Mwana Africa Share Discussion Threads

[trevorm2] 12/6/2015 16:29

Now kalas gone from Mwana but he's still chairman of Bindura Nickel and a director. It won't be easy moving him from there. Interesting times.

[timgw] 12/6/2015 15:29

Restrend - "If the "Interim" in the current CEO title is silently dropped over time, I will be mighty p*ssed off and consider selling up shop."

There is a well tried rule, never let emotion affect an investment decision!

[mr macgregor] 12/6/2015 07:14

It's time we saw the copper drilling results as well.

[mreasygoing] 11/6/2015 20:01

Scott Morrison's appointment could be a good move as he seems to have improved shareholder value in his previous roles. I'd like to see some director buys now.

[redtrend] 11/6/2015 18:11

Funny (not ha-ha) how the only EGM resolution that was rejected was the one that would have alleviated any concerns regarding asset stripping by the new board. This makes me think there are only 2 reasons for this outcome:

i) It was put in by the requisitionners as a red herring who never wanted it passed, to make some shareholders trust them to pass the other resolutions; or

ii) More likely and whether you agree with their approach or not, the requisitionners do have their own and the shareholders interests at heart and included this resolution in good faith, but they, the previous board and shareholders as a whole have been outmanoeuvred by the Chinese shareholders who agreed with all resolutions bar this one.

If this resolution was raised again, now we have a new board whose intentions are unknown, I would be voting differently and sure a lot of the 30 odd % of minority shareholders who own shares through HSBC, HL etc would too.

I think (hope), maybe naively, that the second scenario is more likely and it also means the Chinese Shareholders can not simply fraudently asset strip the company to their chums, at fire sale prices, without a major shareholder and legal fight and therefore do not intend this, but simply want to grow the company and increase the value of their own shareholdings. Even if the first scenario is true, I still (again maybe naively) do not think it will be a simple process of asset stripping. Freda and Bindura are very high profile operations in Zimbabwe and the Government is not going to let some foreign shareholders flip an asset for the new board's own benefit and enrichment. Such activities would require a lot of backhanders to a lot of senior people, which probably end up costing more than had you just managed the company properly and increased shareholder value.

If my understanding is correct and still up to date, Mpinga also has around 2-3% shareholding in shares (unless any deal between him and the new board means they purchase his shareholding at a premium)and he won't just stand back and watch his shareholding be destroyed - he will utilise all his political connections. If the DRC assets with huge long term potential are sold off for the board's own enrichment, I could see Mpinga getting his revenge and using his connections in DRC to take it back by whatever means, from whatever mug buys it in such circumstances. So either way if the Chinese shareholders try and be too clever with such underhand tactics and profiteering, it could blow up in theirs and everybody's faces with confiscations, court cases, nationalisation and all sorts.

I'm more worried about the Board paying themselves ridiculously undeserving and inflated salaries and pushing up overheads again, claiming the benefit for long term strategies under Mpinga's time, which we will only see the benefit of later this year and next (refurb of equipment finally bringing lower operating costs and restart of smelter).

For now I'm maintaining my holding, but will be keeping a closer eye on who the new CEO will be and will most definitely be going to the next AGM in Sept if I'm in the UK. If the "Interim" in the current CEO title is silently dropped over time, I will be mighty p*ssed off and consider selling up shop.

[gfrae] 11/6/2015 17:16

No definitely not the case,he has not gone by mutual consent see the RNS.

[mreasygoing] 11/6/2015 17:15

Sadworm, perhaps you should look at the last set of results before saying MWA is not trading very profitably. It was the shareholders who voted for the changes too. I don't think asset striping is on the agenda.

[juju44] 11/6/2015 17:08

Golden farewell that he couldnt resist ?

[gfrae] 11/6/2015 16:42

Presumably he had no choice.

[gwr7] 11/6/2015 16:33

Why did Mpinga settle the dispute with Ning before the vote? Seems like he freed Ning to vote for the board changes and cooked his own goose. Lame defence from the big man imo.

[gfrae] 11/6/2015 16:28

Looks like I voted for this-really extraordinary outcome.

[timgw] 11/6/2015 15:46

It seems to me that the Chinese Mafia voted for themselves.

[gfrae] 11/6/2015 12:31

You would have thought whoever is behind these new directors would at least have the decency to put in a few buy orders as window dressing if nothing else!
Do we have any idea yet who voted for these new people,and Ning?

[sadworm] 11/6/2015 12:06

Easygoing,
They have removed the only means of getting their money back which is what Mpinga was doing. Whatever we thought about him, the strategy was/ is a good one. Yes he could have cut costs and he could have hedged but he was doing the right thing, with gradual expansion. Ning and WW dont have the connections/ political skill/ patience/ right background to keep on doing this. Mpinga was a Tiny Rowland sort and that is what you need when doing business in Africa.

That is why I think they may take the easy asset strip route. But why share it with shareholders? Much easier to sell the assets to their friends at a low price like the auction rings that used to exist in London in the bad old days. With commodity prices as they are its not difficult to put a low valuation on the assets - after all we are not trading very profitably at the moment. That is why I dont believe Juju's 10p bid will ever come.

Hope I am wrong for the sake of shareholders.

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[juju44] 10/6/2015 20:47

Not if they are prepared to pay 10p a share to take it out

[mreasygoing] 10/6/2015 20:46

weren't the Chinese buying shares at 5p ? At the moment they're sitting on a bit of a loss. Knowing the Chinese they will want to turn a profit.

[kaos3] 10/6/2015 20:27

juju - possibly but what has that to do with the small MWA shareholders? China equity stake is a bad omen for the share price imh experience

[mr macgregor] 10/6/2015 20:20

I'm tipping Fu Manchu for CEO.

[wstirrup] 10/6/2015 19:46

Sadworm... Welcome to LGO

MrEasy... Perhaps you need to do some further research into LGO (Sorry for the O/T) the company's fortunes have completely turned around. We will be looking at a new CPR (significantly increased) in the next few weeks.

By year end, I confidently expect 4-6,000 bopd production, with an oil B/E price below $30, so any upside will go straight to the bottom line.

They're having a new pipeline installed, direct to Petrotrin, a new LACT meter, and circa 12 wells drilled during the year.

A new licence extension in Spain, will see us develop the 170m+ bbls that hasn't been extracted yet from Spain.

Anyway, given their meteoric rise from 0.6p middle of last year to close to 4p perhaps there might be a few here, wish they'd got in earlier, but there is still plenty of upside left.

As for the management changes at MWA, as I said a few days ago, having a Black African in charge meant we at least had a shout with Adolf Mugabe, and his merry band of white haters.

And red's thoughts on the company are perhaps too close to reality for comfort.

China has its sights on world hegemony, and resource companies where the asset is Gold, will mean China, can split the company, sell off the other assets to their Chinese mates, and they can sell the Gold ore straight to China's Central Bank at the manipulated dollar price before the PBoC announces to the world they have first 5,000 tonnes, then 8,000 then 10, 20, 30,000 tonnes, and they are backing their currency with Gold at least partially, at the new price of X (Where X is approximately 8x where it is now, and - at least - 4x the previous peak.)

In reality, I expect circa $10k/ozt Gold, when the dust settles, and the U.S. in serious default, with civil unrest, and rampant inflation. A major pull-back in world markets sometime in the next 3-4years - circa 60% from the peak.

Some years ago, I predicted a peak circa $8,500/ozt, before 2020, but after many new pieces of the puzzle falling into place, I think I underestimated - considerably.

W.

[ceaserxzy] 10/6/2015 19:02

People here always bragging about the good connection by the old management. One then has to ask:

Why even with such good connection the old board stll cannot deliver any shareholder return over the last decade?

This is even with the biggest bull market in both gold and commodity over the last decade?

Thd old management has been given the chance and failed. So any change at least give some hope.

If the new managment canot deliver then the right decision is to cut your loss and move away.

An asset is only an asset if it brigns you return.

If it only brings you loss, like MWA did over the last decade, it is not an asset, it is an liability and it is worth nothing.

Hopefully the non-performance was down to the management, not the business and therefore a change of management may bring some success, Good luck to all holders.

[mreasygoing] 10/6/2015 18:12

Nice post sadworm. But LGO, another high risk punt surely ? Beware dilution in that one. I'll stick with MWA. I think you've jumped at the wrong moment.