I would rather AVZ sold the project for the best coin possible & move on. We've experienced a capricious & corrupt DRG Govt & even if we get the ML the Govt may still change its tune & revoke it down the track. They can't be trusted. Also, there's plenty of evidence from other parts of Africa re project development that it can take decades. A project which comes to mind is RIO's Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. RIO got involved in 2008 with the aim of production in 2011/12. Still nothing tp date though mine construction has finally commenced. 1st production likely in late 2025/early 2026, 14/15 years behind schedule. Not sure AVZ mgt would want to head down a similar path, not to mention having to find new partners & $500m-$1 billion to build the mine & upgrade the neighbouring power station. As for $US4/share to buy out Manono, I'd jump for joy & streak down Collins St Melbs if we got anywhere near that number. I'll even shout drinks. It would value the resource at approx $22 billion or 25% of DRC's GDP. Considering BHP's market cap is 7% of Australia's GDP it's a big number for an undeveloped resource. All that aside, I'm just looking forward to next week b/c we should get an announcement from the company about Locke & funding. We don't need Locke if bloody Cominiere paid its fines, either in part or in full. If they're broke then the DRC Govt should cough b/c they own 90% of Cominiere & are ultimately financially responsible for them. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
AVZ Price at posting:
78.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
