FND - Finders Resources

Finders Resources Limited (FND) is a copper producer targeting 20,000-25,000 tpa copper production from its Wetar Copper Project (FND 94%) in Indonesia, and also controls an advanced gold-silver project at Ojolali (FND 71.7%) in Indonesia.

http://www.findersresources.com

MC - $51m
SP - 16.5c
Shares - 315m
Options - 73m (unquoted)
Cash - $2.2m (+ $14m loan facility)

FND doesn't interest me greatly, so will just provide the basics from their latest announcement.

Background Information on Finders
Finders is the operator of the Wetar Copper Project (95% Interest), and the Ojolali Gold‐Silver Project (72% with option), both located in Indonesia. The Wetar Copper Project comprisestwo high grade deposits, Kali Kuning and Lerokis, which are located within 3kmfromthe coast and suitable for open pit mining. The project benefits from having existing infrastructure in place, particularly a wharf, camp and roads and partially pre‐stripped copper ore bodies from a prior gold mining era.
From February 2009 to December 2010, Finders successfully operated a 5 tonne per day Solvent Extraction/Electro Winning (“SX/EW”) demonstration plant to test copper sulphide leach kinetics, optimise process design and provide data required for project finance. The demonstration plant produced and sold about 2,500 tonnes of LME Grade A copper cathode, all of which was sold at a premium to the LME price and withoutspecification issues. The test heaps are at heightssimilar to commercial operations worldwide and the SX/EW technology being used isindustry standard. SX/EW technology is currently responsible for approximately 22% of the world’s copper production. The development of the Wetar Copper Project comprises the brownfields expansion of the existing demonstration plant to 7,000tpa capacity, followed by incorporation of the Whim Creek plant to lift production to 25,000tpa.

Wetar Copper Project
Finders advise thatthe Maluku Provincial Forestry Department has completed itsfinal boundary and inventory surveys on WetarIsland and has now departed site to complete reporting.
The remaining work and documentation to satisfy the conditions of the In‐principal licence (Izin Prinsip) are now expected to be complete by the end of April, at which point the central Forestry
Departmentin Jakarta shall commence processing the Borrow and Use permit (PinjamPakai).

Ojolali Project
Following the successful completion of leach recovery testing, Finders has approval to move its second project,Ojolali, into the feasibility stage.
The Indonesian operating company, PT Batutua Way Kanan Mineralsreceived a decision letter (B35b DPE-WK/ HK / 20 13) from the Regent of Way Kanan, in which approval was granted to commence the Feasibility Stage of the IUP Exploration Period. The extension of the IUP isinitially for one year, but this can be extended for a further year to complete studies if required. The Company is currently preparing plans to commission a feasibility study which will initially focus on start‐up operations atthe JambiOxide gold deposit.

Unbelievable. These muppets just came out of a one week suspension from trade to announce placement of $12mil of shares to preferential shareholders at a whopping 31% discount to the price it last traded on 1 November, diluting the sucker retail holders by 15%. So while the copper price and other copper miners shares are soaring FND starts trading again today and drops 20%. What a disaster. What a screwing over of the retail investors. The only upside is that if this is the start of a recovery in copper, then at least the company will get the full benefit of recovering copper prices now that it has closed out its hedge book as it ramps up to full production in the newly commissioned SXEW plant. I hold.

It's all over for the retail investors. The hostile, unfairly priced takeover by native Indonesian interests has succeeded. The takeover consortium has reached a 60% controlling interest. I've been throwing out the takeover offer documentation so I've had to call Atomic, the share registry, and request that they email me the acceptance form.

This investment has carried quite a bit of sovereign risk (refer to my post above) but I'm getting out with a 50% profit, which will help offset the complete disaster of my investment in Tiger Resources (TGS) which has capitulated to a fire-sale mandated by its bankers after the management loaded it up with debt and then managed to completely stuff-up a capital expansion project right when the bottom fell out of the price of copper.

Grab your popcorn, this is going to be interesting!

The Australian Government Takeover Panel released a statement today. They have received an application from ASIC:

ASIC seeks final orders including that:

• the acceptances of Taurus and the two independent directors are cancelled

• withdrawal rights be offered to Finders shareholders in respect of whom an acceptance was received by Eastern Field on or after 20 March 2018 and

• Eastern Field must not take into account voting power in shares that are the subject of the acceptances cancelled or withdrawn for purposes of item 9 of section 611 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Click to expand...

I received notification from Automic (the share registry handling the take-over) that my acceptance (dated 27 March) has been received. I am not sure what will be gained from withdrawing my acceptance if ASIC's orders are granted. I had a target price for this share of $0.30, well above the $0.23 hostile take-over price that we were more-or-less forced to accept. This mine is located in Indonesia, so even if the hostile take-over is cancelled or held-up, there is too much sovereign risk at play now. All I can hope to gain is a better offer price if the acceptances are cancelled.

Full statement from the Takeovers Panel attached.

On May 14th, 2019, Finders Resources Limited (FND) was removed from the ASX's Official List following compulsory acquisition of the Company's securities by Eastern Field Developments Limited.