Oh! Oh!
I can answer that!!
Windimurra - The mine complex is falling apart - 3 blokes have been 'maintaining' it on their own for years.
The figures didn't stack up, don't stack up, and never will stack up - and it's a $700 million white elephant that will eventually rust away.
Even Glencore gave up.
Glencore (Xstrata) + PMA threw $180million at it in the 1990's - and Glencore walked away. PMA threw another $100million at it in 2005 - a decision that sent them to the wall.
Atlantic 'bought it' from the creditors of Windimurra / PMA's carcass promising to put $100million into 'fixing' the extraction / benefication problems at the plant that sent PMA bust.
In 2009 they re-opened - it took to 2012 to actually start mining again - and mined an unremarkable 142 tonnes (instead of the estimated 7750 tonnes) that year.
Windimurra, suffering from Atlantics lack of maintenance, and a sense of humour, then caught fire, and the creditors preferred no-one at all over Atlantic's subsidiary debt-laden companies (and the money they wanted for a 'rescue package' despite having insurance claims approved) - and told them to 'do one' in 2014.
Atlantic, proving it also was a funny guy, went bust as well after its Windimurra subsidiary ownership companies (MWV + AVH) failed to lodge a $5million interest payment on loans and be unable to pay $81million in repairs - despite receiving $86 million in staged insurance payouts....to MWV who promptly called in the receivers and fixed nothing.
Atlantic re-launched as a private entity in 2016 and completely took the mickey by buying it back off the guys they owed money to the last time for the confidence inspiring amount of $250,000 (creditors writing off millions) - and have done sweet FA.
Hmmmm.
It has remained closed and unuseable ever since. If Glencore couldn't make it work at $12lb - I doubt if AVL will manage to clean the office at $6.40lb.
It doesn't work there because it's just too damn hard to get stuff out of the ground without massive expense - and there's at least $200 million worth of work to do to even think of mining again - including the front-end crushing circuit and beneficiation plant - you know, the important bits.
Doesn't matter what 'other' metals are in the ground - no-one can get it out in a cost effective way, and even if you did - the bloody mine is stuffed!
Barrambie has been trying to get off the ground since 2003. Despite adding just about every metal on earth to it's 'potential' - nothing has happened of note, except wasting $40million to get to this landmark stage - of absolutely nothing happening.
Based on the outstanding results of both failed mines, AVL - yes folks, AVL have rushed in to waste more of their shareholders money to prove again that neither mine is feasible.
AVL were so confident of success they raced to sign a non-binding agreement to work with Neometals - for the brain-churning timeframe of 9 months.
It, of course, has expired with nothing being achieved except wasting yet more AVL share-holder money.
To further prove the credentials of AVL , in their BFS of 2022, they proudly stated they based it on - *drumroll* - Windimurra and Barrambie - 2 projects that have completely failed!!
You couldn't make it up, so luckily we have AVL to do that kind of garbage for you.
This is the wagon that RCF / Regal / Asata and Sabine (whoever they work for) et al want YOU to approve a takeover from at 12:1
A company that has failed to do anything meaningful, which has been diluted to heck and back, has lifestyle management teams - and base its BFS on failed mining explorers.
You couldn't make this stuff up with ChatGPT.
It's going to take more than 12:1 to make AVL or anything or anyone associated with them look remotely good value.
I maintain this was a lowball fishing trip by RCF via AVL - they needed to know who they had to take seriously in the ranks of TMT shareholders, and get an idea of the 'favourable' offer required to takeover TMT via AVL.
RCF will sit at 17.9% (at current SOA ratio offer) after takeover.
Chomp.Chomp.Chomp.
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