African Min. Share Discussion Threads

[cantrememberthis2] 11/2/2015 11:21

Email sent already

Dear Board of Directors,

Please do not think any Directors will be left unscathed by African Minerals. This has already been reported to the FCA, further United Kingdom Authorities will also be contacted. All Directors are more than likely covered by Professional Liability Insurance – there will be no rest by Private Investors from the pathetic announcement made by the AMI corporation.

The Nominated Advisors of African Minerals are potentially liable for misleading Regulated News Service (RNS) releases from late Sep 14 – Nov 14.

It is indeed the end of the line for us Private Investors but do not for a minute assume that this will be left as it is with many investors substantially at a loss. We all make investment decisions anticipating and accepting losses or gains. However there are certainly irregularities across the key months prior to and after suspension of this particular company. This was done under the watch of all the parties including SISG. All relevant authorities will be contacted with every single RNS signed off by the Jefferies NOMAD over the last few months submitted for investigative purposes.

Compensation will be absolutely miniscule but that is not really the point. Liability is Liability pure and simple.

All investors including Institutional Investors are royally shafted with no value left after this deliberate fiasco by the incompetent dimwit Board of Directors of African Minerals to secure its future and provide transparency throughout the last 3+ months.

Happy to discuss.

Kind Regards

[medved5] 11/2/2015 10:55

JSE-listed iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore exceeded the 35-million-tonne production target at its Sishen mine in 2014, owing to the successful implementation of a recovery plan for the mine.

Output was 15% higher than the 30.9-million tonnes produced in the prior year and the Anglo American subsidiary was now aiming for the mine to produce 36-million tonnes of iron-ore this year.

Kumba added that its Kolomela mine had achieved a “robust performance”, lifting output by 7% year-on-year to 11.6-million tonnes in 2014.

Despite the higher output, the iron-ore miner recorded a 13% year-on-year fall in revenue to R47.6-billion. The drop in revenue was attributed to a 28% drop in the average export iron-ore price to $97/t; a weaker exchange rate; and rising operating expenses, which climbed 9% to R28.4-billion, principally as a result of input cost pressures from higher mining volumes.

“Therefore, headline earnings decreased by 29% to R11-billion,” the company said in a statement.

Attributable and headline earnings for the period were R33.44 and R34.32 a share respectively, compared with the prior year’s R48.09 and R48.08 a share. A final cash dividend of R7.73 a share, or R2.5-billion overall, was declared.

The full-year dividend amounted to R23.34 a share, compared with R40.04 the year before.

Following the planned commissioning of a new modular plant this year, the production guidance for Sishen was increased to 38-million tonnes for 2016 and 2017. Kolomela was expected to produce 11-million tonnes this year and 12-million tonnes in 2016.

Export sales volumes for the year ahead were targeted at above 43-million tonnes, while domestic sales volumes of up to 6.25-million tonnes a year were contracted to steelmaker ArcelorMittal in terms of a supply agreement.

GRIM OUTLOOKSpeaking at the group’s year-end results in Sandton, CE Norman Mbazima said iron-ore prices were the single biggest factor that negatively affected the company’s results for 2014.

“Markets have become much tougher,” he added, noting that “supply growth [was] much stronger”, particularly from the major suppliers, and that crude steel production growth had slowed in China.


Global seaborne iron-ore supply rose 11% in 2014, led by a 24% increase in Australian exports, as well as a 4% increase in exports from Brazil and a 2% increase from South Africa. India became a net importer in the second half of the year.

In a statement, Kumba noted that it was “taking some time” for uneconomic supply to exit the market – with the export price having fallen to a five-year low of $72/t in December – and that crude steel production was forecast to grow by only 2% in the year ahead, with slower growth of 1% to 2% in China and slightly stronger in the rest of the world.

“We do not expect a major recovery in the average iron-ore price and the group has undertaken a number of decisive actions to ensure that Kumba remains a resilient organisation in a low iron-ore price environment,” it noted.

These included reconfiguring operations to achieve lower cost production to fill the available rail capacity, reduced capital expenditure during this year and in 2016 and increasing the efficiency of its project portfolio – resulting in the deferral of some of the capital spend to later years, as well as cutting exploration, technical and project study expenditure by 50%.

Further, the group was planning to reduce its head office workforce by 40%, or between 140 to 150 people, and sought to optimise the Sishen life-of-mine plan “to squeeze out further value”, removing areas of high stripping ratios.

PROJECT PROGRESS
To facilitate the expansion of Sishen mine to the west, Phase 1 of the R4.2-billion Dingleton relocation project was successfully completed, with 71 homes in Dingleton North being moved to the new host site.

Construction on Phase 2, the relocation of the remaining 428 houses, buildings and businesses was under way and due for completion in 2017.

Further, Kumba reported that its 74%-owned Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) had not yet been awarded the 21.4% Sishen mining right, which it applied for early in 2014, following the Constitutional Court judgment on the matter in December 2013.

The Constitutional Court ruled that SIOC held a 78.6% undivided share of the Sishen mining right and that, based on the provisions of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, only SIOC could apply for, and be granted, the residual 21.4% share of the mining right at the Sishen mine.

Kumba was actively continuing its engagement with the Department of Mineral Resources to finalise the grant of the residual right. Mbazima would not be drawn on a finalisation date.

By year-end, Kumba, from a 100% ownership reporting perspective, had access to an estimated ore reserve of 914-million tonnes at its three mining operations – a decrease of 15% compared with its 2013 reserves

[medved5] 11/2/2015 10:53

The iron-ore market will remain oversupplied in 2015 and iron-ore will sell in the low $70/t price range this year, which has begun even worse than 2014, Wood Mackenzie principal metals and mining consultant Roger Emslie told the Mining Indaba on Monday.

Emslie, who sketched how iron-ore had last month hit its lowest level since May 2009, outlined how the metal had slumped to $62/t by the end of January, resulting in a $67/t monthly average.

He said that if the price remained in the $60/t range, more asset write-downs were a near certainty and more midtier mine closures likely.

There was only so far that cost cutting could go before difficult decisions would have to be made on the long-term viability of mines in a structurally oversupplied market.

"It’s hard to believe, but 2015 has started even worse than 2014 finished,” he commented at the conference that is teeming with 7 000 mining professionals.

China’s import bill for iron-ore fell 16% to $95-billion last year, well down from its 2011 peak of $112-billion, when prices averaged a high $168/t.

Slower demand was poised to keep prices down for longer against the background of last year’s global iron-ore production totalling 2201-million tonnes, global imports totalling 1404-million tonnes and Chinese imports totalling 930-million tonnes.

A short-term upward price adjustment remained unlikely because of the recent cutting back of Chinese steel production and the upcoming of China’s Lunar New Year holidays.

Creating still more price slackness was the high level of inventory at Chinese mines.

Outside of China, seasonal and structural conditions were creating a similarly bleak picture.

Other than the Middle East and India, none of the major iron-ore importers had shown any meaningful improvement in demand.

Chinese mills should start re-stocking after the Lunar New Year, when slightly tighter seaborne supply could be anticipated.

The cause of the low prices was the surging ahead of 140-million additional tonnes by Australian producers in 2014, based on investment decisions made several years ago when prices were higher and the long-term view was more bullish.

As supply ramped up in 2014, Chinese steel demand did the unthinkable and contracted for the year creating a clear disconnect between supply and demand and marking a decisive turning point for iron-ore, Emslie explained.

In volume not value terms, Chinese imports last year ironically finished at a December record 86.9-million tonnes.

However, value of Chinese imports for the year was well down, despite the volume rising by more than 100-million tonnes.

The gap between the Australian iron-ore mining majors and the rest of the supply chain is widening, with fourth-quarter production from Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue confirming that their expansions were paving the way for even higher supply in 2015/16.

The oversupply from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton had come at the expense of higher cost midtier suppliers, which were scaling back investment and cutting production in response to compressed margins.

[seanywauny] 11/2/2015 09:57

Old fool, nice one, not sure why that one doesn't work for you.I await a reply from all including Dan McCrum.If anyone wishes to air their thoughts to Dan his email is:Dan.mccrum@ ft.com

[old fool2] 11/2/2015 09:34

Seanywauny

I have written to all of them. Nicola barrett's email address is incorrect my email has been returned.

[seanywauny] 11/2/2015 00:20

Let me paste that again so it's not all weird on the app:[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail]

[hdb] 10/2/2015 23:06

The statement says they are continuing to talk to SHandong and they have just released funds ... Why did they not just say and we are now in admin and be done with it ? Is this just last grasp efforts to signal to Shandong that next step is indeed Admin ? If admin then means the two pick up the bones them I would be very very suspicious that the PI have been stitched up

[shimmysham12] 10/2/2015 22:08

It does seem a bit of a pointless rns. How can they say little or no value unless they have a deal on the table. I know my money is gone but something not right with the statement. We can't trade so why release this unless deal is already known. To me it seems a pointless b statement.

[m w] 10/2/2015 21:00

So that's it then game over we get nothing

[deusfaber] 10/2/2015 19:40

SEANY, good stuff.Hopefully he will write an expose "Chinese plunder ebolaridden africa and shaft investors with aide of aml board"

[seanywauny] 10/2/2015 17:58

I emailed Dan McCrum from the Financial Times to get his thoughts on this today.

[seanywauny] 10/2/2015 17:27

Time to download & save all misleading company RNS's and any email correspondence any of you may have from the BOD to take legal action. Grant79 from LSE is arranging this and would make use of anything you guys have. His email [e-mail]15.5mln shares congregated so far. I imagine there is a lot more who haven't come forward yet, i.e silent majority of readers.

[deusfaber] 10/2/2015 17:12

Which ones do you mean?? Superman?

[newswseller] 10/2/2015 17:00

LSE seems full of morons, or is that just investors for you these days? clearly some of them know nothing about the company they invested in. Clogging up the board with nonsense.

[disastra] 10/2/2015 16:28

Tell me its april 1st!!!!...

[seanywauny] 10/2/2015 16:07

Is there any possible way for us and the London Stock Exchange to find out if II's & Northcroft etc held short positions last year?It would go a long way to build a case against the BOD with the accompanying misleading RNS statements.

[newswseller] 10/2/2015 15:49

email your holdings to [e-mail]

[newswseller] 10/2/2015 15:20

it's all odd.

SISG make offer, but valueless for both bondholders and shareholders
AMI counter with offer that offers value for both, because of other interested parties
Now, SISG not interested in latest offer and other parties not interested.

[newswseller] 10/2/2015 15:16

CR2 - agree, but would be good to find out the exact score.

Prior to admin, would any deal have to be agreed via EGM? if so shareholders would not vote for anything though that would leave them with nothing.

[cantrememberthis2] 10/2/2015 15:03

news - wont achieve nothing...

There should have called curtains but instead keep avoiding friggin ADMIN

[newswseller] 10/2/2015 15:00

CR2 have you been calling AW? prob best to try a couple of days later after the nutters have stopped hounding them..