Pharma Brown
27 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Yes indeed - top of my Christmas wish list for Santa!
Guitarsolo
27 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... It's frustrating not knowing what is going on and just having to speculate. But, I guess if you owned National Grid you're as much of a passenger as AIM - unless you own A LOT of shares!FWIW, I think PM has rattled a few cages and p***** off a few of the typical mining financiers by refusing to let them come in at this stage with a dilution for existing shareholders at the expense of the Johnny-come-latelys who want all the glory for providing a bit of finance to get operations going. I thought that is what the initial shareholders also did!We sit and wait. I remain optimistic that PRG will get the finance it needs to get operations going and then the operation becomes self financing once they start pulling diamonds out to the ground - albeit with a big caveat that prices are falling etc etc. We just need to find one big 'un and it will fund mining for months!All I want for an early Christmas is for PM to say we have all the funding we need for PRG to commence mining operations in Q1 2016 and then for that to start happening. They are mining in the right area, good licenses, good equipment, good management, distribution channels being developed ahead of time etc. Guitarsolo - keeping the faith
Pharma Brown
24 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Yes indeed: Allenby comes immediately to mind as the next nomad, they have recently done their research with 'buy' recommendation, so I'm hoping to see them appointed pretty soon! Am holding just over 1m of these, so share your concerns; but I cannot see anything big to fret about regarding PM's actions and the RNSs all of which bear Northland as contacts for enquiries. As you say, we are passengers on this journey, traveling the AIM minefield. But for Northland to resign whilst their client is in share trading suspension and could arguably most need their services, seems highly unprofessional! We may never learn the full story, but doubtless PM will be asked to comment at the upcoming meeting. 'Clash of personalities' comes to mind as an escape clause.Hmmmm!
Pharma Brown
24 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... On the 'not good news' theme, today's RNS of PRG's nomad (Northland Capital) resigning with immediate effect and leaving us with 30 days to find a replacement, sounds very nasty indeed. Either they have seriously screwed up to be resigning during a share suspension, or a case of rats leaving sinking ship. Just imagine the effect on sp of such news had we not been suspended!Reading between the lines, Northland may have been at loggerheads with PRG and especially PM regarding the conducting of the funding discussions, and therefore liable to be replaced, therefore opting to resign rather than waiting to be replaced. The bottom line financially is that to continue with Lemphane alone we only need a small amount of working capital which could be found through a modest placing or support from ITCT. The ship isn't sinking!Guitar, my last was indeed at 3.30am. Hadn't realised the time! Truth is that I was singing in a performance of Messiah that evening, then sat up late catching up on recorded TV with late supper, then went onto computer....etc. I'm actually in Newcastle and retired, so not tied any more to the old time requirements of the employed! Your speculation was highly amusing - thanks for providing a good laugh!!Fingers crossed for PRG. We just have to sweat out the speculation a bit longer.GLA
Guitarsolo
23 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Hi PB, I hope you're right about the reiteration. PM knows the rules so he should also know how to play the game when it comes to announcements. We're still de-listed for the moment. but I hope it won't last long. PM is making that speech at the mining conference in early December. I am sure he won't want to be speaking as CEO of a de-listed miner!Judging by the time of your post (3.30am GMT/Zulu) you're either an insomniac, a bored security guard or in somewhere West of the Atlantic! Sorry, these things always occur to me, Holding on.....Guitarsolo
Pharma Brown
23 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... I read the reiteration of 'there is still material uncertainty...' as a necessary clause enabling trading to remain suspended. If there was no 'material uncertainty' then there would not exist any reason for suspension. Circular, perhaps. But so long as trading is suspended, the lender cannot have any option to take shares cheaper than about 3.75p. Also, we will have the current price, not a lower one, from which to bounce back once the details of an agreed funding package are announced.GLA
Guitarsolo
22 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... "The Directors of Paragon Diamonds Limited, the AIM quoted diamond development company, are pleased to announce that following discussions with the provider of the £500,000 loan facility (the "Lender"
that matured on 18 November 2015, the outstanding loan has been reclassified as a convertible loan note of £638,750 (the "Note" with effect from 19 November 2015 and the maturity date of the Note has been extended to 30 May 2016. During this period, the Lender is entitled to convert some or all of the outstanding balance of the Note into the Company's ordinary shares at the lower of 5.22p, being the average share price on 17 June 2015 when the loan was first issued, or 90% of the arithmetic average of 3 daily VWAP calculations, of the Lender's choosing, from the preceding 20 trading days in advance of a conversion notice. Notwithstanding the extension to the maturity date of the Note, the Company still has limited working capital and there remains a material uncertainty regarding the Company's financial position. The Company's shares will therefore remain suspended pending clarification of financial position. Shareholders should note that should the Company's shares remain suspended for 10 consecutive trading days from 16 November 2015, or for more than 30 days in a calendar year, an event of default can be called by the Lender."Well, that is slightly better, perhaps? The loan, which is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, has been deferred for 6 months. But at quite a cost. And the lender remains able to convert to shares are a potentially preferential rate. I can't help but wonder whether PM tried to be a bit clever with a relatively minor bit of financing. He spent the first 6 months of his tenure trying to "clean up the shareholder list" by getting rid of large shareholders who could have stood in his way etc. But then he brings on board a lender for £500k who holds the company to ransom for a minor sum etc. Oh well, perhaps no biggie in the end. But why not tap shareholders for the funds - mostly holders because they believe in the assets and management we have in place? Dilution would therefore be voluntary and not imposed......Anyway, the good news. PM clearly expects the de-listing to be over by 30 Nov or so otherwise he wouldn't/ shouldn't have agreed to the term. But the bad news is the reiteration that there is still material uncertainty etc. I'm sure if there is they have to say there is.....But it doesn't help much when part of the Mothae agreement was proof that the project was funded. Oh well, again, we are in PM's hands. I'm quite heavy into this so it's a bit concerning but I still believe. I can't do much about it in the short term. But medium and long term the last week has probably lowered my ambitions with PRG and AIM in general....GLAGuitarsolo
Pharma Brown
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... ........should read '1000+-carat'........oh for an edit button!!
Pharma Brown
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Guitar, HPCF, agree with you both. Apologies again for error re locations - just not thinking straight! The fact that it is over a century since the last 100+-carat diamond was found, and the remarkably short time since Lucara's state-of-the-art plant was installed in Botswana before this fabulous discovery, would seem to suggest that others have previously been crushed over that century.I wonder how well Philip Manduca gets on with his brother? Now there's a brother who could just lend the £500,000 for as long as it takes....perhaps!I fancy you may be right, Guitar, with the idea that the current proposed lenders are using the vulnerability of PRG's short-term requirements to secure best terms for themselves. One can hardly blame them for trying! But if that is indeed the case, it would seem (to me at least) unlikely that they will eventually just walk away. The £500,000 is a relatively small component of the current funding requirements for Mothae plus Stage 1 commencementYup, sitting tight, waiting. Maybe Philip has a few aces still left up his sleeve....?
Guitarsolo
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Thanks Pharma B, Philip Manduca is one of the main reasons that we are all invested here, I'm sure. He is heavily invested (about 20% of the company I recall) and I do take comfort from that. You may also be right that this is a shrewd tactic from PM to prevent the price falling too much and allow the debt holder to cash in the debt for a load of shares on the cheap (at 90% of current share price). That said, running a publically listed company (even AIM) puts everything in the public eye in a way not true of a private company. Everyone is watching and when you have deadlines that aren't reached you pay the penalty with the share price. It also allows lenders to be vultures because they can see your exposure and exploit it to get better terms for themselves. I dare say the counterparties that PM has been talking to for finance deliberately took this to the wire and beyond to try and put PRG in an awkward situation. I still have faith in PM and can't sell out anyway! The funding is not huge considering the expectation of $100m turnover not too far down the road. I do follow the LSE board where there is far more chatter about this - it's just that so much of it is inane that I can't be bothered to join in. We have no choice but to sit tight and wait. Guitarsolo
HPC Follower
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16... Just to make it clear, Mothae is not close to the Karowe (ex-AK6) asset in Botswana.Mothae is close to Lemphane is close to FDI's Liquobong asset in Lesotho.I hope PB gets his agreement, but I don't think these large diamond finds show the potential in Lesotho, just the potential of the latest Xray technology to spot really big diamonds.
Pharma Brown
19 Nov 2015
Correction to last.... Lucara's new 1111 carat stone discovery is from their Karowe mine in Botswana, and not from Lesotho.GLA.
Pharma Brown
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16 Nov... Fellow investors, please do read all the discussion chat which is on LSE!Having faith in PM, who is personally heavily invested and motivated to do the least-dilutive deal available, I interpret the suspension as a sensible and shrewd move to mitigate the possibility of a share price collapse enabling the lender (in a default scenario) being able to recover 120% of the loan at 'current market price', which thanks to suspension is not currently able to fall below 4p.Interestingly (and dare I say excitingly), Lucara finding a 1111-carat diamond, the second largest ever found in the world history of diamond discoveries, could hardly have come at a better time for strengthening the discussions re funding of PRG whose similar Lemphane resource is a mere 5km away!The bottom line worst case scenario is that discussions fail, the loan is repaid through issue of 14m shares @ about 3.8p, Mothae acquisition falls through, and we then proceed with development only of Lemphane. We were hugely undervalued regarding Lemphane in any case.........so PRG will live on to Stage 1 production at Lemphane and accompanied share price recovery. Personally I'm not expecting that to happen, and have confidence that a funding deal will be concluded in the reasonably near future, the announcement of which should cause a rerating of the sp. I am very heavily invested here, and investors by definition are optimists. But DO please follow the extensive discussion over on the LSE site during this worrying period.
HPC Follower
19 Nov 2015
Re: Not good news.....PRG delisted on 16 Nov... This is not looking good...The directors of Paragon have a lot to lose here after being very bullish about the prospects for their Lesotho assets and proposed assets.The state of the commodity markets is not good right now and even Lucara's share price dropped today despite unearthing a 1,111 carat Type II diamond. Is this because PRG can't proceed with their planned purchase or because this is in doubt?My personal exposure here is relatively low, but I really did have high hopes for PRG and Lemphane in particular. Perhaps the planned purchase of the other kimberlite resources from Lucara was a step too far and PRG can just put this on hold until Lemphane is producing and the diamond market recovers a bit. Such commodity prices cannot drop indefinitely or there will be no businesses with assets to replace mines which are closing down or becoming too expensive to keep running for the revenue receipts.We must surely here more soon and have no choice but to hold, wait and hope for enough success for at least PRG to progress in some capacity with production to follow in 2016.Seems to me that there are now more companies seeking investment money/cash than there are banks and investors willing to take the risks after so many company failures and losses in market value even, when operationally successful, due to matters outside their control in recent years.
HPC Follower
16 Nov 2015
Re: PM Speaking I sincerely hope you are right and PM will deliver in the next two days or it will be looking very bleak for PRG and all the shareholders.
