Central African Mining Share Discussion Threads

[bobbyewing] 09/9/2009 15:31

it is a non issue

[boonboon] 09/9/2009 15:30

Aren't Camec's partners in Todal the zimbabwe government? This seems like a non-issue to me.

[bobbyewing] 09/9/2009 15:24

MINING IN AFRICA
Platinum spat turns ugly
It's London-listed Camec vs. Kameni in a battle for Bougai, one of the world's choicest platinum concessions.

Author: Barry Sergeant
Posted: Wednesday , 09 Sep 2009

JOHANNESBURG -

An international incident is quietly forming up over Bougai, one of the world's choicest platinum properties, in an increasingly fiendish battle between London-listed Camec, and Kameni, a shadowy unlisted South Africa-based entity. Camec, Central African Mining & Exploration Company Plc, announced on 11 April 2008 that it had acquired 60% of Todal, which owns the Bougai and Kironde concessions near Gweru, Zimbabwe

For its 60% in Todal, Camec paid US$ 5m in cash, and issued 215m of its shares, worth about £100m at the time. Camec also loaned US$ 100m to Todal's parent company in order to facilitate the start up of building a mine at the concessions. For these efforts, Camec learned later in 2008 that ownership of the Bougai concession was being hawked around by Kameni, in an effort, apparently successful, to raise hundreds of millions of rands (among other currencies) from investors.

As 2008 wore on, Kameni started to widely advertise that it controlled Bougai. In marketing materials, Kameni claims that its subsidiary Mid-Ma Platinum (74.9% held by Pomachan, a 100% subsidiary of Kameni) holds Bougai. In December, with the global platinum sector in absolute crisis, Kameni announced plans to raise R6.5bn (about US$630m) on the Johannesburg bourse, by mid-2010, "the funds being intended to build platinum and chrome mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe".

On 5 March 2009, Kameni further announced that "it had raised R300 million - its minimum capital raising requirement - in a seed capital raising to fund its exploration programme in South Africa and Zimbabwe". Kameni advised further that its "two major assets - the near-surface PGM [platinum group metal] Kalkfontein Project in South Africa and the surface PGM and chrome Bougai Project in Zimbabwe - lend themselves to rapid exploration, development and cash-generating mining".

For days and weeks and months, Kameni's executives and/or directors have persistently declined requests for any interview to explain Kameni's claims to Bougai, but have instead supplied limited and incomplete answers via "strategic communication" entity Russell and Associates in Johannesburg. On 16 July 2009, James Duncan of Russell and Associates stated: "At the time the seed capital raising took place, there was no dispute regarding rights to the Bougai claims".

It was on 19 February, while the seed raisings were taking place, that Walter Shamu, MD of Todal, wrote Stephen Gorven, CEO of Kameni. Shamu pointed out in no uncertain terms that Kameni's "marketing materials" referring to Kameni's "Bougai" project apparently pointed to an "overlap with existing Todal claims". Shamu urgently requested a meeting to resolve the issues.

With a full blown dispute in the background, Kameni's seed raising continued. The battle had been brewing for months. More than two months previously, on 5 December 2008, Shamu wrote the mining commissioner, Gweru, expressing alarm that Kameni's Mid-Ma was apparently claiming rights "over mining claims already granted to Todal".

Duncan states that "Kameni had - and still has - documentary proof of its rights to the claims from the appropriate authority including original certificates of registration and letters of confirmation of their validity from the Zimbabwean Mines Department", but has not supplied copies of such materials, or anything else. With Duncan clearly suggesting that Bougai has been sold twice, he also states that: "as we have said to you at least twice now, the matter has been referred back to the appropriate authority, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Mines, for clarification and Kameni is confident of an outcome in its favour".

Again, Kameni has not supplied proof of such a process. Nothing that Duncan states checks out. Information available - of which there is no real shortage - indicates that Kameni's "claims" in Zimbabwe - Bougai is not the only one - have been annulled and repudiated by the relevant authorities.

Dominique Mabayiwa, CEO of the Zimbabwe Minerals Development Corporation (ZMDC), which owns the balance of 40% in Todal, mentions the word "motive" when asked about Kameni's conduct. He also speaks for the Zimbabwe government, given the ZMDC's status as a parastatal.

Duncan states that "from the outset, Kameni has and continues to act in terms of the best legal advice in both South Africa and Zimbabwe", but, again, provides no details, evidence or anything else that would throw light onto Kameni's bizarre and twisted trail. For now, investors who ploughed hundreds of millions of rands into Kameni will simply have to sit on the edge of their seats.

[romantic rambo] 09/9/2009 15:11

first time been in T/O
if T/O happens what happens to shares and spread bet positions
are they closed out at T/O price
or are they left open to trade as normal
not sure because it would be a dfferent company
thank you

[josels] 09/9/2009 15:10

Dollar Index sinking bellow long time support
https://www.theice.com/productguide/ProductDetails.shtml?specId=194

[robson1974] 09/9/2009 15:00

Camec Assets 'Well Suited' to an Acquisition, Ambrian Says
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By Firat Kayakiran

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Assets of Central African Mining and Exploration Co. are "well suited" to a takeover and funding from a buyer would help complete construction at its projects, Ambrian Partners Ltd. said.

"A larger mining house would be able to fund construction at several of Camec's pre-production projects immediately," Brock Salier, an analyst at Ambrian in London, wrote in a report today. Camec's two most advanced pre-production projects are platinum in Zimbabwe and a copper project in Congo, he said.

Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., a producer of steelmaking raw materials in Kazakhstan, is close to making a bid for Camec, the Times of London said today without citing anyone.

ENRC spokesman Ed Orlebar said the company wouldn't comment on speculation. Gordon Thompson, chief operating officer at Camec, couldn't be reached for comment.

Ambrian raised the price target for Camec 33 percent to 28 pence on the possibility that it will attract bids. The stock rose 1 pence, or 5.3 percent, to 19.75 pence as of 11:49 a.m. in London trading, valuing the company at 557.4 million pounds ($920.2 million).

To contact the reporter on this story: Firat Kayakiran in Istanbul at [e-mail]

[kindlm] 09/9/2009 14:56

To be honest i prefer gains for the next two days and then RNS on Monday.

[davius] 09/9/2009 14:38

Afternoon Edgark. Can't say I'm really tempted, I have plenty of both in relation to my portfolio. Piling all into one would be courting disaster. I'm having a very good day with this and JRVS, MNR, UNIQ, CAL all ahead. Even my small punt on PXS has come good this afternoon (strictly from the gambling fund that one) so no complaints. TAN is for the long haul. I don't expect to be holding CFM for many more weeks, unless no bid materialises.

[edgark] 09/9/2009 14:24

Davius, sell your TAN, get more of these?

[josels] 09/9/2009 14:22

Added more today, Good luck to all
The dollar index has broken support bellow 77, should help commodities (if it remains bellow 77)

[larsson2] 09/9/2009 14:20

Are we all to get up at 7am tomorrow to see an rns to our liking????

[mutleymagic] 09/9/2009 14:14

Must be very short of stock - Bid 21 - offer 20.50 - MM

edit - sorry I see in auction :)

[davius] 09/9/2009 14:13

Now we seem to be hotting up. 500K buy order at 21p just sent it into auction at 20.75p...

[robson1974] 09/9/2009 13:54

Good to see TT Int holding this, they have some brilliant merger-arb specialists at their shop and they do their homework.

[sdt7618] 09/9/2009 13:51

not a bad day so far with this and JRVS... onwards and upwards.

20p was my initial target. Can forget that now!

[boonboon] 09/9/2009 13:36

Level 2 anyone?

[the jackel] 09/9/2009 13:35

Yeah somethings happening such heavy buying today!

[davius] 09/9/2009 12:41

Finally hit 20p on the bid. I'd agree with sul, there have been multiple sell orders added to the book at 20p, of the 35m traded today, 26m have been auto trades.

[josels] 09/9/2009 12:41

This looks very good. good luck to holders.

[sul2] 09/9/2009 12:30

its coz of the sells at 20p. we will see these sells disappear vs we go towards 4pm and this mvy give us a 20p+ finish. I do think a TO is on the cards after all because of Vale raising $1B. Holding 200K shares for a happy September. Remember Lehman Bros 1 yr on, RIP.

[mutleymagic] 09/9/2009 12:26

With 40 million traded today - most Buys - don't see how price being contained at the moment - and how news has not leaked MM

[larsson2] 09/9/2009 12:07

Should the share price creep up this pm and surge towards the end of day and obviously gain new recent highs it's probably safe to say an announcement will be made tomorrow.

[geng] 09/9/2009 12:07

That 29p sell being pulled looks to me like a very good sign that any deal is going to be significantly above that figure.

Why else pull it?