There's been a corporate play happening for a long time in my view. VAU is undervalued compared to its peers. With an AISC of $2350 and $450 capital growth/capex going forward reserves have a margin of $2,000 an ounce or $6.8 billion for its 3.4 million reserve ounces, yet the company is valued at just $3 billion and excluding cash $2.4 billion. That's just $700 an ounce for reserves excluding additional resources of 8 million ounces and infrastructure including 4 mills.
VAU has a runway to 500,000 ounces with limited capex (included in the $450 an ounce above) within 2 years.
Furthermore reserves are way understated both in price ($3,000 cut off for most mines) and KOTH north, CEB, Maxwells, Rumbles having no resource to reserve conversion. It's not out of the question that at $4,000 cut off and reserve conversion at these sites VAU could have 5 million ounces in reserves which should be valued at $10 billion.
It's not only Sugar Zone that should be producing, there should be mining at CEB as well. The attachment outlines SLR's plans back in Sep 23 to recommence mining at Cock-eyed Bob yet this never eventuated. It's not good enough that Mt Monger is producing less than 100,000 ounces while underground mines are sitting idle.
The company has said nothing about the big resource conversion into indicated from inferred and uplift in grade at Rumbles in the last financial year either. Surely this was worth a mention at some point?
For those of you unfamiliar with the old SLR boards history they sold Lakewood mill back in 2015 for $5 million which WGX just sold to BC8 for $80 million. BC8 was gifted most of East Kal by SLR. Same for Andy Well - they let that go for $8 million and MEK is now forecasting an undiscounted cash flow of $1 billion from that mine. Apart from the Doray/Rothsay acquisition, their corporate activity hasn't been great. I hope they prove me wrong with KOTH.
I can't see VAU being in a position to make a takeover with equity at least as their script is so low. (Yet again why did VAU flog off their 412 million treasury shares for 34 cents given the cash wasn't needed!) so it does stand to reason that VAU is being hunted. GMD has to be the obvious predator because the KOTH mill would be perfect for processing their Tower Hill open pit ore which is 2g/t and scrip is fairly valued or at least in that range.
I think VAU should be closer to $1 than 50 cents but I can't see that happening with the current board/management. Maybe a takeover at 60 cents would be in our best interests provided new management had some go in them and could lift the price of the new merged company to the equivalent of $1 in VAU terms.
The share price needs a stick of dynamite shoved up its backside and clearly the market doesn't think the current board/management has the smarts to do it.
GLTA/IMHO
) no longer even realize that the negative posts against "Warm Hand Luke" are as numerous, if not more numerous, than the positive ones and, above all, that the Market sanctions negatively its management.
(20min delay)