back to before?, page-75

I'm the resident CCC optimist/sucker/romantic/contrarian/stooge Hairy - the more people bash Okap & management on HC, the more I love them. When it flips around such that everyone here lauds management I'll start bashing them just to even things out.

Besides, I have met most of the CCC executive management and had many conversations with them - and I think they are good people. PL has annoyed me a few times, but then again I'm not the first! Jason is a good bloke - always very quick to respond to emails & calls, and is very generous with his time & information.

Sure CCC bosses have made their fair share of stuff ups [cf. VanMag], but the positives far outweigh the negatives. I don't judge the company by the share price.

If Colombia & Penumbra come together, CCC will have 4 operating mines by end of year, with the proviso that RB prices need to recover above $85 for Ferreira to be profitable. Then there is Botswana, VANMAG(:), DeWitt, Vaalbank, Vlakplaats-Wolvenfontein, $18m cash just received for SA projects, etc. Plus margins at Vlak are robust - Eskom have an insatiable appetite for coal & the Indians are starting to show some desperation in acquiring imported coal now. Plus PL might actually pull off a steal with the Montana/Crow coal acquisition.

Then there are the partners: SIOC-cdt [closely connected with Kumba & AngloAmerican], EDFT, KORES, Eskom, Total, ABSA/Barclays Capital, and hopefully a noteworthy offtake partner for the Colombian coke.

Have a look at the CVs for Don Turvey, Mike Kilbride, Johan Bloemsma, Connie Molusi, Johan Heystek - all heavy hitters in SA with huge experience. Why would these guys risk their reputations if Conti was such a dud, with no future?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_zEv-r5jc&feature=plcp