Firstly, don't take anything I say here as gospel as there is always the potential for miscommunication, however, this is what I gathered from the meeting.
Hamish and the board are flying to Kupang today for a site visit and to meet with Pak Marthen. Pak is still super keen and apparently has the money sitting there, ready to go. He has been asking for 50% of the project, however, Hamish is intent on securing current shareholder value and keeping Pak to the <30% holding. We were told that the 'renegotiation' can be taken with a grain of salt, it's merely a formality to remove the Bupati clause from the contract. From this, we should expect the remaining balance of the US$10m for 10% or even the US$17m for 15%, in the next week or so.
More interestingly, the project's NPV; when the ferro manganese alloy price was $800 - $1000, was ~US$160m - $260m. With the almost 50% appreciation in the price over the last two weeks, this would improve the project's NPV substantially. By the sounds of things, the timing couldn't be better and we're well-poised to take advantage of the turn-around in the metals market.
Lastly, with the permit granted, there has been unprecedented interest from various local and international investors, however, Hamish made it apparent that they will not receive the same discount treatment as Pak, and will have to invest through secondary market means.
I'm excited! Onwards and upwards, and good luck to all holders!
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