No doubt that the mining investment landscape in Tanzania has vastly improved, fortunately.
I struggle to see where the confidence in PEK management arises from, to be honest. I am typically not one to bash management and harbour unrealistic timeframe expectations. PEK management have yet to demonstrate any great capacity to advance the project.
Provisional SML approval took forever and general communication of the details was poor. Whilst management are not to blame for political instability in Tanzania, I can't see how they can take any credit for this achievement either. The recent placement was a typical raise at VWAP discount and the SPP was forgettable.
Was it the termination of the ANRF royalty facility that is perceived as a management success? A payment was made...
The next obstacle is finalisation of the economic framework agreement and formation of a corporate vehicle for Ngualla ownership that satisfies Tanzanian law. Sound management ought to see this progressed quickly, but again, PEK is reliant on an inefficient government partner.
Formal SML grant ought to be a mere formality and thus I wouldn't attribute that victory to great management either. As @Brakeoutthecash alluded to, have PEK management been sufficiently active on this front over the last year?
The true assessable test for management will come post SML grant in the arrangement of positive offtake deals and debt funding in a timely fashion. There can be no hiding or excuses at that stage. Again, with project economics likely to strengthen through the updated BFS and consideration of increased geopolitical strategic interest in the REE space, Ngualla development ought not be a hard sell.
PEK Price at posting:
8.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)