwala.

Consmin documentation indicates Gilbertson began negotiating the deal in October last year. At that time he had just finalised the merger of Russian aluminum producers Sual and Rusal, and he told the FM (Features October 13 2006) that he would be staying on to oversee the listing of the merged group on the London Stock Exchange.

After that it seemed retirement would beckon, as he was pushing 65. "I must say, retirement at Plettenberg Bay looks very appealing," he said at the time. Not any more - he's now committed to involvement with Consmin for three years. Gilbertson acknowledges he would like to get more of a balance between his business and personal lives, but concedes it's something he has not been good at. So why carry on? Is it the challenge? The money? "Both. I get a kick out doing this," replies Gilbertson, who has already cleaned up on share option payouts after his stints at BHP Billiton, Vedanta and Sual.

His departure from all three groups has been controversial. The conspiracy theorists are now speculating about a fallout between Gilbertson and his former Russian backer, Victor Vekselberg, who was the major shareholder in Sual. But there is also speculation that Vekselberg is one of the investors in Pallinghurst. "He may be," replies Gilbertson, who declines to name all the investors in Pallinghurst.

Consmin operates small manganese, chrome and nickel mines and plants in Western Australia, with an active iron ore exploration and development programme. It also has interests in copper, zinc and tungsten.

Consmin believes it could consolidate a number of small iron ore players in the midwest region of Western Australia.

Higgo says the intention is to transform Consmin into a "midtier" mining group over three to five years, filling an investment void created by takeovers of groups like North, MIM, Normandy and WMC.

The obvious question is whether Consmin will go the same way. Not easily, Higgo replies, given the size of the controlling block held by Pallinghurst, even though this may be diluted over time.

Pallinghurst is a joint venture investment vehicle based in London, backed by privately owned resource group AMCI, which has a co-investment arrangement with Pallinghurst.

AMCI holds investments world wide, including large coal interests in Australia. It has just sold some of these coal assets to CVRD and it seems likely the remaining coal assets could go to Consmin. AMCI cofounder Hans Mende will also be joining the Consmin board.

Gilbertson says Consmin is the second of "between five and 10 " investment opportunities Pallinghurst is looking for. Pallinghurst's first deal was to buy the rights to the Fabergé brand name.

Asked where he will be based, Gilbertson says: "London, SA, Australia - wherever it makes sense to be." One place it will not be is Moscow; Gilbertson sounds relieved to be out of the bitter Russian winter and back at his house in Plett.

 

[Sainter]

An article in today's West suggesting a private equity group led by UBS and Goldman Sachs JB Were is believed to be running the ruler over CSM. Speculation also suggests they might try to lure Michael Kiernan back.
It can't be any worse than the cr@# Gilbertson and Baxter are trying to force us to accept. And besides an increased offer, ousting Baxter would be the next best thing that could happen from a shareholder perspective.

 

[Rimtalay]

Private equity group mulls move on ConsMin

25th April 2007, 9:00 WST


A private equity consortium led by investment banks UBS and Goldman Sachs JBWere is believed to be running the numbers on WA miner Consolidated Minerals to counter Brian Gilbertson’s floundering $320 million partial takeover offer.

The former BHP Billiton chief’s Pallinghurst Resources is seeking a 60 per cent stake in a revamped ConsMin via a friendly cash and scrip offer notionally valuing the miner at $2.28 a share.

But the offer has failed to gain traction due to its lack of any control premium and the expectation that the deal will have to be sweetened to succeed.

That has kept ConsMin shares, which yesterday eased 4¢ to $2.50, well above the notional offer price since it was unveiled in February.

Against that backdrop, industry sources said the two banks were working on a potential rival deal backed by fresh private equity funding from Australian and overseas investors.

UBS and Goldman Sachs JBWere declined to comment.

But on Monday, Goldman Sachs coincidentally raised $415 million to launch a new Australasian private equity fund with a “mid-market focus looking at deals of around $100 million to $500 million”.

Rumour suggests any rival offer may include splitting ConsMin’s underground nickel mining operations from its open pit mines in the Pilbara for sale to new operators.

Speculation also suggests the proponents may seek to lure back ousted ConsMin founder Michael Kiernan to take charge of the Pilbara operations, which account for 10 per cent of the world’s manganese supplies.

ConsMin’s share price plunged after Mr Kiernan quit over a pay dispute in late 2005 and the company has since struggled in the face of volatile manganese prices and difficulties at its nickel mines.

But manganese and chromite prices have rebounded strongly, and nickel prices have blasted past $US50,000 a tonne since Pallinghurst began negotiating with ConsMin in October.

Yet Pallinghurst has refused to budge from its initial offer of $1.38 a share in cash, plus two shares in a new ConsMin for every five shares held in the current company. The new Cons-Min would be 60 per cent owned by Pallinghurst and bid partner AMCI Holdings.

Mr Gilbertson will return to Australia next month for an investor roadshow but faces a tough task convincing wavering investors to accept.

“The clock is well and truly ticking, and Brian desperately has to pull a rabbit out of the hat,” one source said yesterday. “At the end of the day, if someone comes up with a reasonable alternative, it may be all over.”

A ConsMin spokesman said the company did not comment on “market speculation”.

 

[ta2693]

That is a very good news. It is very interesting to see the performance of this stock next week.
My understanding of this sentence "UBS and Goldman Sachs JBWere declined to comment" = acquiescence
Do you agree?
Rim - Thanks for your sharing and continuing studying of this one.

 

[Rimtalay]

STRONG SPECULATION www.mineweb.net Does Gilbertson have a rival for Consolidated Minerals?
A competing bid by a grouping of financial institutions is thought to be on the cards for Consmin – already the subject of a bid from Brian Gilbertson-led Pallinghurst.

Author: Ross Louthean
Posted: Wednesday , 25 Apr 2007

PERTH -

Now that the Australian sharemarket has started going cold on the Pallinghurst bid for control of manganese, chromite and nickel miner Consolidated Minerals Ltd, there is warm speculation of a competing bid that may certainly put Brian Gilbertson off his Corn Flakes.

Mineweb reported early this month -- after the share price of ConsMin had begun to lift -- that the Brian Gilbertson-led Pallinghurst bid for the company was now looking unattractive and that brokers felt Gilbertson would have to sweeten the bid.

However, there are now suggestions of a counter bid, with Western Australia's daily newspaper The West Australian reporting that a private equity group was now eyeing ConsMin.

According to the report international investment banks UBSS and Goldman Sachs JBWere were running numbers on ConsMins to counter "Brian Gilbertson's floundering $A320 million ($US266 M) partial takeover offer."

Today was ANZAC Day, a public holiday to commemorate Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have fallen at wars beginning with the disastrous assault on Gallipoli in World War I. Though trading of ConsMin shares on Tuesday finished down A4 cents to $A2.50 ($US2.08) it was still mathematically well above the Pallinghurst offer.

What helped fan the speculation of a Goldman Sachs JBWere move was a raising at the beginning of this week by that Melbourne-based firm linked to one of North America's biggest banking and broking houses of $A415 M ($US345.3 M) to reportedly look at "mid market" deals, a category into which ConsMin falls.

As Mineweb indicated there is strong speculation that anyone targeting ConsMin may look at hiving off the Beta Hunt nickel mining operations in Kambalda, given that other new nickel miners who picked up mines in that area are making spectacular profits with the high nickel price, and their low operating costs.

Pallinghurst's bid has set a minimum target of 50.1% and when launched had the support of the ConsMin board.

Reportings to the Australian Stock Exchange to trading close on Tuesday showed that ConsMin is yet to release its March quarter report, and this will have a big bearing on the share price and the Pallinghurst relationship and whether Gilbertson's appetite is whet to lift the bid or whether the cited private equity group would make a move.

 

[Rimtalay]

When the bid by Pallinghurst Resources was announced in Feb 07 the company stated that the scheme documentation would be sent to shareholders in mid April 07, and voted on in mid May 07. For no good reason this has been extended till June 07 and voted on in July 07.
Many shareholders have indicated that this delay is not acceptable .

ConsMin shareholders, please advise your feelings on this delay.
We are planning a detailed submission to the ASX and ASIC

 

[Rimtalay]

MINING FINANCE & INVESTMENT ( I will post full story as you may not be able access it)
SURVIVING RUSSIAN ALUMINIUM
Gilbertson’s retreat from Moscow – more hot than cold
The big South African prepares resourceful counterattack.

Author: John Helmer
Posted: Wednesday , 25 Apr 2007

MOSCOW -

Brian Gilbertson was the most important international executive ever to work for a Russian corporation, when he moved to Moscow in August 2004, signing on as president of Siberian Ural Aluminium (SUAL), a mining and metals company. He still is, but that's because no-one of comparable importance has followed him, either on the smooth road into Moscow, or on the bumpy one out.

The Gilbertson appointment, accompanied by published hints of a 50 million-sterling bonus, was also Victor Vekselberg's biggest catch, in his attempt to take his second-string private company to a public listing on the London Stock Exchange. Vekselberg is one of Russia's richest men; and also one of those to be found on the defendants' list in court cases alleging he had lifted someone else's assets. At the end of March, Gilbertson parted company with Vekselberg.

Behind Gilbertson's back, Vekselberg told Russians he was more than unhappy with the big South African. For one thing, Gilbertson had proved unable to generate market support for the SUAL float on which Vekselberg had been counting. Never mind that it had been President Vladimir Putin himself, who told Vekselberg last September that Vekselberg would not be allowed to take his company public by itself. Instead, Vekselberg has had to accept a 23% stake in a merger with his rival Oleg Deripaska's Russian Aluminium (Rusal). Initially, Gilbertson was slated to be the representative of that stake as non-executive chairman of the new company. Gilbertson also reportedly tried winning Deripaska over with the prospect of a takeover bid for Anglo American.

But when the Kremlin, Deripaska, and Vekselberg agreed among themselves that the chairman of the new Rusal had to be Russian, and Vekselberg himself took the seat, Gilbertson had nothing left to do in Moscow, but to claim his bonus. Vekselberg said no. Unlike several of his argumentative predecessors in the Russian aluminium business, who have ended up in hiding, in prison, or in a body bag, Gilbertson was allowed to leave in one piece.

Apparently, for Vekselberg will not corroborate the details, and Gilbertson is still biding his time before spilling the beans, the bonus was just one of several arguments between them. Another - which Vekselberg's subordinates claim to be still in negotiation with Gilbertson - concerned Gilbertson's new global investment vehicle, Pallinghurst Resources (PR). Registered on a Caribbean island, and headquartered in London, PR has already opened a cash and scrip bid to take over the West Australian multi-mineral miner, Consolidated Minerals (ConsMin). In his opening offer, Gilbertson said that Pallinghurst is backed by a billion dollars of "equity commitments". Vekselberg is now claiming to his associates that not a penny of that will be his.

A third argument, which Gilbertson's son Sean has corroborated, is over what was intended to be a profitable development of Faberge, the trademark of the royal Russian jeweller a century ago. This was put on sale last year by Unilever for $40 million. Alrosa said it wasn't worth more than $5 million. Vekselberg had in mind to buy cheap, and resell to Alrosa, cutting others into the deal proceeds, if he succeeded. But Pallinghurst jumped in first, buying Faberge for a price that has queered Vekselberg's scheme.

When he took over at SUAL, Gilbertson conceded there was much he didn't know about how Vekselberg and his associates had put together the bauxite mines, alumina refineries, and aluminium smelters which had become SUAL's assets. Gilbertson appointed his own lawyer to investigate whether any wrong had been done, especially in the case of the Volgograd Aluminium Plant, an asset which was consolidated on to SUAL's balance-sheet several months after Gilbertson took charge - and legal responsibility. For a dispossessed shareholder in that smelter had already won Russian court rulings supporting his claim to have been robbed. The Volgograd claim has since been reviewed by international lawyers, and as Vekselberg moved towards a London listing, so has the prospective jurisdiction for a hearing on the allegations.

In more promising days, it was Gilbertson who introduced Vekselberg in South Africa, and encouraged him to make promises of black empowerment cash, and a billion dollars of investment besides. Those promises landed Vekselberg a warm seat on President Thabo Mbeki's international investment advisory council. Vekselberg's wife decided that she wanted to buy the Cape wine farm and hostelry, Vrede en Lust, while her husband's involvement in funding ANC front companies has been under hot investigation for several months.

 

[Rimtalay]

Consolidation, then growth
Clive Henley
April 30, 2007 12:00am
THROUGHOUT its long history on the stock exchange Consolidated Minerals - first listing in 1969 - has kept a relatively low profile.
It has survived a number of market booms and busts. A new chapter in its history is unfolding now with a scheme of arrangement on the table.
The proposal by British-based Pallinghurst and AMCI is to form a new ASX-listed resource company.
Shareholders in CSM have been offered $1.38 and two shares in the new company for every five CSM shares. This offer equates to around $2.30 per CSM share.
It is opportunistic and well timed, coming as it does after a 2006 profit impacted by depressed manganese prices. It also does not reflect an adequate premium for a change in control at CSM.
The company mines manganese and chromite near Port Hedland in Western Australia and nickel at Kambalda. Like nickel, manganese and chromite are raw materials for carbon and stainless steel.
CSM also has a 20 per cent interest in the Jaguar copper project near Leonora and an iron ore project in a joint venture with Fortescue Metals.
Following a loss in fiscal 2006 earnings are set to jump this year. Forecast earnings for 2007 equate to 17.6 per share with a dividend of 4 forecast placing the stock on a 1.6 per cent yield at prices around $2.50.
Forecasts for the 2008 financial year are for earnings per share of 39.8; a prospective price to earnings ratio of a low 6.3 times.
The injection of new blood into the company appears a definite positive.
Pallinghurst Resources is a natural resources investment vehicle chaired by Brian Gilbertson (ex-BHP Billiton).
From a technical standpoint the price action in recent times shows that the shares suffered a steady decline in line with retreating earnings in 2005-06.
From a high of $4.40 in August 2005, a low of $1.60 was reached in June 2006. Things have since improved.
First, in October last the downtrend was broken following a strong rally to $2.50.
This, when combined with the fact that the target from the top of $1.80 had been met and exceeded last June, is a bullish sign.
Recently a new high at $2.70 represented the breakout of a base pattern with a short term target of $3.80 and possible longer term target of $4.80.
Some recent weakness is finding support at $2.50 which appeals as an attractive purchase point with those willing to take some risk.
- Clive Henley is a technical analyst/adviser at Tolhurst Noal. clive.henley@tolhurst.com.au

 

[Rimtalay]

If you read the latest Bell Potter research document<br>http://www.usail2.com/CSM_070427%20Bell%20potter.pdf<br>you will be horrified to see that these dimwits either can't add up or have a $100 million typo in their research.<br>I hope your not paying this pack of clowns for information. They show a downgraded FY07 annual sales revenue of $186.9 million when it should show an upgraded $280 million. <br>see the Consolidated Minerals Vote No website<br>http://www.usail2.com/consolidated_takeover_updates.htm

 

[Sainter]

From the VOTE NO website-CSM shareholdings in other companies
http://www.usail2.com/consolidated_takeover_assets.htm

NAME; No of SHARES HELD; % OF COMPANY; SHARE PRICE; TOTAL VALUE
JABIRU, 117,787,353; 31.73%; $1.245; $146,645,254
BC IRON; 15,000,000; 28%; $1.55, $23,250,000
MITHRIL; 7,115,000; 19.99%; 0.435c; $3,095,025
REED RES; 12,300,000; 17.75%; 0.495c; $6,088,500
VITAL METALS;11,105,150; 13.74%; 0.74c; $8,217,811

LAST UPDATED 3rd May 07 Total Value $187,296,590.00

So, that means CSM market cap currently $568M-almost a third is made up of other companies which Baxter can't fudge the values on or deliberately talk down their prospects.

You could argue then that CSM's profit from its Ni, chromium and manganese assets are from the smaller capital base of $381M.

My conservative H2 projections, based on info from CSM announcements, are as follows:
Mn income (AFTER mining costs) $18.9M
Cr income(AFTER mining costs) $25.1M
Ni income(AFTER mining costs) $32.7M (based on reduced target of 4000 tpa)
SUM $76.7M

Assume admin expenses of $30M, as it was in H2 '05 and H1'06.

NPBT $46.7M

Tax@30% = $14.0M

NPAT $32.7M, or 14.4 cps.
Remember this is projected H2 profit only. For full year, add $10.2M = $42.9 and PER 14.
PER 14 is not great, but H1 was average. If PER based on 2*H2, PER = 9.2.
Don't forget these are conservative numbers, chromium and manganese are jumping up in price, Ni will not be hedged come next FY, and more Ni should be produced as they reach richer orebodies.

To put it in perspective, 4000t Ni @US$45k/t and exch rate of 83c and cash cost A$7.5 per payable pound gives income AFTER mining & smelting costs of A$88M. If they can ramp up to 6000 tpa (should not be too hard given they projected 5000 tpa this year and 15000 tpa by 2009-11), this becomes A$132M. And this does not include Mn or Cr.

$2.28 a share? Gimme a break!

 

[noirua]

This looks to be a continuing ongoing saga and some may be wiser to exit this stock on the next speculative uplift.

There is a two way thought into the Board of CSM accepting and recommending the offer. At least a fortune isn't being spent on defending the bid.

So far no one else is interested in CSM and this will lower expectations and the level of the raised bid, if and when it comes.

When working out a value for a particular mine or project there is the risk factor to be added in and this markedly reduces the value of an asset. Maybe from 10% to 50% with financing a big factor but by no means always the biggest.

 

[Rimtalay]

Have you seen the Vote NO website
ConsMin currently has $187 million in other companies in shares JML,BCI,MTH,RDR,VML that is 83c per share before we start on 200,000 tons of nickel at US$23/lb. ($12 billion) There is 30 million ton of manganese as they upgrade the resources and reserves with the new discoveries. Chromite is at an all time high, and what about Mindy Mindy iron ore.
The bid will not pass without a price close to $3/share, we have some shareholders currently running all the numbers, I'll start posting them soon, once we get all the information, ConsMin could be looking at profit of $60 million FY07, thats a 10% return on investment on a share price of $2.67, that's almost unheard of.
Hundreds of shareholders have contacted the Vote NO website and all but one person will vote NO, and the one YES vote did not leave their ID,I'm sure it was a Company Stooge, like Blue Bay Diver on ASF.

 

[Rimtalay]

Nickel ,
A) for the March Quarter we have 493 payable tons at US$11.10/lb and using AUD$1 to US0.82 ie. Total $14.68 million . Balance of the March Quarter production is 473 payable tons at AUD$24.84 /lb Total $25.89 million.

Total nickel =$40.54 million x 65% ( allowing the 35% BHP offtake agreement)= $24.93 million less the $35/ton conversion fee = TOTAL $26.31 million

B) For the last quarter we have 180 payable tons (hedged) @US$13.52 = AUD$6.53 million

Balance of production 820 tons at the spot price. ( my guess US$23.00/lb , this month so far the average is US$22.79/lb)

820 tons at US$23/lb = AUD$50.6 million

Total April-June $57.13 million x 65% = $37.13 million – conversion fee

Total = $37.1 million.

C)First half was $30.4 million

FY07 Nickel =$26.31 +$37.1 + $30.4 = $93.81 million

SO WE HAVE FY07 Annual sales of $93.81 million
FY07 EBITDA =$40 million (first 1/2 year $11.5 million)

 

[Rimtalay]

Manganese,
using the Dec ½ year report we have a production of 471,606 tons for a revenue of AUD$63.7 million = AUD$135/ton. In the March quarterly report Mr Baxter says that the increases in manganese prices will add 10% onto the FY07 revenue, just a tricky way of downplaying what is essentially a 20% increase , so using this increase AUD$135 x 10% = $148.50. If we use the yearly production target of say 910,000 tons we will have a
total FY07 revenue of AUD $135.1 million.
less cash costs $2.25/dmtu =$108/ton
$108 x 910,000 = $98.2 million
EDITDA FY07 = $36.9 million ( half year $13.9 million)
2nd half is more than double due to huge increase in Mn price.