metorex
metorex share price. 100p - stock quote, charts, trade history, share chat, financials. metorex metorex ltd
in july of 2011, metorex announced jinchuan’s intention to make an offer for the entire issued share capital of metorex, culminating in metorex becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the jinchuan group in january 2012 .
following the acquisition, the metorex shares ceased trading on the johannesburg stock exchange .
rio de janeiro, july 11, 2011 – vale s. a. (vale) announces that it has agreed to the request by metorex limited (metorex) to terminate the agreement in relation to the previously announced offer to acquire the total share capital of metorex, subject to metorex paying the agreed break up fee. vale has no intention to match the terms of the recently announced offer for metorex .
“from that point onwards metorex became jinchuan’s african platform to develop further assets and acquire assets through the metorex brand that are primarily focused on base metals, ” said benfield .
reviewing his long career, malone says metorex undertook 33 projects since he founded it .
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still took no issue with an analyst who told me the offer under - valued metorex .
metorex would henceforth also announce production results on a quarterly basis to increase transparency and accountability .
moneyweb: charles needham is the chief executive of metorex. it’s an exciting story, dave .
metorex said that the oversight committee would also see to structural changes and the recomposition of the board .
while the history of metorex’s two operating mines extends back over many decades, the company itself was founded in 1975 by a consortium including simon malone which acquired rand london mines and subsequently became known as metorex .
metorex officially ceased trading on the johannesburg stock exchange in january 2012 and in november 2013, jinchuan successfully incorporated metorex into jinchuan group international resources company ltd, a jinchuan subsidiary listed on the hong kong stock exchange .
since the acquisition, apart from financing of projects, jinchuan has extended its technical support and advice to metorex .
chibuluma was acquired by metorex in 1997 through a government privatisation programme and is often referred to as zambia’s model mine .
“our focus is to align the entire human capital function with the greater metorex strategy and add value to our business .
for 35 years an independent rock breaker, malone put in place every asset metorex has – assets that vale of brazil and jinchuan value so highly. jinchuan’s offer values metorex at r9. 1bn, compared to vale’s offer of r7. 5bn .
metorex said that there would be not more than three executive directors on the board in future and a majority of nonexecutive directors .
metorex currently lacked the financial resources to fast - track the development of the kinsenda mine. irrespective of its current financial capacity it was considered to be inappropriate for metorex to continue providing 100% of the funding required for the continued development of the mine .
david shapiro: because if they want to get value, that’s the way they get value – by taking it out of metorex .
scanning the hierarchy and structure further down and you find the esteemed projects that have become so synonymous with metorex’s capabilities over the years .
in november 2013 jinchuan successfully incorporated metorex into jinchuan group international resources co ltd, a jinchuan subsidiary listed on the hong kong stock exchange .
those proceeds had been applied to a hedge structure going forward, as a condition to the extension of metorex' s project finance facilities .
all of metorex’s mines, with the exception of cons murch, were profitable even in the wake of the great commodities slump of 2008 .
metorex is also planning another $ 400 million investment in its musonoi project, which lies a little further northwest near the mining town of kolwezi .
finally, metorex’s lubembe project, which is located near to the kinsenda mine, is a much larger deposit, but of lower grade ore .
metorex had begun with the selection process for a new ceo, who would require
technical and management skills
necessary to consolidate and optimise existing operations, bring metorex' s current project pipeline to fruition and develop an
effective forward - looking strategy for the group as a whole
.
he was happy to chat in generalities after the meeting. he revealed that vale was one of a number of large mining houses that looked at metorex .
metorex had engaged extensively with the drc authorities as part of the mineral title review process, but was still unable to announce the details of these settlements .
metorex said it had received a cash offer from a black economic empowerment (bee) company for a 15 percent equity interest in the vergenoeg fluorspar mine .
david shapiro: ja, it is, because i’m not sure the way it will work but obviously metorex will get these shares, because they’re selling the mines in for shares which hopefully they’re going to then pass on to local shareholders. so if you own metorex, you’re probably going to get shares demerged or…
forging partnerships however, metorex has high standards for its suppliers and only seeks to enter partnerships with those companies that are reliable and provide reliable components and services .
still told me that he and metorex’s large spanish shareholder and non - executive director alberto barrenechea had purchased shares “at a very interesting time” in the company’s history .
metorex is to swap its 74% stake in barberton mines for a 55% stake in aim - listed pan african resources. charles gives some of the history
metorex said it plans to sell some of its assets to generate sufficient liquidity to cover its near - term debt commitments and fund the ruashi ramp - up phase .
in order to maximise efficiency and productivity, metorex is tackling two major hurdles that come with operating in central africa, a skills shortage and long, logistical supply chain .
metorex would also exercise its rights, in terms of its funding agreement with crc, to capitalise part of its loans in crc, thereby further increasing its shareholding in crc .
johannesburg – simon malone, founder of metorex (jse: mtx), says jinchuan’s offer makes more sense than that of vale, which he felt was far too low .
in 1975, the founders, along with simon malone, acquired rand london mines. from there on, the consortium began to operate the company that we now know as metorex .
centralising efforts in a bid to counteract skills and supply chain issues, the company has established a central services operation called metorex commercial services (mcs) at its headquarters in johannesburg .
the company continues: “human capital bases its foundation on the metorex strategy which defines the vision and values of the organisation which is enabled through the strategic anchors defined for the organisation .
we published on tuesday that the metorex board had withdrawn its recommendation of the vale offer. in fact the circular says this is a condition precedent – something that still has to be done .
johannesburg - based mining company metorex has launched a multi - million dollar investment programme with an ambitious goal of reaching a target of producing 250, 000 tonnes of copper a year in 10 years’ time .
benfield explained that part of metorex’s strategy was to ensure continuity by with its ex - pats, so as not to lose their expertise, through helping them develop their careers at the company’s various locations .
still he thinks metorex is a great company: “the debt is sorted out. we have two wonderful assets making good profits and three excellent prospects that in time will generate a lot of loot. ”
on december 5, metorex announced a r922 - million debt and equity finance plan to complete the production and ramp up of its ruashi copper / cobalt project. metorex said then that it planned to seek shareholder approval on december 23 to raise r744 - million by selling 372 - million shares at r2 each, and had arranged for a r178 - million bridging finance loan from standard bank. the miner had also restructured about r2 - billion of its medium - term debt. metorex would use the funds to cover cost overruns at ruashi, and because a longer - than - expected construction time at the project had meant that the firm had not generated the cash flow it had planned for. metorex said that it still needed r700 - million to finance the cash flows required to complete the project and ramp up to full production .
metorex is proving its credentials across a number of assets in the drc and zambian copper belt to reaffirm its status as an established mid - tier mining group with a concerted focus on long - term profitability .
these renowned projects represent more than 40 years of development for metorex, but it was 2011 where the modern - day company began to take shape following the announcement of jinchuan group’s intention to acquire the business .
a commitment to effective leadership, employee development, mutual respect, human dignity, and motivational empowerment compounds its overall human capital ethos, and is also backed up by a sincere sense of accountability within metorex .
malone rejects the argument that metorex needs a big brother to bring the three new prospects to fruition, the view of the idc with 15% of the shares. he and his team did not need big capital. malone says that with profits pumping at chibuluma and ruashi, the three prospects could have been realised with metorex independent. it could have done this on a phased basis over the next three years .
some 400 people are employed at chibuluma and metorex is keen to hang onto its operations in zambia, consequently the company will invest some $ 24 million on the decline development required to access the recently - discovered ore body .
at the time it was taken over, it was a flooded mine, previously run by a japanese mining consortium and then by the congolese government, and metorex ultimately gained controlled with the intention of opening and mining it .
“good operational management” is the key differentiator underpinning the success that metorex has enjoyed across each of its projects over the decades according to fitzmaurice; and this is certainly epitomised in pure scale terms when looking at its trademark mining operations .
the oversight committee would also address the future of metorex' s investment in copper resource corporation (crc); monitor ruashi' s hedge, and secure
longer - term and appropriately structured financing
to improve the project pipeline .
metorex owns two operating mines; chibuluma in zambia, which began production in 1955 and currently produces around 18, 000 tonnes of copper in concentrate a year, and ruashi, a copper and cobalt mine in katanga province in the drc .
tough - as - teak oversight committee member, deputy metorex chairperson rob still, would assume
a limited executive role
to assist existing management in achieving the objectives. still' s position would be reviewed on june 30, 2009 .
gone this very month are freeworld coatings (jse: fwd) (plascon) and massmart. after metorex goes, palabora will be the only copper option and copper is the metal of the moment in the so - called super cycle .
“i think by and large jinchuan has left metorex to manage the african environment, and although we have a few jinchuan secondees here that are helping to build a bridge between the two companies and cultures we are operating fairly autonomously. ” said benfield .
johannesburg – metorex (jse: mtx) shareholders on wednesday approved a new share and bonus scheme, which authorises the company to issue up to 75. 169m share options to employees at its annual general meeting (agm) (agm) in rosebank .
“there were two failures and four marginals. that means 27 succeeded and were profitable. our very first investment was rand london manganese, where our first investment was r80 000. metorex is out of it but the group today is worth r7bn - r8bn .
johannesburg, may 11 (reuters) - south african miner metorex mtxj. j increased its copper and cobalt production during the quarter to end - march, but will continue to dispose of assets to fare in the global economic downturn, it said on monday .
comprising the ruashi mine, kinsenda mine, musonoi project and lubembe exploration in the drc - and the chibuluma mine and chifupu project in zambia - metorex is continuously proactive in acquiring lucrative assets while reviewing potential opportunities in the future, in sub - saharan africa .
“jinchuan group international has now become our new parent company with a 75 percent holding from the jinchuan group and 25 percent held by minorities. so now it has become the spring board to raise the capital and create the platform for metorex to grow in africa. ”
to illu strate that metorex’s dire financial predicament was a surprise even to the directors, the spaniard paid r18. 50 a share for 471 500 shares and bought another tranche of 938 751 at r22. 50 a share some six months before the capital raising at r2 a share .
using cut and fill mining methods, the easy access to infrastructure in the area has made it one of metorex’s key projects and a subsequent exploration of further volumes of inferred mineral resources to the east of the main area is set to add another eight years onto the mine’s overall lifecycle .
“suddenly in walks standard bank (jse: sbk), telling us we were over - running and in breach of covenants and they wanted to pull the loan. metorex management were terrified. a board meeting was called on november 17 and the rescue package presented as a fait accompli .
metorex notes: “the kinsenda project currently ranks as one of the world’s highest grade copper deposits with declared mineral resources of 20. 7 million tonnes at a grade of 5. 6 percent copper. kinsenda is situated within the democratic republic of congo, near the border town of kasumbalesa. ”
the kinsenda project currently ranks as one of the world’s highest grade copper deposits with declared mineral resources of 20. 7 million tonnes at a grade of 5. 6 percent copper. kinsenda is situated within the drc near the border town of kasumbalesa and was purchased by metorex in the mid - 2000s .
the new metorex share incentive scheme, including share appreciation rights, replaces the old scheme under which there were 33m unvested shares. the old scheme had to be revamped to comply with jse (jse: jse) and king 3 requirements. the 33m older options will vest if the vale bid is consummated
the new options vest over three years so are unaffected by vale’s bid for metorex. the scheme is being put in place in the ordinary course of business as if there were no offer pending. if the vale bid succeeds, the future fate of unvested options will be a matter between vale and staff .
the wider group structure as it exists today instils metorex as an arm of jinchuan group subsidiary, jinchuan international (hk listed), and while this has added a number of vital strings to the company’s bow, it has simply complemented a philosophy and operational excellence that had long prior existed within the business .
“the musonoi project is also located in the drc, on the outskirts of the mining town of kolwezi, ” metorex explains. “the project area contains at least two known mineralised zones, one of which (known as dilala east) was discovered as a blind, high grade copper and cobalt deposit in 2007 .
the last - but by no means least - value revolves around ‘zero harm’, entailing concerns towards workers, the environment, the community and health & safety aspects; once again emphasising metorex’s drive to not only be profitable and productive, but to do so in a way that will remain sustainable long into the future .
moneyweb: we welcome charles needham, chief executive of metorex. i might have been taking a bit of a chance there, charles. certainly the gold mines in the barberton area did create the first gold rush, but those three mines you own there – sheba, new consort and fairview – are they the oldest ?
the super - confident chairman in shirtsleeves told the agm that metorex is transformed. non - core assets have been sold and, after several restructures, debt reduced from r2. 1bn to r460m. copper production increased by 145% to 76 409 tons and cobalt 488% to 5 123 tons in the 18 months to december .
“we are a group of senior executives who routinely evaluate and assess opportunities to expand our business, ” group projects manager, vic fitzmaurice explains in regards to metorex’s project identification strategy. “key projects at present include the re - opening and re - capitalisation of the kinsenda mine in the drc, which will be in production in 2017 .
with regard to the construction works being carried out at the kinsenda project, metorex has partnered with south african based project management and engineering group, dra, a diversified construction and infrastructure company group five, civil contracting firm safricas, which is based in drc, the mck mining company based in the katanga province and component supplier, outotec .
market: entry into a new sector related to rehabilitation of water supply and sewage systems. changes in the group: acquisition of shares in metorex, infra and additional shares in hydrobudowa włocławek. 2005 brought new contracts: execution of first projects for pkn orlen. the continued growth of the pbg group and increasing value of contracts meant higher financing requirements .
metorex, once a boom - time jse darling but hit now by project delays, commodity price collapse and a shareholder revolt, said it had mandated the newly created oversight committee to review the company' s key performance indicators and focus particularly on the completion of the ruashi copper project, which was being built in the democratic republic of congo (drc) .
“the metorex vision is to grow a competitive and sustainable african - focused base metal mining company and build a business development platform and operation base of jinchuan based in southern africa, ” the company states. “to grow a company that offer opportunity for the development of our employees and communities, delivering to shareholders’ expectations and contributing to the development of our world. ”
metorex continues: “ruashi is a copper and cobalt mine in katanga province, located within the democratic republic of congo. this mine is made up of three open pits, along with a modern solvent extraction electro - winning processing plant. ruashi mining started production way back in 1911. in 2005, this company was registered as a drc company, being developed in two phases. ”
johannesburg (miningweekly. com) – troubled midcap miner metorex on friday staunched its share - price haemorrhage with the announcement of far - reaching restructuring that would see the stepping down of growth - era ceo charles needham, the exiting of founder simon malone, the creation of an all - nonexecutive
board oversight committee
, and the disposal of cash - consuming assets to pay for a new bank loan .
the company notes: “the metorex mission is to operate and optimise existing mines and assets; through new mine development, exploration and technical improvements, to realise preservation and appreciation of assets; to produce copper and cobalt products in line with quality specifications; to realise company growth in order to maximise shareholder interests; to ensure harmonious relationships between employees, communities, government and society; and to create zero harm. ”
metorex would also enhance its competence in the technical, project management and corporate finance areas through future executive appointments. the company said that it was focused on: the final commissioning of the ruashi plant and achieving targeted production volumes at ruashi, completing the ruashi cobalt plant, and commissioning its secondary mills by the end february and the permanent primary crusher by april 25. completion of the acid plant had been deferred to the last quarter of 2009 .
“the bank’s mining consultants were as thick as bricks. they thought the ruashi mine was a dog. i was retiring at the end of june, so that was brought forward. i had brought rob still on to the board a couple of years before. he was put in my place and charles needham was removed as md. the bank forced us to close a hedge at a loss and then they opened another hedge that eventually cost metorex nearly r500m .
in the event it was priced at r2. as evidence it was under - priced, it was over - subscribed and those who subscribed now have a nice capital gain. as part of the package, standard granted a loan at jibar plus 7. 5 percentage points – lucrative for standard but a burden for metorex. in addition to its interest and (possibly) hedge earnings, standard has made a capital gain on the jinchuan offer of r6. 90 on its 24m shares – altogether r165. 6m .
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following its takeover by chinese mining company jinchuan in 2012, this established mid - tier mining group, which is a us $ 400 plus million revenue business with assets in both zambia and the democratic republic of congo (drc), is very much on the expansion path .
the company has immediate projects in hand which are set to take the current annual copper production rate of 55, 000 tonnes a year to 80, 000 tonnes in the next 18 months and then exceed 100 000 tonnes within five years .
these projects are coupled with a strategic plan aimed at creating greater efficiencies within the company’s supply chain which is centred at its south african headquarters .
mike benfield, chief financial officer, said: “our target is that in 10 years’ time we will be producing 250, 000 tonnes of copper a year .
“that is a lofty target that we have set ourselves but we believe we will achieve this through a combination of developing the projects and deposits that we have in our current portfolio and by acquisition with the backing of our chinese parent company, jinchuan group international resources, which is listed on the hong kong stock exchange. ”
the copper concentrate from the mine is sold to chambishi copper smelter in zambia where it is converted into copper blister and moved into the market .
benfield said: “it is a mature mine nearing the end of its life and as a consequence is one of very few mines in zambia which is tax paying .
“we have discovered a smaller satellite deposit about a kilometre and a half away from chibuluma and we are about to open that up so we can effectively extend the life of chibuluma for another six or seven years. ”
“extending our operation in chibuluma will give us more time to continue our exploration efforts in the area. we have an experienced staff compliment, who are performing well and we very much want to keep them within the group and maintain our operational presence in zambia. ”
copper and cobalt the ruashi mine employs 2, 500 people and currently produces 38, 000 tonnes of copper cathode and 4, 400 tonnes of cobalt a year .
“there are plans to take the copper production up to between 45, 000 and 50, 000 tonnes a year as we de - bottle neck the process plant, ” explained benfield .
with the purchase came 400 employees and the challenge of dewatering the mine before any new development could take place .
“we have dewatered the mine to 300 metres below surface and are now in the process of developing a further decline into the western ore body, which is our current focus, but over time we will move into the eastern ore body, the previous operators having mined the central areas” said benfield .
construction work on the project began in april 2013 and it is anticipated copper production will begin in late 2015, with expected production levels in the order of 25, 000 - 26, 000 tonnes of copper concentrate a year .
kinsenda will create further employment for the nearby settlements of meleke, twibombele and kisenda .
the projects’ environmental impact assessment and associated management plans were submitted to drc authorities in 2011 and all approvals required by the drc mining law have been obtained .
the project area contains at least two known mineralised zones, one of which known as dilala east was discovered as a blind, high grade copper and cobalt deposit in 2007 .
following the initial discovery of the high grade mineralised zone, the property has been extensively drilled and has declared a mineral resource at 31. 7 million tonnes at a grade of 2. 8 percent copper and 0. 9 percent cobalt .
benfield said: “it is a very high grade copper cobalt deposit. in december last year we completed the bankable feasibility study and we are going through some further optimisation studies on the back of that .
“this will be an underground mine, but the challenge for us will be accessing the ore body, which currently is estimated to take about four and a half years to get to .
“we are trying to work out a way of getting to it faster so that it will improve the returns and valuation of the mine, ultimately we should be in production in about five years’ time. ”
a scoping study completed in early 2012 confirmed the potential to mine and process mixed sulphide and oxide ores. the mineral resource of 93 million tonnes at a grade of 1. 9 percent copper will eventually be mined by open pit methods .
“we anticipate this project will cost somewhere between $ 500 million and $ 600 million and think that we may start it within the next five years, ” said benfield .
the financial crisis impacted the business requiring it to divest of all of its south african assets leaving it focused as a base metal miner in africa .
its fortunes have turned around somewhat dramatically following its acquisition by the china state owned entity, jinchuan group, which is providing the capital and support for its varied investment projects .
in china, jinchuan owns and operates a massive nickel deposit, which has still got a mining life of 50 years’ plus around which a whole integrated city has established itself .
jinchuan also holds a 51 percent stake in a south african platinum mine in the north west province and a few other assets outside of africa .
“the skills shortage in africa is immense with miners in africa, depending on the scale of their operation, employing people with the skills from many other countries, ” said benfield .
“for example we have a small contingent south africans, australians and british citizens working at our mines, although it does vary from mine to mine, but the majority of the work force are local employees. ”
mcs has begun by bolstering technical skills at an administrative level including its accounts payable function which is controlled and supported from the head office .
it has also sought to centralise its procurement activities leveraging more scale by being the procurement service provider for all of its operations, thus aiming to secure better price points from suppliers and ultimately getting costs per unit down .
“commodity price is not in our control, however we can control two things, the cost at which we produce a copper unit at and how many units we produce. so at a cost level we have got to get our supply chain right, ” explained benfield .
“we have a well thought - out supply chain management strategy which we are aiming to develop, managed from johannesburg and then integrated into our various operations. ” supplies are predominately sourced in south africa but chemical reagents to extract ore through the copper process come from other parts of the world .
the challenge of connectivity is one that the company is also endeavouring to constantly improve in order to allow good communication across its operations .
“in africa there are issues with internet and telecommunication connectivity which can be a challenge for us, ” said benfield. “we are looking at standardising our communications from our headquarters in johannesburg through to our sites in central africa .
“we are also looking at chinese procurement. the chinese have an amazing track record for doing things quicker for less and we believe that their quality is constantly improving ensuring that supplies are fit for purpose, reliable and cost effective. ”
looking after its employees and the communities in which it operates are always regarded highly by the company which has developed a strong set of values it adheres to .
“we have an acronym – paletz which is our mantra, ” said benfield. “p is for people focus, a is for accountability, l is for the long term perspective, e is for excellence in everything we do, t is for teamwork and z is for zero harm .
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chairman rob still quickly put me right that this is no large - scale giveaway on the eve of vale’s r7. 35bn bid for the company .
still said the older options are approximately r130m “in the money” at the offer price .
to stave off bankruptcy in november 2008, standard bank (jse: sbk) agreed to lend the company r100m on condition that the company came up with r500m of equity. a rights issue was held at r2 a share but fell short of the r500m required. barrenechea and still bought shares to reach standard’s r500m equity hurdle .
still kept vale’s offer off the agenda at wednesday’s agm because there will be a specific shareholders’ meeting on the offer on july22. the circular comes out this friday .
he personally has signed an irrevocable over his 9m shares, which was an endorsement of the offer price. had he not accepted it would have sent a wrong message to the board and shareholders .
“when you receive an offer at a 40% premium to the share price, you have to put it to shareholders. just imagine if we had not conveyed the offer because we deemed it too low and the share went back to 480c. all the irrevocables will fall away if a better offer comes up. ”
he said: “any valuation depends not only on one’s view of future commodity prices but also on life of mine, tax and all sorts of other considerations. ”
still said chibuluma and ruashi are excellent properties but the former has an expected life of only six years and the latter 15 years. he said the brazilians were tough in extending a binding offer of r7. 35 a share but they could not renege in the event of a copper price collapse .
the offer price will actually be improved following the sale of sable zinc kabwe to a subsidiary of glencore international for a price that will range from r190m - r225m .
still said vale was adamant that it wanted to keep existing management if its bid succeeds. he said management’s proven expertise in the copper fields was an important part of the valuation. he added that johannesburg was a good place from which to run mines in the copper belt. anvil is run from perth, freeport mcmoran from phoenix. joburg is in the same time zone and has a wealth of mining and engineering expertise .
still has worked in senior positions in mining houses but for more than a decade has operated as an independent in gold, platinum, mineral sands and nickel prospects .
cash mining profit amounted to r1. 72bn of which r851m represented the last six months. that profit in rands was in spite of a 20% stronger rand .
development projects kinsenda, ruashi sulphides, lubembe and dilala east have made considerable progress. the company is confident and encouraged .
all resolutions at the agm were passed and not one shareholder had a question. the share price has firmed from 716c to 732c in the past week. that is within spitting distance of the offer price but there could be 20c extra in the sable offer .
price and trade data source: jse ltd. all other statistics calculated by profile data. all data is delayed by at least 15 minutes .
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charles needham: well, alec, certainly that was the centre of the first gold rush, and the sheba mine was started in 1886. so it has been around a while and we trust and we believe that it will be around for a lot longer .
charles needham: pilgrim’s rest – similar sort of timing. similar timing, but certainly the sheba area was the mainstay of that gold rush at the time .
moneyweb: it’s really an interesting part of south african corporate history. names like joe’s luck, sheba, eureka, revolver creek – and of course your fairview and new consort. that whole gold rush time of 1883, 1886 when sheba was created – its amazing to believe that the mines are still producing gold there. is that because they have a different geology to what we’re used to on the reef ?
charles needham: well, i think alec, you know, the infrastructure there is certainly historic, and its fairly small, but you’re in the greenstone belt and these greenstone belts just go on for ever. and we…
moneyweb: just explain that, if you would, for the layman. what is a greenstone belt ?
charles needham: well, the greenstone belts are gold - liberating rock that is not quite the same as the witwatersrand, which runs in your conglomerates and it’s a vein. the greenstones are a sort of a mass deposit of gold mineralisation in what are known as the greenstone rocks. they’re the oldest rocks in the world .
moneyweb: so, if you pick away with your pick and shovel, you might actually get a gold nugget in a greenstone, which you’re unlikely to get on the witwatersrand reef .
charles needham: correct. and historically the golden quarry was probably the richest gold deposit ever discovered, which ran at ounces per ton, rather than grams per ton .
moneyweb: it is interesting, as well, looking at the financial results of your barberton mines, because that’s why we’re talking with you tonight – the grade, the head grade that you got there was nearly 11 grams a ton. most of the south african mines are pretty happy if they can get five or six grams a ton .
charles needham: well, i would think we’re probably the second - highest grade in the country. the difference is that barberton is a high - cost gold mine, but it’s a high - grade, high - cost gold mine. but certainly we have the grades. they are very variable in greenstones; you know, we will have areas of particularly high grade, but on average 10 is about where we’re at .
charles needham: exploration from surface is not easy. you know, for us to put in significant amount of drilling from surface or significant underground drilling really doesn’t delineate the ore body quite the way one might on a sulphide or a base metal operation. you know, we really have to keep ourselves ahead of where we are mining through ongoing development and opening up new areas by probe holes underground. but it’s a most interesting process .
charles needham: well, the greenstone belt runs through to phalaborwa. consolidated murchison, which is our antimony gold operation, is also sitting in the greenstone belt. so, it certainly runs phalaborwa down through barberton .
charles needham: purely by underground probing, and there is a certain amount of luck involved in the greenstones .
moneyweb: now you own 74% of the barberton mines, bought from the old avgold in 2003. interesting to see that cyril ramaphosa’s group, shanduka, has got the other 26% .
charles needham: well, ja, cyril came in at the same time as us. he partnered us in that transaction with avgold, and he came in for 26% interest. and we in fact were originally a 55% interest, and acquired the canadians’ – who also joined us in that transaction – we acquired their 20% during the course of last year .
moneyweb: and you’re going to be putting barberton mines into a london - based listing, or an aim part of the london stock exchange – a company called pan african resources. what’s motivated this decision ?
charles needham: alec, you know, if i can just touch on that. we’re selling it into pan african resources, but we’re creating a dual listing. we are going to be listed on the altx market in south africa, which means that we are creating a south african - controlled gold mining, exploration and development and producing operation. the rationale for this was that over the years we’ve been advised by various institutions; they said: “you know, your ratings that you will get from a pure gold play are significantly better than the ratings you’ll get for your gold asset within your diversified portfolio. ” it took us a long time and we did a lot of thinking about this one and ultimately we agreed that if you piece together gold production with exploration, this is the way that you can grow a gold operation. and this was the rationale for piecing ourselves together with pan african, who are primarily explorationists and we are producers and operators and developers. so, it just made sense to piece together cash flows generated from gold - mining operations for the funding of exploration for the creation of new mines. so just the ratings and the rationale for having cash flow together with the exploration makes sense .
moneyweb: makes a lot of sense. is pan african resources also exploring in the barberton area ?
charles needham: pan african will come onto the barberton lease area, but their primary focus at the moment is mozambique, central african republic and ghana .
moneyweb: i was going to say, surely if you’ve been mining in barberton since 1883, there can’t be too much unexplored area there. yet what you’ve just explained now – central african republic and mozambique must be almost virgin territory .
charles needham: well, central african republic certainly is, but we believe that the tanzanian gold belt flows through the drc and flows into central african republic. now we believe that that could either be an elephant or nothing. but we have got to go through the processes and we’ve got exploration teams up there at the moment on soil sampling and all the various preliminary aspects of an exploration programme .
moneyweb: charles, you did explain that there’s going to be a listing on the altx here and in aim in london. when is that going to happen ?
charles needham: well, we should be trading on the altx market by mid - july .
history - company - pbg s. a. - lider branży budowlanej w polsce
pbg s. a. provides comprehensive, specialist contracting services for natural gas, crude oil, and fuel facilities. it acts as a general contractor, consortium member, or sub - contractor with respect to engineering design work, construction, repairs, operation, and maintenance in the field of production of natural gas and crude oil, transmission of natural gas and crude oil, storage of natural gas and fuels (lng, lpg, c5 +, and cng). in the fuel segment, pbg carries out projects involving both construction of new facilities and modernisation of existing fuel terminals, together with auxiliary infrastructure .
we introduce modern environmentally friendly technologies. we constantly increase our production capabilities. our finance, experience and technical knowledge allow us to carry out the largest in poland projects and take part in international undertakings. we consciously manage budgets winning confidence of financial institutions. our success is based on knowledge and experience of highly qualified engineering and production staff. matrix team management makes it possible to react to the customers’ needs and changing conditions accompanying the project realization in a flexible way .
pbg s. a. is the parent undertaking of the pbg group, whose business profile comprises general contractor services for the natural gas, crude oil, water and fuel industries, provided on a turnkey basis, as well as general contractor services for industrial, residential, infrastructural and road construction projects .
regional court in poznań - nowe miasto and wilda, viii economic department of national court register enterprise registration document: 0000184508 tax id: 777 - 21 - 94 - 746 regon number: 631048917 amount of initial capital 16, 086, 604. 44 pln - paid up .
on june 13 th, 2012 the district court for poznan - stare miasto, xi commercial division for bankruptcy and reorganization issued a decision declaring bankruptcy with the possibility to make an arrangement of the company. thus, since june 13 th, 2012, the name of the company is: pbg sa in company voluntary arrangement .
market: 2011 was a year of major contract work related to the upcoming 2012 european football championships. the pbg group played a large part in the preparations for the important event, having constructed three out of the four polish arenas to stage the championships. the construction of the pge arena in gdańsk and the national stadium in warsaw was completed in 2011, while the city stadium in poznań was completed a year earlier. work was also under way on other strategic infrastructural projects developed ahead of the 2012 european football championships: the a1 and a4 motorways and the s5 expressway .
changes in the pbg group: two acquisitions closed in 2011 – the takeover of a controlling stake in energomontaż południe and the acquisition of rafako – were a key element of the company’s new strategy. they marked the beginning of a planned shift of the pbg group’s core business towards power engineering and consolidation of the group’s power engineering business around rafako .
stock exchange: negotiations with spain’s ohl, concerning sale of majority interests in hydrobudowa polska s. a. and aprivia s. a. , were suspended. however, the intention to cooperate with ohl in winning and executing construction contracts in poland and abroad was confirmed .
market: the company secured one of the most important contracts in its history and one of strategic importance nationally and globally – the design and construction of an lng regasification terminal in świnoujście. winning of new contracts for construction of roads and motorways. completion of one of the three euro 2012 stadiums – the municipal stadium in poznań. changes in the group: the company made a first step towards entry into a new business area – the power sector. acquisition of 25% plus one share in energomontaż południe. stock exchange: the company started negotiations with ohl representatives with respect to international cooperation and sale of majority interests in hydrobudowa polska and aprivia – prospects of entering the operator services market .
market: further strengthening of the company’s position on the market of residential construction by expanding the pbg dom group to include new spvs established to implement specific development projects. securing of new contracts related to the construction of stadiums for euro 2012: the national stadium in warsaw and pge arena in gdańsk. changes in the group: implementation of the strategic objective of expanding into foreign markets through the establishment of pbg export. stock exchange: fourth issue of pbg shares on the wse .
market: strengthening of the company’s position on the markets of road and residential construction, as well as water supply and sewage system rehabilitation. in addition, the company won several tenders for the execution of large projects for pgnig – development of the lubiatów - międzychód - grotów fields; construction of the wierzchowice underground gas storage facility; execution of a contract for the construction of the municipal stadium in poznań .
changes in the group: inclusion of betpol in the group, inclusion of budwil and pbg dom invest in the pbg dom group, inclusion of prg metro and hydrobudowa polska konstrukcje (currently pbg technologia) in the hydrobudowa polska group, establishment of aprivia, avatia, gdyńska projekta and górecka projekt .
market: the company expanded into new business areas related to road construction, residential construction and foreign markets. changes in the group: the group was expanded to include new companies within the existing business scope: hydrobudowa 9; first foreign operations: acquisition of gasoil engineering and establishment of excan oil & gas engineering. the group also was also expanded to include companies from new industries :
market: the company intensified its activity in the environmental protection sector. moreover, in 2006 pbg signed a contract with pgnig for the construction of the grodzisk denitriding facility in the village of snowidowo, an industrial installation for removal of nitrogen from nitrogen - rich gas .
changes in the group: acquisition of shares in kwg and hydrobudowa śląsk. stock exchange: second issue of pbg shares. the stock exchange listing and two share issues paved the way for building a strong group of companies with extensive track records in their respective industries, employing qualified staff and boasting strong credentials.
metorex is a mining company based in johannesburg , south africa . it has assets in the democratic republic of the congo ( drc ) , zambia and elsewhere . a recent takeover bid by the jinchuan group of china valued the company at us$ 1.1 billion . 
metorex is a mining company based in johannesburg, south africa. it has assets in the democratic republic of the congo (drc), zambia and elsewhere. a recent takeover bid by the jinchuan group of china valued the company at us$ 1.1 billion.
metorex is a mining company based in johannesburg, south africa. it has assets in the democratic republic of the congo (drc), zambia and elsewhere. a recent takeover bid by the jinchuan group of china valued the company at us$ 1.1 billion.