Thanks for these explanations. Yes, I read all your posts as they are worth reading and has helped us punters understand quite a number of things. I thank you for this.
- How much do you reckon we can sell the whole business for? I suppose the site rehabilitation will then become the buyers problem?
I believe we should all support CJ as much as we can as it is not his fault we are in this situation. I will do something I have never done before. I will share an email that I sent to CJ today. Hopefully, I will get an answer early next week. I invite all punters to provide comments / analysis / suggestions.
Email to CJ:
Hi Craig,
It seems to me that we are heading straight into liquidation or VA. If this happens, SHs will lose 100% of their investment. So, maybe the best option for us is to restart and give it a go as best we can. All the additional metallurgy tests we did came back positive. Some more tests are outstanding and should be due in a month or two. As a miner with 30 years’ experience, you are certainly the right person in the right place. So, the queries I have are:
· Is the finance package still on the table? Are there still two parties interested? Are the terms of the offer unchanged from last year?
· Are we still looking to raise circa A$100M? I know it would have been a split between debt and equity. At this moment, massive dilution will occur if we do the equity raise. So, is it possible to raise say A$60M debt this quarter and do the equity raise later? We only need A$38M for the refurb + accommodation deposit + pit work + working capital. We don’t have much time left as we run out of money at the end of this quarter.
· Things can change quickly as we saw with the np crashing in the last few months. For me US$16,000/ton seems to be a point where even the Indonesians are struggling from what I read. Next year, the np could be up again to a level that will allow us to keep afloat whilst repaying our debts.
· If we are to get the finance deal over the line, we need to show the financier that we are managing costs. All outgoings need to be cut to the bare bone for us to get a chance to survive. So, we get the A$60M from the financier and we start our refurb. All POS staff can be paid a maximum of A$100k pa + receive the balance of their wages in shares for a minimum of 2 years. Note that this will most likely make our sp increase and will thereby be a win for the staff eventually. This will be their reward for taking a bit of pain at the start. All other activities need to be brought to a minimum or even stopped (for eg exploration). We have heaps of nickel already at BS and since BS is first to start and we don’t have money, we have (not a choice but a reality) to stop drilling to have a chance to survive. You keep a skeleton team to get us through to next year when we start production. You let go of the staff that have now become unnecessary due to the stop of exploration and drilling. Even transitioning them from full time to part time (2 days max per week) will not be sufficient IMO. We need to conserve cash or we will be bankrupt in the next 2 – 3 months.
· Crunch time now Craig. You are in charge and the only one who can save this company. Your position as CEO will sometimes call for tough decisions. I know they are your friends and you have a feeling of gratitude, friendship, etc towards them. But the very survival of the company depends on the prompt actions you are going to take. They are not idiots. They very well know and understand the predicament we find ourselves in at this moment.
· It seems we could get a 10% production credit - EDIT I DON'T THINK THIS APPLY TO US - if we go in production. This will therefore decrease our AISC thereby generating more profits for us and making our operations more sustainable. There is also a possibility of tax and royalty cuts.
· It seems to me that if we go into liquidation, we will not generate much from the assets we hold, if anything at all. We only paid 2 or 3 million for BS and SS. I cannot see us getting much more for them. If you disagree, please substantiate your argument.
· Can we do a deal with the power provider for a cheaper energy deal, given the meeting that happened yesterday whereby the ministers were saying they will support nickel producers?
· Are we able to get any kind of financial assistance from the government following yesterday’s meeting with the ministers?
· Were you at the meeting? Did POS send their requests to the industry representative who was at the meeting? What were these requests? Were they discussed at the meeting? What were the outcomes?
Now is the time to start the refurbishment Craig, if the finance deal is still on the table. Otherwise, we will fail anyway. So, we better fail trying than wait for the inevitable drying up of the cash. If we try, we are certainly giving ourselves a fair chance of survival and prospering.
Happy Australia Day to you Craig. Not a happy Australia Day for me this time when I see what the fate of POS could be.
Please don’t ask me to sell. I have been invested in POS for nearly a decade and if I sell, I will crystalize over 90% loss. Instead, please give it a go and restart production. What other choice do we have otherwise?
I am certainly happy to see that you are the right person to be at the helm if I go per your CV. Now is decision time Craig. Tough decision but the right decision IMO. Please issue FID now Craig.
(20min delay)
