Progress towards the mining code - AKO Thread, page-30

Ok, so it has been about 6.5 months since I created this thread, and there has been undeniable progress on the implementation of the mining code from the Malagasy Government and Mining Minister.

The most interesting is made in reference to the presentation below, where the mining minister lists "Near Term Projects" where I have listed the companies and status listed below where 3 of 7 are in production or approved. Not it seems like a question of "where are we in the queue?"

What do we know:
- Mining minister presented at Africa Down Under on 4 September (so 3 months ago) -
---- 2m:15s - The country had instability with relation to mining for at least the last 12 years
---- 3m:40s - The adoption of the new mining code was decreed
---- 6m:53s - Talks about "releasing squares", which are mining leases that are unlikely to be exploited by the current lease holders (DONE - with reference to the recent raise for the purchase of the "Bekisopa South" tenement)
---- 8m:15s - The government will process pending requests, and then open up to new requests (DOING - we know that Base / Energy Fuels have had their permit granted, the next question is where are we in the queue?)
---- 9m:40s - Talks about wanting to speed up and developer "Near Future" projects.
-------- Akora Resources - is the only Iron Ore project that is listed. I am not sure of the complexity for graphite, but I am certain Iron Ore is much simpler than mineral sands and rare earths, so should be pretty quick to get up and running
-------- Base Toliara / EnergyFuels - Approved after suspension since 2019 https://www.mining.com/madagascar-lifts-suspension-on-energy-fuels-critical-minerals-project/
-------- Nextsource - Approved, in production and first shipment completed https://www.mining.com/nextsource-ships-first-madagascar-graphite-to-global-markets/
-------- Evion - in a similar position to us, waiting on approvals
-------- Tirupati - Approved and in production - https://clubofmozambique.com/news/madagascar-tirupati-graphite-commences-full-scale-operations-at-vatomina-graphite-project-264224/
-------- Harena Resources - Privately held, so not a lot of information, but looks to be in a quite advanced state - https://www.miningweekly.com/article/harena-secures-us-offtaker-for-rare-earth-products-from-incoming-madagascar-project-2024-05-16
-------- Gold Sands - Seems like another privately held company because I can't really find anything
- Base / Energy Fuels have been approved and will have a FID in early 2026 - https://www.mining.com/madagascar-lifts-suspension-on-energy-fuels-critical-minerals-project/ We know:
---- Their previous DFS was almost $500m USD
---- They identified a new revenue stream that will almost double the NPV - which is also probably the reason for the delay for the FID, in that they will probably need to do new studies and create a new DFS with updated engineering and processing workflows - https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-additional-critical-mineral-stream-doubles-toliaras-npv.7759534/
---- Much more complex project, requiring a much larger operation and more time

Looking at the other thread, I did have a proposed timeline - https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-placement-to-expedite-feasibility-study.8323866/#post-76871235

2024
Q4 2024
November 2024
- Complete Raise $600k @ $0.13c for 4.5m new shares - DONE

December 2024
- Bekispoa infill assays and results (possible MRE update??) - DONE
- Formally Acquire Bekisopa South Tenements - IN PROGRESS - with reference to comments above about "releasing squares" (tenements), and consolidating permits, we can imagine that this is now a dependency / blocker for the mining code to be issued. I'm assuming there will be an announcement once the deal is signed and the lease confirmed
- MOU with the Malagasy government - IN PROGRESS - I will assume that discussions are ongoing, and details being worked out so it should be able to be signed / issued once Bekisopa South has been paid for and confirmed.
- Mining Ministry Approval for Bulk Sample (5kt or 50kt???) - IN PROGRESS - Again, there have been ongoing discussions since Africa Down Under, so all we can do is trust that once the items above are resolved, then this should be a formality.
- Satrokala assay results - IN PROGRESS - I am expecting a positive outcome here, but I think with the development of Bekisopa South, this will be put on ice for a bit. We can still pray for gold LOL
- Port Study completed (probably no announcement) - IN PROGRESS. Has been in progress for some time as a part of the PFS. Not expecting an announcement, but its completion is integral to the PFS being released as early as possible

All in all, a lot of good, positive, undeniable progress that demonstrates the concerns around "country risk" are being mitigated every day, and the Malagasy Government is working in nothing but good faith!