A transcript:
Sonia Madigan The Market Online: ‘Green Iron’ project developer, Magnum Mining and Exploration, has appointed its CEO, Neil Goodman, to also join its board as the Managing Director. Neil joins me now. Welcome, Neil.
Neil Goodman MD & CEO, Magnum Mining & Exploration: Thanks, Sonia.
Madigan: Well congratulations on the appointment, but what does it really mean for you?
Goodman: Well, it means a lot more responsibility - for the same money, though. For the Company, it means we can make decisions faster. Previously I had to put a Board paper up, talk to three Directors about what I wanted to do. Now I only have to convince one of the other two Directors to get a decision made.
Madigan: What will be your main focus as a member of the Board?
Goodman: Well, my main focus remains the same. We need to get a strategic investor on board. That's what we're pushing for. The whole Board is behind this. So somewhere in the Mining space, the Biochar or the Pig Iron, we need to land a strategic investor. And that's what we're all working on as a team.
Madigan: What are some of the challenges that the Company is facing in doing this and how do you intend to address them?
Goodman: So our main challenge is actually getting investors to commit. So we've got a lot of potential investors doing Due Diligence. They've been doing it since the end of last year - progressing with the Buena Vista iron ore mine; they're looking at the Malaysian biochar plants; we talked in the Middle East about a Saudi Pig iron plant. All are keen; none have actually committed yet. And that's what we need to do, is get to one or more of them to commit funds to progress the project.
Madigan: What is it that’s holding those investors back?
Goodman: Various reasons: You know, one of them, we weren’t big enough. Another one, our costs were higher than Brazil mainly because in the US, labour rates are higher than Brazilian. So yeah, we're never going to meet the Brazilian costs. So different reasons. Also the market. So every investor has a different reason. Some are committing and we hope to get some commitments very soon. But it's varied. There's no one answer.
Madigan: So given that, how can you compete with Brazil?
Goodman: Our main advantage is that the mine is approved already. So we don't have a two-year wait for environmental approvals; the railway already exists down to the port; the port already exists. So places like Brazil, you're gonna have to expand new mines, potentially build new railways, things like that. And Australia the same - big infrastructure costs. We don't have that, so we could get to mining very quickly.
Madigan: And there is demand for your materials isn't there?
Goodman: There is demand today and it’s expected to double over the next 10 to 15 years. So I was recently in the Middle East talking to a Middle East steel company, and they're going from 5Mt to 60Mt over the next 10 years. That 60Mt of steel will need another 70-80Mt of iron ore very quickly. To get a mine up and running is going to take a lot of work and a lot of money.
Madigan: With you as MD now, can we expect any real changes to the Company's operational or strategic direction?
Goodman: Not really. However, we do have more interest from investors in the Biochar plants and in the Pig Iron plant in Saudi Arabia. Less interest in the mine. So we’ll probably focus more on Biochar and Pig. That doesn't mean that the mine is out, but certainly we’ll be focusing more on Biochar and the Pig Iron plants.
Madigan: Well before we go Neill, what can we expect from Magnum as we head into the final quarter of FY24?
Goodman: Well, I've said this before (and I probably said the last time, and the one before), but I am confident that we will get off-take agreements on the Iron Ore very soon. Also, some Biomass supply agreements potentially in the near future. And this should give our strategic investors confidence to invest in the larger projects - you know, with the Iron Ore mine, the Biochar plants and the Pig Iron. So that's what I’m in for, and hopefully that's going to happen and keep our investors happy this Quarter.
Madigan: Well thanks for the update. Neil Goodman, the CEO and now the MD as well of Magnum Mining and Exploration, which trades on the ASX under the ticker code MGU.
Goodman: Thanks, Sonia.
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, so there is interest ????????, ffs if they were to secure an offtake very soon then would the main focus not be the iron ore as it will be the quickest path to generating cash , he has even stated that they can get to mine very quickly .
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