African Minerals Forum

the question is if the longterm or shortterm thinkers rule the negotiations.Thus far between Shandong and AML it has been longterm.The major shareholders may reject the first bid if it is too low or gives away too much..not sure what way the bondholders would go but sooner or later a deal willbe struck

While acknowledging Ebola as a “terrible” disease, corporate advisory firm SP Angel believes the failure of certain mining companies active in Ebola-hit African countries should not be attributed to the impact of the disease on operations. The firm’s comments followed an announcement by embattled West African iron-ore miner London Mining late last year that the company would be placed into administration after battling high costs, a sharp drop in iron-ore prices and the impact of the Ebola virus on production at the Marampa mine, in Sierra Leone. Mining Weekly Online reported shortly thereafter that miner African Minerals, which owned a 75% stake in the Tonkolili iron-ore project, in Sierra Leone, had been forced to place Tonkolili on care and maintenance in December, pending a $102-million cash payment from its partner, the Shandong Iron and Steel Group (SISG), or the securing of additional short-term funding. SP Angel stated this week that Ebola was not, in its view, the reason that London Mining had entered liquidation or that African Minerals had suspended operations. While these companies would have “undoubtedly” struggled at iron-ore prices of $70/t, the firm maintained that both would have had a “much better” chance of restructuring and continuing operations if costs had been maintained and if no royalty or streaming instruments were used. “African Minerals signed an offtake with SISG, with significant discounts relating to certain products of iron-ore being mined and beneficiated. “Forecasting revenues was nigh on impossible owing to the uncertainty of product generation and the discounts being applied. When costs rose, the company stood little chance of rescue, particularly with CEO Frank Timmis paying $50-million out to a Cyprus trading company without the authorisation of the rest of the board,” the group asserted. In London Mining’s case, SP Angel asserted that the company’s fall into liquidation was the result of inadequate cost control, the cost of royalties, offtake and streaming instruments taking cash off the top line and the “excessive” debt required to start up the operation. “Iron-ore prices did not have to fall far below most forecasts for last year for the company to close up, and the use of top-line financial instruments made it, apparently, impossible for the banks to rescue the business,” it stated. SP Angel added that Sierra Rutile’s Monday announcement that it had achieved its third-highest quarterly production of 31 025 t of rutile in the quarter ended December 31, despite having faced Ebola-related challenges, had highlighted the ability of a “well-run” company to continue to operate effectively in Sierra Leone, despite the Ebola outbreak. “In short, the failure of these companies has little or nothing to do with the emergence of Ebola in the region in our view,” it concluded

LordSnooty 16:45 RE: From Liu Well, I'm not sure of the date of that email,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,email sent today 15/01/2014 afternoon

internal email from COO

Dear All, Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. AML continues to try to resolve the future funding strategy with its major shareholders. This process has been difficult and has been taking more time than initially anticipated due to the complex nature of the challenges, namely Ebola and the ever declining Iron Ore Price. All parties are committed to resolving AML’s future as fast as possible. Unfortunately, there are still no firm outcomes to report to you at the moment. We ask that you continue to remain patient. As promised, we will update you all with any developments as they become available.

4unme, no idea but could be linked to the fact they cannot buy it outright due to sisg owning a quarter..btw hope that it all ends soon and you get enough back to cover you and family life improves.

rae, nobody has ever called him a fool and i am sure he can play a great hand but really and truly the London deal stinks..the chinese were entitled to 25 % of any deal and frank used his role as chairman to get marampa for peanuts..all talk of him helping us is nonsense in my eyes.The onlyreason he will work for us is that longterm tonkolili is the best asset by far in west africa and he knows that

late last week liu said the chinese had made their move and now this kind of confirms it, think that the bod are consulting with the main shareholders to get backing for it and perhaps waiting for a counteroffer...we hope.I am confident we will get something but that could be anything from 20p to ¨£1 OR if a stake sale leaving us secure as a company but with most value gone.

oosimbo, received from whom??

next one will be loaded soon , there is not much stock at the moment ( even last ship to China was loaded slowly-only using one shiploader ) next Ships are going Europe , customs is set up , everything ready need more product , , but said before Timis is only 6/7 M a year , plenty time ,