Hello Mr. Crudestope,
Thank you for your comments. I, like many others on this thread, am well aware of just how fast things move in RSA.
If you are referring to the sign-off of the Mines and Energy minister on the Messina deal, while I don't pretend to understand politics, it was precisely this lack of SUF just getting it done that led to the upset of Marsfontein. Maybe I'm gun-shy, but SUF has known for many weeks about this "sign-off", has had a director meet the minister, and it is still not done. On this issue I'm from Missouri: "SHOW ME" the finished deal. It was on a teleconference about two years ago that a director and officer of SUF told me that all was well at Marsfontein except for the "dotting of the i's and the crossing of the t's".
Implats speaks of the deal as if its completed, and gave nice coverage to it in their AR, but Randgold also spoke of Marsfontein being done. And SUF is late in delivering this news to us. I'm not saying that this isn't just a bureaucratic delay, but if so, its clearly one SUF should have anticipated and dealt with, so as not to be late yet again.
To my knowledge, the 8200 carats from the Leopard fissure have been valued by De Beers. Apparently SUF has some concerns, and there is some "negotiating" or whatever going on. Something about an acid wash, and the like.
De Beers issues with the GDV are pure politics, and would seem un-related to its usual course of business, which includes its dealings with SUF. But don't beleive me. Ask SUF. They'll tell you the dispute has nothing to do with their working relationship.
As for Camafu**-up, I sincerely hope that I have to eat my words. But I'm not an expert in this, so I'll defer to Hilton Ashton and De Beers. I really hope that we don't find out that all the money paid for Camafu**-up and all the dough poured into the ground their are not complete write-offs. Again, I refer to SUF and their lack of data so far. At the AGM, we were told bulk sampling data by end of August, about two months from that statement. Surely, after several years in Angola, SUF could not make such a bold statement and then disappoint? I hope I'm wrong, but every day that goes by without an independent source confirming a value for the Angolan assets erodes my confidence even further.
It is truly a pity that the money SUF paid just this spring for Camafu**-up was enough to handle the Messina acquisition, without need for further financing. So now, instead of using the M1 revenue stream to pay for Messina, we'll end up with debt/dilution and still no positive news in Angola. Kinda makes you wonder how both mgmt and the board could've made such a decision only 8-9 months ago.
Best Luck,
Confluence |
