Weekend question to you and other holders who are looking forward and up to the right, not perpetually back and down to the right.
Long one so grab a coffee or hair of the dog as I may have missed an earlier discussion on this but it relates to Stu's owner/operator status comment (28/2) and capital needs for BP33 development, float curcuit and Grants restart.
With Mineral Resources' CSI Mining Services already onsite for crushing and Lucas released from mining duties, is there any 'word on the decline' or opinions on whether MinRes could move to replicate their WA goldfields central float and concentrator tolling model in NTs Lichfield lithium belt??
CXO (31MT and growing) and other juniors hold the ground with high prospectivity but undefined resources scattered across numerous small pegmatites that will struggle to be economic. Same as WA goldfields lithium hopefuls - couple of sub 30MT resource holders with heaps of shrapnel tenements.
In next 12 to 24 months CXO need to fund Grants mining restart, concentrator recovery optimisation, working capital, BP33 underground to operation and float circuit.
To all the knocker - Yes, it's a big task but you can leave now because nothing would get built in any project on your watch.
MinRes are using Bald Hill concentrator as the nucleus for WA the goldfields hub. Securing A40 assets provides early cashflow and they are lifting capacity from 150ktpa to 250ktpa with approx $30m in upgrades. Float circuit to follow in region to target 400ktpa to 450ktpa in near term. Mines and Money speculate they could be obtaining land and clean water supply through BHP Nickel West destressed asset sale/shutdown.
We all know Finniss is not in a good place right now and strategic reviews are ongoing. We need options to move from survive to thrive. We want growth beyond 180ktpa nameplate not stagnation at 80ktpa.
Grants concentrator is key strategic asset to fast deployment/replication of WA model for MinRes.
Given MinRes core competence as 'pit to ship' mine service, haulage and BOO infrastructure model, and commercial links to Bill Beament's Develop Global Ltd for underground mine development (13.9% ownership and Mt Marion) could that be our path to sustained operation across the price cycle?
I see a CXO/MinRes JV as an option that should be pursued by management.
CXO farms in Grants concentrator and Finniss tenaments to a JV where MinRes earns in with BP33/Carlton development, float circuit build, nameplate lift to circa 250-300ktpa SC5.5 and they lock-in life of mine pit to port mining contract for themselves and then tap other tenaments holders to grow resource base and optionality.
Whatever we lose in equity, we gain in throughput and project strength/momentum.
Without significant near term revenue from converting existing ore on Grants ROM pad we'll need new capital to achieve 50% of what is required to monetise the incoming spod price recovery. Delay by 12 months and we fall off the back of the incoming market recovery (wave).
In my view of CXO management need to pursue corporate restart and growth options to get Finniss to nameplate ASAP and grow output faster than BAU into the incoming China SC spot recovery.
We need an aggressive plan to make bank ($$$) all the way up and down the next wave.
Yes, we will need to farm in key producing assets and hand over equity in our JORC resource for a JV with a stronger partner but that is better than holding a zombie asset with staff wearing L-Plates in the next boom or stagnating as a cyclical boom-bust, stop-start mine.
Last in, first out is not the future I want for my CXO holding.
Declaration - I am long both CXO and MIN.
Your thoughts?
EV_RE100
CXO Price at posting:
24.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)