logo-loader

Today's Market View - W Resources, Rainbow Rare Earths, Kodal Minerals and more...

Published: 11:45 17 May 2021 BST

.

SP Angel . Morning View . Monday 17 05 21

Gold climbs on lower US interest rates as iron ore pulls back

 

Beowulf Mining* (LON:BEM) – FY 2020 results highlight progress in Kosovo and Sweden

Bluejay Mining* (LON:JAY) – BUY - Valuation 37.7p - Ilmenite prices continue to rise in China as consumers struggle to source material

Cora Gold (LON:CORA) – Annual results

Cornish Metals* (LON:CUSN) – CLICK FOR PDF – Annual results and progress report on United Downs drilling programme

Empire Metals* (LON:EEE) – ​Appointment of new Managing Director

GoldStone Resources* (LON:GRL) – BUY – 24.4p, CLICK FOR PDF - Ghana’s Next Gold Mine

KEFI Gold and Copper* (LON:KEFI) – Statement re Press Speculation

Kodal Minerals* (LON:KOD) –– Management file Feasibility Study changes with government and get ready to drill at Nielle gold prospect

Rainbow Rare Earths* (LON:RBW) – Appointment of US Ambassador J. Peter Pham as a Non-Executive Director

W Resources (LON:WRES) – Raising £2.5m to address water control solution at La Parilla.

 

We are raising funds for a private copper company in Chile which has grabbed our interest

The company has a historic ‘high-grade’ copper mine which was abandoned >100 years ago.

Drilling is planned to test two large geophysical targets underneath the historic mine may be mineralised porphyry structures.

There is also potential to reopen the historic mine which lies relatively close to a number of the world’s major copper mines

Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this opportunity.

*SP Angel’s role is limited to making introductions and interested parties should be aware that investment in a private company can present certain risks not present in listed companies (e.g. limited or no liquidity and no rules compelling disclosure of information to investors).

 

China is reported to be taking steps to reduce consumption and prices for iron ore

Iron ore prices have pulled back from high levels reporting $202.6/t  62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) vs US$210.0/t on Friday

Base metals appear to be holding firm with Tin prices rising to $29,605/t today vs $29,285/t last week

 

Dow Jones Industrials -1.99% at 33,588

Nikkei 225 -2.49% at 27,448

HK Hang Seng -1.33% at 27,856

Shanghai Composite -0.96% at 3,430

 

Economics

US – Retail Sales stalled in April after a sharp increase in the previous month on the back of pandemic-relief checks provided by the government.

Sales are expected to pick up as vaccination programme continues and more states lift pandemic related restrictions driving a recovery in spending on services.

Retail Sales (%mom): 0.0 v 10.7 in March and 1.0 est.

Retail Sales ex Auto (%mom): -0.8v 9.0 in March and 0.6 est - highlighting the significant of pent up auto demand

Export prices rose 0.8% in April vs 2.4% in March while rising 14.1% yoy in April vs 9.5% in March

Import prices 0.7% in April vs 1.4% in March, yoy 10.6% vs 6.9% in March

Industrial production 0.7% in April vs 2.4% in March, yoy 16.5% vs 1% in March

Manufacturing output 0.4% in April vs 3.1% in March, yoy 23% vs 3.1% in March

Capacity utilization 74.9% in April vs 74.4% in March

Mch business inventories 0.3% in April vvs 0.6% in March

May preliminary Uni of Michigan consumer sentiment index dipped to 82.8 in May vs 88.3 in April

 

China – Industrial production and investment buoyed by strong exports and a strong property market come close to market estimates, while retail sales underperform.

Weaker rebound in consumer spending may see authorities loosen their stance on liquidity and ramp up investing to keep the growth momentum growing.

Industrial Production (%yoy): 9.8 v 14.1 in March and 10.0 est.

Industrial Production (%YTD): 20.3 v 24.5 in March and 21.1 est.

Retail Sales (%yoy): 17.7 v 34.2 in March and 25.0 est.

Retail Sales (%YTD): 29.6 v 33.9 in March and 31.9 est.

FAI (%YTD): 19.9 v 25.6 in March and 20.0 est.

 

UK - government is proposing the COP26 Glasgow meeting in November agrees to stop all UK coal consumption.

The UK currently generates 2% of its electricity from coal, down from 40% in ’12,and completely by 2024.

 

South Korea - export prices rose 10.6% yoy in April vs 5.9% in March

Imports increased 15% (9%).   

 

Currencies

US$1.2143/eur vs 1.2108/eur last week.  Yen 109.19/$ vs 109.40/$.  SAr 14.152/$ vs 14.153/$.  $1.411/gbp vs $1.406/gbp.  0.776/aud vs 0.774/aud.  CNY 6.437/$ vs 6.435/$.

 

Commodity News

Precious metals:  

Gold US$1,853/oz vs US$1,833/oz last week

Gold ETFs 100.2moz vs US$100.1moz last week

Platinum US$1,232/oz vs US$1,225/oz last week

Palladium US$2,899/oz vs US$2,908/oz last week

Silver US$27.67/oz vs US$27.20/oz last week

           

Base metals:  

Copper US$ 10,271/t vs US$10,268/t last week

Aluminium US$ 2,474/t vs US$2,437/t last week

Nickel US$ 17,675/t vs US$17,335/t last week

Zinc US$ 2,962/t vs US$2,920/t last week

Lead US$ 2,180/t vs US$2,158/t last week

Tin US$ 29,605/t vs US$29,285/t last week

           

Energy:           

Oil US$68.6/bbl vs US$66.9/bbl last week

Natural Gas US$3.038/mmbtu vs US$2.972/mmbtu last week    

 

Bulk:   

Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$202.6/t vs US$210.0/t

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$929.6/t vs US$962.5/t

Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$79.4/t vs US$79.1/t

Coking coal swap Australia FOB US$138.0/t vs US$133.0/t

           

Other: 

Cobalt LME 3m US$44,095/t vs US$44,635/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$79,615/t vs US$80,416/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$12,738/t vs US$12,742/t

China Spodumene Li2O 5%min CIF US$630/t vs US$630/t

Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$1,706/t vs US$1,702/t

China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$270/t vs US$272/t

China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$505/t vs US$505/t

Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% $7.5/lb vs $7.4/lb

Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% $33.45/kg vs $33.15/kg

 

Battery News

UK – nuclear plant forced to remain shut as steel components wear faster than expected

The Sizewell B plant in Suffolk is to remain offline for a further three months to repair steel components which have worn faster than expected.

Engineers say that damage to the steel components is nowhere near the stage where it would prevent control rods functioning.

The Sizewell B plant has run for 25 years and has a capacity of 1.19GW. The plant supplied 8,452GWh of power in 2019.

In comparison UK wind turbine capacity covers 13.7GW from 10,930 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 24.1GW.

Maintenance and reliability issues with nuclear power generation may serve to accelerate the construction of further offshore wind farms.

Wind turbines can now gear up to 15MW of power but still need additional back up power supplies for when the turbine is not able to operate.

Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are said to be increasingly favoured for their power capacity and longer term power availability

 

Company News

Beowulf Mining* (LON:BEM) 4.3p, Mkt cap £35.6m – FY 2020 results highlight progress in Kosovo and Sweden

Beowulf report a loss of (£1,294,691) in 2020, an increased loss compared to (£428,707) in the year prior.

Administration expenses increased in the year from £904,667 to £1,005,547, due mostly to more corporate time being devoted to the Capital Raising and less time being spent on projects

Beowulf’s net cash position at 2020-year end was £4.33m vs 2019: £1.12m.

In August 2020, Beowulf announced that it had secured bridge loan financing in Sweden of SEK 12 million (approximately £1.0 million) from Nordic investors, with £300,000 invested in Vardar's geophysics programme. In November, Beowulf announced that it would conduct an Open Offer of up to 225,841,752 new Ordinary Shares to Qualifying Shareholders at 3.16 pence per Share on a pre-emptive basis to raise up to approximately £7.3m.

Vardar (Kosovo): Beowulf made significant progress at Vadar in 2020, with initial exploration developing the Company’s understanding of the porphyry potential at the company’s two assets on the highly prospective Tethyan Belt.

Beowulf invested £380,000 in Vadar over the period, funding geophysics programmes at Mitrovica and Viti. Post period, the Company invested a further £200,000 to fund preparatory works in advance of drilling in 2021, and currently own approx. 48.4% of Vadar.

The Mitrovica license is located immediately to the west and north west of the world class Stan Terg former lead-zinc-silver mine which represents an important source of metals in the south eastern part of Europe. The licence is showing its potential for a range of porphyry related mineralisation types, including the Majdan Peak high-sulphidation epithermal gold target, the Wolf Mountain low-sulphidation lead-zinc-silver target and the Mitrovica South base and precious metal target in the southern part of the licence area.

The Mitrovica license is located immediately to the west and north west of the world class Stan Terg former lead-zinc-silver mine which represents an important source of metals in the south eastern part of Europe. The licence is showing its potential for a range of porphyry related mineralisation types, including the Majdan Peak high-sulphidation epithermal gold target, the Wolf Mountain low-sulphidation lead-zinc-silver target and the Mitrovica South base and precious metal target in the southern part of the licence area.

At Majdan Peak, an extensive gold anomaly has been identified over an area approximately 1,400 m x 700 m, with individual soil samples returning up to 0.36 g/t gold. A number of grab samples returned high grade gold results, which correlated well with gold in soils and alteration intensity and confirmed the significant scale of the anomaly, which remains open to the east.

Grab sample results at the target over 1 g/t gold include: 7.2 g/t; 4.6 g/t; 2.8 g/t; 2.0 g/t; 1.5 g/t; 1.3 g/t; 1.3 g/t; and 1.1 g/t.

The Wolf Mountain target forms a prominent outcropping feature, with strike length of more than 4 km and width ranging from almost 20m to greater than 300m. The Company reported highly anomalous IP chargeability zones, considered high priority targets for drill testing, defined beneath areas of laterally extensive Pb-Zn gossans and hydrothermal alteration.

The Company believe that anomalies at Wolf Mountain follow established regional structural trends suggesting they may be representative of high-grade Pb-Zn-Ag feeder structures, often a characteristic of the deposit type.

Since 2019,  total of 278.5m of trenching and 1,609m of drilling were completed at Wolf Mountain, with trench highlights including Trench WM-T01: 18 g/t silver, 2.01 per cent lead and 3.17 per cent zinc over 12.5 m, within a longer 51 m in length cross-section returning 11 g/t silver, 1.43 per cent lead and 1.87 per cent zinc. Drilling highlights include Drillhole WM004: 8 g/t silver, 1.27 per cent lead and 0.91 per cent zinc over 6.6 m.

Ferroscandian (Finland): Beowulf continue to pursue and develop a resource and production base of graphite that can provide security of supply and contribute to Finland's ambitions of achieving battery manufacturing self-sufficiency, focusing on both natural flake graphite. At Aitolampi, the company has an Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 26.7 Mt at 4.8 per cent TGC for 1,275,000 t of contained graphite.

Post period, the company signed an MoU with Epsilon Advance Materials Limited, enabling Fennoscandian to build its downstream capability and for EAMPL to firmly establish itself in Finland, as a market-entry point for supplying pre-cursor anode material into Europe. The company has also awarded a coping Study contract for the Aitolampi graphite project to AFRY Finland Oy.

Kallak (Sweden): Beowulf remained focused on receiving the application for an Exploitation Concession for Kallak North. While the company continued to engage with authorities, although progress stalled as a result of Covid-19. The Constitutional Committee has been reviewing the Swedish Government's handling of the Company's application for an Exploitation Concession for Kallak North, and in November commented: "KU has examined the application for a processing concession for Kallak. In the Government case, no visible administrative measures were implemented for almost three years. This means a delay that is not acceptable, according to KU.”

Beowulf hopes that this will prompt the Ministry of Trade and Industry to be more forthcoming with a decision over the asset.

Beowulf announced the findings of an expert market assessment by Dr. Bo Arvidson in 2020, which investigated the market potential of future products from the Kallak North deposit, based on lab results and pilot plant testwork. Testwork on Kallak ore has produced an exceptionally high-grade magnetite concentrate at 71.5% Fe with minimal detrimental components - making Kallak the market leading high-grade product among known current and planned future producers. Kallak magnetite concentrate would reduce the carbon footprint of traditional steel manufacturing, improve energy efficiency in any downstream process and reduce waste.

The Company expects to conduct addirtonal exploration drilling at Kallak South, awarding a contract for up to 1,650m of diamond drilling to commence later this year. The Board believe that there is clear potential for the mine life at Kallak to be much greater than the 14 -years included in the Kallak North application, as can be seen with LKAB's operations at Kiruna, which have lasted over a century, new resources are typically identified after a mine is opened.

*SP Angel act as Nomad and Broker to Beowulf Mining

 

Bluejay Mining* (LON:JAY) 9.33p, Mkt cap £91m – Ilmenite prices continue to rise in China as consumers struggle to source material

BUY - Valuation 37.7p

Chinese ilmenite concentrate traders and producers raised prices last week with TiO2 46%min rising around $5/t to $360-368/t (Asianmetal.com).

Suppliers in China estimate ilmenite prices will rise further this week, predicting another $8/t on the price for this week.

Spot market supplies were hard to find last week with one consumer failing to find any available material.

Chinese ilmenite imports rose 70% yoy to 395,948t in March at an average import price of $274.06/t

Conclusion: Our modelling shows a $10/t increase in the ilmenite price adds a further $54m or 5p/s of value to the Dundas project on our assumptions.

We currently assume Bluejay sales at $250/t with 70% of the concentrate shipped to Asia by bulk carrier.

*SP Angel act Nomad and broker to Bluejay. The analyst has previously visited the Enonkoski mine site in Finland. The analyst recently bought shares in Bluejay Mining.

 

Cora Gold (LON:CORA) 7.8p, Mkt Cap £16m – Annual results

The Company reported $0.7m loss (FY19: -$1.5m) primarily comprised of administrative costs.

Capitalised exploration costs amounted to ~$2.3m (FY19: $2.4m) largely reflecting an ongoing infill and step out drilling programme at the flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in southern Mali.

The Company raised $5.5m in equity during the year including £2.9m new placing in Apr/20 and £1.5m in proceeds from exercised warrants during the period.

Closing cash balance as of Dec/20 stood at $4.5m and no debt.

Jun/20, the Company entered into a conditional $21m mandate and term sheet with investment firm Lionhead Capital Advisors to fund development of the project.

The funding is subject to a number of conditions including the completion of a DFS on the Sanankoro by 31 Dec/21 and is expected to come in the form of equity ($6m), convertible loan note ($5m) and debt ($10m).

Jan/20 Scoping Study on the Project envisaged a 1.5mtpa heap leaching operation for ~45kozpa at $942/oz AISC and a pre-production capex of $20.6m.

The team is currently around a third through the 35,000m drilling programme at Sanankoro that is expected to be completed in Jul/21 focusing on resource growth as well as infill drilling to convert Inferred resources to Indicated.

Drilling is expected to accelerate this month with an additional RC and DC rigs arriving on site this month.

 

Cornish Metals* (LON:CUSN) – 14.9p, Mkt cap £38.4m – Annual results and progress report on United Downs drilling programme

CLICK FOR PDF

Cornish Metals reports a loss of C$1.60m for the year ending 31st January 2021 (2020 – Loss of C$4.56m).

The company highlights the February 2020 private placing raising C$2.35m for its ‘proof of concept’ drilling at the South Crofty mine site and of the successful AIM listing, in February 2021, which raised £8.2m (C$14.4m) for the advancement of the United Downs exploration project following the discovery, in April 2020, of a “new zone of high-grade copper-tin mineralization”.

Cornish Metals plans an initial 9,100m drilling programme, funded from the proceeds of the AIM listing, to establish an inferred mineral resources estimate at United Downs over the next 12-18 months and to “test three lodes with a 1,000 meter of strike length to a depth of 500 meter in the initial phase”. Commencement of the drilling was announced in April.

The company adds that “Management believes there are up to seven further mineralized lode structures … [at United Downs] … with a total resource potential of between four million tons and ten million tons” and confirms that “Subject to the outcome of the initial drilling program … [it plans] … to undertake a subsequent in-fill drilling program at United Downs to advance the project to a feasibility study within three years”.

Cornish Metals also plans to explore additional exploration targets lying within transport distance of the processing plant site at the South Crofty mine-site and where, “In the longer term, the Company intends to develop the South Crofty tin project as and when economic conditions and cashflows are supportive”.

The company’s ‘Management Discussion and Analysis, filed on Canada’s SEDAR site confirms that the underground workings at South Crofty are currently partially flooded “and dewatering activities are required prior to the reopening of the mine”.

Conclusion: Cornish Metals’ drilling programme at United Downs is testing the resource potential of, initially, three mineralised structures at United Downs within an area of historic tin and copper mining which management believes contains up to a further seven mineralised structures. We await results from the exploration with interest.

* SP Angel acts as broker and financial advisor to Cornish Metals. The analyst holds shares in Cornish Metals.

 

Empire Metals* (LON:EEE) 3p, Mkt cap £9.5m – ​Appointment of Managing Director

Empire reports that it has appointed Mr. Shaun Bunn to the Board of the Company as Managing Director effective from 1 June 2021. Mr. Bunn is a metallurgist based in Perth, Western Australia , with over 35 years' experience in exploration, mining, processing and project development, including over 25 years' experience in the gold mining sector.

Mr Bunn has managed mining projects through all stages of development, from grass roots exploration, feasibility studies, financing, construction, commissioning and operations.

For the past six years he has held the position of Senior VP Projects for Hummingbird Resources plc, a West African-focused gold producer and explorer with three core gold projects, the Yanfolila Gold Mine in Mali, the Dugbe Gold Project in Liberia, and the recently acquired Kouroussa Gold Project in Guinea.

Neil O'Brien, Chairman, said: "We are delighted to welcome Shaun to the Empire Board as our new Managing Director and we are confident that he will be a highly effective and valuable member of our leadership team.  Shaun's operations and projects experience, particularly in the gold sector, further strengthen the team's project evaluation and execution credentials.  Moreover, Shaun's origins and networks in the Western Australian mining sector will further enhance Empire's ability to find and develop new gold-focussed opportunities as we build on the platform of the Eclipse Gold Project to become a successful gold mining company in Western Australia."

*SP Angel act as Nomad and Broker to Empire Metals

 

GoldStone Resources* (LON:GRL) 13.7p, Mkt Cap £44.6m – Ghana’s Next Gold Mine

BUY – 24.4p

CLICK FOR PDF

GoldStone Resources is an AIM-listed gold development Company focused on a two former mines in the Ashanti region of Southwest Ghana, currently progressing production at its fully-permitted Homase Mine and imminently expecting its first-gold pour.

The Homase Mine is made up of five proposed shallow, open pits on the highly prospective Birimian Greenstone belt, home to a number of world-class operations including the Obuasi Mine- just 12km to the South-west and along strike from Homase with a c.70Moz of historic and current gold resource.

We forecast an initial 5-year life for the Homase Mine, with the mine expanding to a depth of 80m from the 30m initially proposed, along with a rapid scale up in production to eventually yield 73,800ozpa.

The first two cells of the Heap Leach Facility have been commissioned, enabling ore stacking and development of subsequent leach pads.

Cash flow from the start of operations at Homase should enable GoldStone to further define and then fast-track additional pits along the Homase Trend into production, with further pits situated along the Homase gold trend and likely to present further upside for the company.

Management recently took the strategic decision to scale up the initial operation at Homase, taking advantage of the current strong gold price environment and to accelerate the Company’s ambition to bring on multiple proposed pits including the Homase mine into production. This will also allow GoldStone to undertake exploration at its Akrokeri underground mine, which produced 75,000oz of gold at 24g/t between 1904 and 1909.

Adjusting for the faster production ramp up and additional capex associated with an updated operating rate, we estimate the Company should generate ~$88mpa in EBITDA and ~$56mpa in FCF once full capacity is reached at the initial Homase South operation.

Throughput rates are expected to increase to 745kt and 2.0mt in 2021 and 2022 producing 26.9koz and 73.8koz at c.$613/oz TCC and C.$651/oz AISC, with sales expected to cover development/exploration capex, interest, and debt repayments.

Emma Priestley, ceo, has worked extensively with mining companies in Africa, with consultants and in financial services. Emma is a graduate of Camborne School of Mines and Chartered Mineral Surveyor. Non-Executive Chairman, Bill Trew, brings with him 40 years’ experience in the mining and finance sectors and in addition is chairman of MAED Engineering- a world leader in mine project management and engineering design.

Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer by some margin, with a pro-mining government and population who appreciate the industry’s contribution to the country’s macroeconomic progress. Ghana is also considered a less-risky jurisdiction than many of its peers, ranking 2nd in West Africa in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index.

NPV: Based on the initial Homase Mine production profile, we estimate post-tax NPV of £139m (90% attributable interest) equivalent to 24.4p per share, assuming full dilution of warrants at a 10% discount rate.

*SP Angel act as Broker to GoldStone Resources

 

KEFI Gold and Copper* (LON:KEFI) 2.0p, Mkt Cap £42m – Statement re Press Speculation

In response to the recent media commentary, the Company reports it is not aware of any breach of any Tulu Kapi license conditions and have not received any such communication from authorities both formally or informally.

The Company highlights that a series of formal meetings was carried with various shareholders of TKGM, an owner of the Tulu Kapi license, including the Ethiopian Government las week.

During such meetings the tasks and timetable for development of the Tulu Kapi Gold Project were agreed.

Additionally, it was agreed to upscale security around the Project, endorse KEFI's historical Project expenditure, confirm KEFI's exploration licences and confirm the construction schedule for the offsite infrastructure (roads and electricity connection).

TKGM is to be owned under a Public-Private-Partnership agreement with the Government of Ethiopia and Region of Oromia to own ~20% of the project including 5% free carried interest.

All parties involved in the project are reported to currently focus on financing and development preparations aiming to start construction as soon as possible.

The media commentary referred to an Ethiopian Mines Ministry briefing held on 14 May 2021 at which it is understood reference was made to the cancellation of licences awarded to 27 mining and exploration companies and which included a verbal reference by a ministry official to an intention to issue warning letters to three other companies, including 'Tulu Kapi Gold Mines'.

Ethiopia is currently preparing for 2021 general elections that are expected at the end of June.

*SP Angel act as Nomad and Broker to KEFI Gold and Copper

 

Kodal Minerals* (LON:KOD) – 0.31p, Mkt cap £46m – Management file Feasibility Study changes with government and get ready to drill at Nielle gold prospect

Bougouni: Management are to file changes to the recent Feasibility Study with the government to complete the process for confirmation of the mining permit.

Nielle: Kodal has secured two drill rigs to start 5,000m of aircore and 1,000m of RC drilling this week.

The drill program is designed to test for extensions to the mineralised gold zone and for parallel zones as defined by Resolute Mining

The work follows up on results including a drill intersection of 26m grading 1.95g/t gold and 26m of 1,79g/t.

The government of Mali is to form a new ‘broad-based transitional government with Prime Minister Moctar Ouane immediately reappointed to carry out a cabinet reshuffle. (Aljazeera).

Mali’s interim government plans to form a new “broad-based” cabinet amid growing criticism of the army-dominated authorities in the Sahel state.

UK troops recently seized a cache of weapons from suspected Islamic terrorists last week in a village close to the border with Niger where locals were being threatened.

The troops were part of a UK task force that arrived in Mali in December to assist with a broader UN peacekeeping mission.

*SP Angel acts as Financial Advisor and Broker to Kodal Minerals

 

Rainbow Rare Earths* (LON:RBW) 15.77p, Mkt Cap £75m – Appointment of US Ambassador J. Peter Pham as a Non-Executive Director

(Rainbow hold 70% of Phalaborwa with 30% to be held by Bosveld Phosphates. There is currently no BEE requirement as this is a retreatment processing operation)

Rainbow report the appointment of Ambassador J. Peter Pham as a Non-Executive Director of the Company.

Ambassador Pham, is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington having served as US Special Envoy for the Great Lakes (Africa) from 2018-2020. 

Ambassador Pham was the lead US official responsible for shaping and coordinating US strategy on cross-border security, political and economic issues in this region, including Burundi where he led U.S. diplomatic efforts to rebuild and restore effective relations with the current government.

Ambassador Pham also served as U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel region of Africa from 2020-2021 with personal rank of Ambassador.  Earlier in his career, he served as Vice President for Research and Regional Initiatives at the Atlantic Council and Director of its Africa Centre.  His previous academic assignments include: tenured Associate Professor of Political Science, Justice Studies and Africana Studies at James Madison University as well as Adjunct Instructor on African Affairs at several U.S. Armed Forces institutions.

Ambassador Pham holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago and a doctorate from the Gregorian University (Rome), as well as postgraduate degrees in history, law, international relations, and theology.   He is the author of more than 300 articles, essays and reviews on African politics, security and economic issues.  Ambassador Pham is also Vice Chairman of the Board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, as well as a Non-Executive Director of Africell Global Holdings.

Ambassador Pham holds the National Order of Merit Awards from the governments of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Gabon and is seen as the architect of efforts to reform and rebuild US relations with Burundi.

Conclusion: Ambassador Pham’s expertise is particularly relevant for Rainbow which is ramping up rare earth mining in Burundi and is also a potential supplier of rare earth material into the US from a critical materials perspective.

*SP Angel act as broker and financial advisor to Rainbow Rare Earths

 

W Resources (LON:WRES) 8.25p, Mkt Cap £7.5m – Raising £2.5m to address water control solution at La Parilla.

W Resources has raised £2.26m through the issue of approximately 28.3m new shares at a price of 8p/share and confirmed that its Chairman, Michael Masterman will “participate and invest £250,000 on the same terms as the Placing, once the Company has published its accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 and the Company is no longer in a closed period”.

We estimate that the new shares represent approximately 26% of the enlarged capital of the company.

W Resources confirms that “The majority of the funds raised from the Placing will be used to achieve the permanent solution to high water levels thereby giving access to higher-grade ore and significantly increasing tungsten and tin production at the La Parrilla mine as well as providing additional working capital to cover the ramp-up in production”.

In March, the company reported that it had experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall that “This came at a time when the water level of the historic mine pit adjacent to the mine was already unseasonably high and as a result it became unsafe for the team to access the higher-grade ore … [and said that it was] … taking steps to lower the water level and regain access to the higher-grade ore”.

The company says today that “Until the works are completed, the W team continues to process mid and lower level grade ore. Access to high-grade ore is expected to re-commence in Q3 2021”.

Mr. Masterman welcomed the incoming shareholders and said that the company was looking “forward to increasing production, sales and profitability as we regain access to the higher-grade ore at La Parrilla. The second half of 2021 should see positive operational cashflow and a turnaround in creating shareholder value.”

 

Recent Interviews:

IGTV:  Are the commodity markets in another supercycle? https://www.ig.com/uk/market-insight-articles/are-the-commodity-markets-in-another-supercycle--210513

YouTube: https://youtu.be/zQf87RhF3_4

Improved global economic forecasts from the IMF provides trading opportunities:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXKPqzuCG0

VOX Markets:  06/05/20: https://audioboom.com/posts/7861994-john-meyer-on-copper-afritin-kodal-minerals-phoenix-copper-power-metals

28/04/20: https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/media/60896b3f017903524c8e0936/?context=/listings/LON/BMN/multimedia/

*SP Angel almost invariably acts as nomad or broker or nomad and broker to companies mentioned in the above videos and podcasts.

We speak more about these companies as we have a good understanding of their business and can talk with a greater degree of confidence. As ever, however, it should be noted that our views do not take into account the circumstances and needs of any particular investor or investor type. So enjoy the talks, but please do your own research, including other companies not mentioned by us but operating in the same areas, and get professional advice where appropriate.

 

No.1 in Copper:  “The winner of the 2020 Fastmarkets Apex contest for copper was the team at SP Angel comprising John Meyer, Sergey Raevskiy and Simon Beardsmore, with an  accuracy score of 93.8%”

No1. In Gold:  “SP Angel’s trio took the top spot for the gold price prediction throughout the year, with an accuracy score of 97.59%”

The SP Angel team also ranked 1st in Palladium, 3rd in Tin and 5th in Silver in the fourth quarter of 2020

 

 

Analysts

John Meyer – John.Meyer@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0490

Simon Beardsmore – Simon.Beardsmore@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0484

Sergey Raevskiy –Sergey.Raevskiy@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0474

Joe Rowbottom – Joe.Rowbottom@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0486

 

Sales

Richard Parlons –Richard.Parlons@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0472

Abigail Wayne – Abigail.Wayne@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0534

Rob Rees – Rob.Rees@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0535

Grant Barker – Grant.Barker@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0471

 

 

SP Angel                                                            

Prince Frederick House

35-39 Maddox Street London

W1S 2PP

 

*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)

+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.

 

Sources of commodity prices

Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver

BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London)

Gold ETFs, Steel

Bloomberg

Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt

LME

Oil Brent

ICE

Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore

NYMEX

Thermal Coal

Bloomberg OTC Composite

Coking Coal

SSY

RRE

Steelhome

Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Tungsten, Spodumene, Ferro-Manganese, Graphite

Asian Metal

 

Chesnara reports strong 2023 results with improved cash generation and...

Chesnara PLC (LSE:CSN) chief executive Steve Murray discusses the company's full-year results for 2023 with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion, describing them as strong and particularly highlighting £53 million in commercial cash generation and a dividend coverage of around 150%. The company has...

11 minutes ago