264 replies to this topic

[Dusty Mountain]

Thanks again!

 

Just got a reply from my SA broker, they say it is possible to transfer to the ASX and they will facilitate, sent me a form from Computershare to complete.

 

Hi Hemper

 

Can you share the details of your broker, might be worth his while if there are a few of us willing to go that route?

 

I`m also keen on the whatsapp group.

 

Remember, even if we are able to transfer our shares to the ASX, we will still be in the same situation and a bit out of pocket for any applicable fees. 

[Hemper9]

I would be keen on a whatsapp group.

@Hemper9, any idea what costs would be for transfer?

+1 on the whatsapp group.. I will start the process in the morning, will let you guys know..

[sommerso]

Those interested. Drop me a PM with your number as we'll make it so. 

[Agent47]

I would be keen on a whatsapp group.

@Hemper9, any idea what costs would be for transfer?

[sommerso]

This might be too real for certain of us and other might have had enough of it already, but what is the feeling of a whatsapp group for the long term TAW holders? I have this suspicion that we'll be sharing a lot of information in the next few months. 

[Hemper9]

 

1. When details of the merger emerged I opened up an Interactive Brokers International trading account and started buying TAW on the ASX, so I basically sit with 50% of my holding on the JSE and 50% on the ASX. Will I have the same issue with my shares in the new merged company as with the Cowan shares, i.e. consideration shares with all the non-resident issues that come with that?

Same issue because Tawana is delisting from the ASX,

1. I am “thinking” of offloading all my TAW and buying AMAL on the Singapore Exchange. Yes I will not receive my x 1.1, but at least I will still have the bulk of my shares in the company and not be sitting with delisting issues etc. Thoughts please?

Better if you purchase amal shares on SGX as they are not delisting, possibly just a name change or not. And the AMal shareprice is quite a bit lower than TAW = score

 

Lastly, I have mailed all the brokers I could, including TAW and will also start phoning around today. Would you mind sharing when you receive all your pending info regarding transferring from JSE to ASX?

 

Thanks again!

 

Just got a reply from my SA broker, they say it is possible to transfer to the ASX and they will facilitate, sent me a form from Computershare to complete.

[Dusty Mountain]

 

 

 

1. When details of the merger emerged I opened up an Interactive Brokers International trading account and started buying TAW on the ASX, so I basically sit with 50% of my holding on the JSE and 50% on the ASX. Will I have the same issue with my shares in the new merged company as with the Cowan shares, i.e. consideration shares with all the non-resident issues that come with that?

Same issue because Tawana is delisting from the ASX,

1. I am “thinking” of offloading all my TAW and buying AMAL on the Singapore Exchange. Yes I will not receive my x 1.1, but at least I will still have the bulk of my shares in the company and not be sitting with delisting issues etc. Thoughts please?

Better if you purchase amal shares on SGX as they are not delisting, possibly just a name change or not. And the AMal shareprice is quite a bit lower than TAW = score

 

Lastly, I have mailed all the brokers I could, including TAW and will also start phoning around today. Would you mind sharing when you receive all your pending info regarding transferring from JSE to ASX?

Edited by Dusty Mountain, 05 June 2018 - 12:23 PM.

[Dusty Mountain]

Thanks so much for all your efforts Dusty and for sharing!

 

Firstly I have given up on my Cowan shares, they can keep that. I was under the impression the chunk we'll receive in Cowan will be 85% of current TAW holding, now it is basically your total holding in TAW divided by 11. Then there is the non-resident issue which you detailed.

 

Secondly, PLEASE may I ask your (and ANY other forum members) opinion on the below?

 

1. When details of the merger emerged I opened up an Interactive Brokers International trading account and started buying TAW on the ASX, so I basically sit with 50% of my holding on the JSE and 50% on the ASX. Will I have the same issue with my shares in the new merged company as with the Cowan shares, i.e. consideration shares with all the non-resident issues that come with that?

 

1. I am “thinking” of offloading all my TAW and buying AMAL on the Singapore Exchange. Yes I will not receive my x 1.1, but at least I will still have the bulk of my shares in the company and not be sitting with delisting issues etc. Thoughts please?

 

Lastly, I have mailed all the brokers I could, including TAW and will also start phoning around today. Would you mind sharing when you receive all your pending info regarding transferring from JSE to ASX?

 

Again, THANK YOU!

 

Hi Hemper

 

Also bummed that our Cowan lithium shares will be liquidated.

 

My personal opinion is we wait to receive the merge booklet and our mergeco ASX consideration shares, and see if they will indeed liquidate our positions again or enable us to be bonafide ASX shareholders and continue trading with a custodian brokerage.

 

Even if we are able to transfer our shares over to the ASX we will still be registered s/h outside of Australia = same scenario.

 

The issue for us JSE holders is the lack of liquidity due to the 2% shareholding we trade within.

 

If they liquidate our positions through the ASX we are ensured of receiving a fair value for our shares, then what we do is open a offshore account and buy Mergeco shares and if need be buy Cowan lithium shares after IPO, we will just be limited to R1 Million  annual offshore allowance.

 

At least we have enjoyed the ride up to now and hopefully no one has taken a knock, I think most if not all are in the black depending on your average share-cost position.

[Hemper9]

Tawana will reveal all procedures in merge scheme booklet July/August, they are still in process with SA treasury and reserve bank regarding exchange controls.

We have the option of choosing SGX or not and receiving ASX shares, so we will be shareholders of merge co on either SGX or ASX.

 

IMO non-resident S/H trading is going to be a challenge with all info needing to flow through exchange controls between appointed brokers, which may incur additional costs? We may even be subject to CGT from the Australian securities control?

 

The important  part being management is aware of our concerns and are trying to deal with SARB /treasury for a favorable outcome.

 

I personally think a cross-listing may be the best case scenario for us??? We wait and see...

Thanks so much for all your efforts Dusty and for sharing!

 

Firstly I have given up on my Cowan shares, they can keep that. I was under the impression the chunk we'll receive in Cowan will be 85% of current TAW holding, now it is basically your total holding in TAW divided by 11. Then there is the non-resident issue which you detailed.

 

Secondly, PLEASE may I ask your (and ANY other forum members) opinion on the below?

 

1. When details of the merger emerged I opened up an Interactive Brokers International trading account and started buying TAW on the ASX, so I basically sit with 50% of my holding on the JSE and 50% on the ASX. Will I have the same issue with my shares in the new merged company as with the Cowan shares, i.e. consideration shares with all the non-resident issues that come with that?

 

1. I am “thinking” of offloading all my TAW and buying AMAL on the Singapore Exchange. Yes I will not receive my x 1.1, but at least I will still have the bulk of my shares in the company and not be sitting with delisting issues etc. Thoughts please?

 

Lastly, I have mailed all the brokers I could, including TAW and will also start phoning around today. Would you mind sharing when you receive all your pending info regarding transferring from JSE to ASX?

 

Again, THANK YOU!

[Agent47]

Thanks Dusty.
Much appreciated.
Yes, good to know management are aware of us and doing something to try and get it sorted.

[Dusty Mountain]

Thanks for all the info Dusty.
So, what do we do with consideration shares?
How will we sell if/when we want to sell?

 

Tawana will reveal all procedures in merge scheme booklet July/August, they are still in process with SA treasury and reserve bank regarding exchange controls.

We have the option of choosing SGX or not and receiving ASX shares, so we will be shareholders of merge co on either SGX or ASX.

 

IMO non-resident S/H trading is going to be a challenge with all info needing to flow through exchange controls between appointed brokers, which may incur additional costs? We may even be subject to CGT from the Australian securities control?

 

The important  part being management is aware of our concerns and are trying to deal with SARB /treasury for a favorable outcome.

 

I personally think a cross-listing may be the best case scenario for us??? We wait and see...

[Agent47]

Thanks for all the info Dusty.
So, what do we do with consideration shares?
How will we sell if/when we want to sell?

[Dusty Mountain]

As per the merge docs, yes Tawana will delist from ASX and JSE. All JSE holders will receive ASX consideration shares of new merge Co.

 

Quotation of Tawana Shares (a) Tawana will apply to ASX to suspend trading on ASX in Tawana Shares with effect from the close of trading on ASX on the Effective Date. (  After the Scheme has been fully implemented, Tawana will apply: (i) for termination of the Official Quotation of Tawana Shares on ASX and termination of official quotation of Tawana Shares on JSE; and (ii) to have itself removed from the official list of the ASX and JSE.

 

Excluded Shareholder means AMAL and its associates. Excluded Shares means Tawana Shares held by Excluded Shareholders on the Record Date. Implementation Date means the fifth Business Day following the Record Date or such other date as is agreed in writing by Tawana and AMAL. Ineligible Shareholder means a Scheme Participant whose address shown in the Register on the Record Date is a place outside Australia and its external territories, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore and South Africa, unless AMAL determines that it is lawful and not unduly onerous or impracticable to issue or provide a Scheme Participant with an address outside those jurisdictions with AMAL Shares under the Scheme.

 

 

A Scheme Participant (other than an Ineligible Shareholder) who does not validly elect to receive SGX Consideration Shares will receive ASX Consideration Shares. Accordingly, a Scheme Participant who wishes to receive ASX Consideration Shares does not need to make an election under this clause 6.1.

 

[Shi]

Does that mean that TAW will definitely delist from the JSE?

[Dusty Mountain]

Q: Where do the JSE holders stand with the new merger
A: Its yet to be resolved, they have exchange control regulations which restrict investment outside of South Africa so we will need to work through that with the JSE and the Reserve Bank of South Africa

 

​From MC answer he may be referring to JSE shareholders that hold more than R1 Million value in Tawana shares. Current annual limit without SARS approval is R1 Million on moving funds out of SA. Those with more than R1 Million rand in shares value should make sure you have a current tax clearance certificate.

[Dusty Mountain]

Excellent report  back from Tawana AGM, Thanks Carrot Grunt via hotcopper

 

Tawana 2018 AGM Notes


Firstly Robert read out his opening remarks, which can be found at the start of the AGM presentation announcement.


Presentation

Mark Calderwood then ran through the presentation. Below each slide i have put some of his comments i thought worthy of noting. 


Its important for me to express that its great to have experience and depth on the board particularly with Bob and Marks extensive mining experience, both with 30 year careers in mining, and my long career in exploration (less so in mining), Its key that the board has quite a lot of depth.

With the merger we will end up with new institutional shareholders and will be more appealing to the general market in Australia in terms of funds.



First shipment was at 6.3% Lithium. It’s a high quality product - low iron, we came in at .5% Fe2o3. There is probably one other mine in Western Australia that has done that to date and that’s Greenbushes.

The shipment process is working and we have received the payments, the process is only going to get smoother as we move forward.

Tantalum offtake is still not signed yet, we are going backwards and forwards on it, its coming along. There has been no rush on our side to get it in place, the Tantalum price is very high at the moment, unexpectedly high – over $100 a pound. PFS was only done at $60 a pound. Hopefully we will get it done in the next month or so.

We will produce more than the 600,000 pounds in 3 years but we have other buyers chasing us for Tantalum product as well. Not only does Bald Hill produce a high quality Lithium Concentrate it also produces a high quality Tantalum Concentrate.



The plant was constructed by Primero, they did a really good job. Its already running at nameplate, we had it running at nameplate very early – we had it beyond nameplate. What we thought was a 4 month ramp up for the plant we have probably trimmed of a month that, we are pretty close to full run rate now.

The mining is going well, we are moving over 30,000 cubic metres a day on average, we are into the main Ore body now. So we are in the process of getting the mine and the plant bedded down for operational phase.



The other good thing about our product is it has a very low mica content. Its not a requirement but its quite useful for our offtaker and keeps our product at the top end of the market.




The reserve upgrade is coming some time this quarter; there has been a lot of back and forth with the mining engineers and getting the paper work sorted out so it can be released on both the ASX and SGX at the same time.

If we get enough drilling done we will have another Resource and Reserve upgrade probably QTR 4.

The reason we focused on the area in the slide is its where we had the existing mining license. We are in the process of a mining license application to the west of that area and we are applying for one in the east as well. That will allow us to drill out more resources into those areas; the urgency has all been inside the existing mining license, that’s what supports the operation at the moment and will for a number of years to come.

The area on the slide is probably about 3% of the tenure. We haven’t done a lot of exploration to date for 2 reasons, 1. To preserve cash and 2. Because we haven’t had the space in the camp. We are going to try and get some more exploration done in the second half of this year and I would imagine ramp up significantly next year.




We are looking to put in a Fines circuit, how we do that is still up for discussion. The plant is performing so well that we are looking at the different size ranges we can treat with the existing plant, we are looking at taking up the top size and down the bottom size so that we produce less fines. And then we are looking at ways we can increase the production throughput rates, so both increase production in the coarse DMS and how we build the Fines Circuit.

We are producing a lot of Tantalum pre concentrates at the moment from the DMS circuit, more than we expected. We are about to start processing them in the next few weeks to upgrade them to marketable concentrates and going forward look at ways of increasing our Tantalum production from Lithium Ore as well as looking at the refurbishment of the Tantalum Plant. Tantalum overall only makes up 10%-15% of our revenue but in the early years it could make a little bit more than that.




The Cowan Lithium Spin Out, everyone will get to hear a bit more about that. A notice is imminent for the details on the spin out and the dates (voting dates and record dates etc). The merged TAW/AMAL will put some funds into the spin out.

The big benefit is it gives focus to the more greenfields exploration, we have so much near mine exploration to do for Bald Hill anyway, it will give some life in Cowan Lithium to go of and chase some of the targets we haven’t even looked at for a year. So it will give us a double bed in the game in terms of what we can find in the belt. Tawana/AMAL will look after Cowan Lithium Co but at the same time Cowan Lithium Co will be free to take other projects and do other things.




Its probably fair to say we produce the best DMS concentrate ever in WA, Greenbushes produces a better product but its not a DMS product it’s a fine flotation product.

Its not expensive for us to upsize production because it’s a pretty simple process the DMS, its not a high consumer of energy, its not a high consumer of inputs.

This quarter we will have the reserve out, its quite advanced we are just trying to finish it off.

We will start providing more details as we complete studies on the second DMS circuit and the Fines circuit, which will probably be all put together anyway. We are just trying to work out what the best way is to take the production level up.

As mentioned there is significant Resource upside, since we got started we have only done about 12 months of exploration, that’s the key to keep in mind. We fast tracked as we said we would do a year ago knowing that we haven’t really drilled it properly yet. And it will be some years before we finish drilling that main area of Bald Hill.


Resolutions

All resolutions where passed and no questions where asked in relation to them.



Q&A

Q: You mentioned 4^th quarter for the merger, any reason it will take so long?
A: It could be September it could be October, it comes down to whether the SGX view the transaction as a major transaction or a substantial transaction. Its just bureaucracy.

Q: The Resource upgrade you said Q2, so that could mean by the end of June
A: Correct, so within the month but I would expect a lot earlier than that.

Q: We seem to be sitting on 44-45 cent, do you think that is going to be ongoing
A: I guess there is a couple of drivers to the share price, one is reserves – I think that will help but most the market probably knows its coming anyway. The Merge will help but steady production will be a key driver to the share price, so we are in production but haven’t declared commercial production yet and can’t call it steady state, a lot of people will be watching that very closely – the production rates going forward over the next couple of months.

Q: You have raised $50 million a few months ago, if the Reserve upgrade is big enough will it be used for the Fines and second DMS?
A: No that money is not allocated for that capital expenditure, we have got some other sustaining capital items to spend money on including the Tantalum Plant, Tailings Roads and other things still to finish of. Its also for working capital, we are pre striping waste in advance. So we are mining more waste than the life of mine average, life of mine average waste is 8.3 to 1 and we are mining at double that rate at the moment. Now that will enable us to have large quantities of Ore coming on-stream in about 12 months time, and that leads into those opportunities that we can look at for a second DMS which wouldn’t take us that long to build, but we are reviewing all that stuff at the moment.

Q: At the old Tantalum plant, was the product sold?
A: It sold a concentrate to Greenbushes which Greenbushes then upgraded and blended with their product and sold. It ran from 2002 to 2006, it stopped after Greenbushes went broke.

Q: Was it a material amount?
A: Yes, it produced I think 800,000 pounds of Tantalum Pentoxide and its been known for its high grade concentrate and its low radiation levels. So the fact that its low radiation levels for what is normal for a Tanatalum product enables us to take it up to 25% concentrate and not have any shipping issues. Hence it can go to Europe or it can go to Japan. The last parcel Alliance produced was a 25% concentrate which it sold to Germany, to the same people – so they know their product.

Q: What impact on the stock liquidity are you expecting the merger to have?
A: Well AMAL has good liquidity on The SGX and I expect we will have reasonable liquidity on the ASX. And because we will effectively be an ASX300 company there will be some good volume associated with that, once the re-balance happens.

Q: In terms of strip ratio and scheduling is there a waste removal schedule or capital estimates for me to look at?
A: There probably is something in the feasibility study but it would be out of date now. We are moving/need to move about 900,000 cubic metres a month so that’s 2.5 million tonnes of material a month and we produce on average in the next 2 years 150,000 to 200,000 tonne of Ore. It is higher at the moment but it becomes a lot of Ore at the back end of the existing stage 1 pit. But as we finish of the stage 1 pit we will then start mining the expanded pit. The bottom line is the first 12 months you move more dirt and then after that it settles down to roughly the long-term strip ratio.

Q: Am I right in saying that the $880 per tonne that you get is lower than what Galaxy gets?
A: Correct, ours is an FOB. They pay some commission to Mitsubishi I believe for handling their product, its very close but we got a 2 year price and I’m happy to take a little bit less for a longer period.

Q: In regards to the merger, why did we peg it to AMAL’s share price instead of the other way round?
A: At the time we considered the different options of which way to go and in all fairness it worked out easiest to go that way, there was also the SGX limitations. And their stock used to trade at a premium to ours and after they had the management issues that some of you are aware of it swapped over but I would see that as balancing itself out going forward and shareholders will end up with the Spinco shares as well.

Q: If we go ahead with the second DMS, can you please clarify if the Burwill offtake actually covers the output from that as well?
A: The Burwill offtake provides for 50% increase on our minimum numbers that we have allowed for. The fines circuit would be covered by the existing contract but a second DMS would probably exceed it, so we would have to sort out what we do with the excess product, whether its an extension on the existing contract or a new one.

Q: Where do the JSE holders stand with the new merger
A: Its yet to be resolved, they have exchange control regulations which restrict investment outside of South Africa so we will need to work through that with the JSE and the Reserve Bank of South Africa

Q: Has the issue of bunding the opencut pit been considered to prevent flooding?
A: The pit actually starts on top of a hill so its actually an extremely low risk from a flood point of view – currently.

Q: Is Cowan Lithium going to be the spin off name?
A: Yes and hopefully that gets pushed through to the market in a reasonable time, we don’t want it to stay unlisted for too long.

Q: On that, are you looking at spinning it of as an IPO?
A: Yes

Q: Will existing shareholders get the opportunity to get additional shares in the IPO
A: You will get some shares through your existing holdings obviously and then we will cross that bridge when we get closer


Thats it
Meeting went for roughly 1 hour.

Thanks go to @captjohn @Haplo and others for asking all the questions.

Please note i have written everything as it was said or as close as my notes and memory would allow and tried not to have my opinion or sentiment towards Tawana either way in this post, i look forward to reading everyone else's views though.

[Dusty Mountain]

Courtesy of Captjohn "Hotcopper"

 

Well I've been at my Sports/bowling Club...with my Bro' ....hic hic 

Was not allowed to record .
Chairman Robert Benussi went thru all the agendaelecting directors &  share allocations etc ..was all passed ...
M.C. did the operational update.
He's improved as a public speaker & knows whats going on with everything.The other directors were quiet.
Main points..
The resource update will be out by / at end of June.  & merge completed  by 4 th Qtr.

He emphasised Spod  shipments is 6.3 % ....is at nameplate a month earlier .& now tweaking the Mine to produce regular shipments.

Galaxy slightly higher price  for shipments but TAW is FOB   & GXY pay freight.
Tantalum :  ...is being stockpiled & plant needs refurbishing to process before shipment ...Grade is highest quality as is the Lithiumj with little mica or iron content. This when operational will add 10 to 15% to income .

The $50 M   C/R  is going toward working capital to re furbish Ta plant...roads upgrade.& rig drilling costs...Not straight into another DMS or Fines circuit.
JSE (south africa ) shareholders will be O.K. & procedure guidelines coming out in Booklet . their man said S.A. has strict rules on transferring $$$ via stock exchanges...
Cowan Lithium is the new name for 'Spinco'  ...& seems a bonus to all us s/h  .where we are the first priority holders.  maybe an IPO ...but all too early to confirm ...maybe our bonus in lieu of the 10% parity with AMAL  shares..  he said its quite involved & takes time to sort out ...
In conclusion I'm  still pro Tawana & M.C. & trust his leadership to keep adding value .

[Dusty Mountain]

Battery makers pushing for ten 10-year lithium contracts: Albemarle

 

by Peter Ker

A push to offer long warranties for batteries used in electric cars is one factor forcing lithium miners to change the way they sell their product, according to one of Australia's biggest producers.

US company Albemarle, which owns 49 per cent of the lithium-rich Greenbushes spodumene mine in Western Australia, said battery manufacturers are increasingly demanding 10-year contracts in a bid to secure supply. The comments came as the New York listed company indicated first production on its $400 million lithium hydroxide plant in WA may come a year later than previously expected.

Addressing investors, Albemarle's lithium president John Mitchell said a desire to offer 10-year warranties on lithium-ion batteries was driving some manufacturers to seek guaranteed sources of raw materials for similar periods.

"We had moved our customer base to three- to five-year agreements and now we see a strong pull from the leading providers of batteries and cathodes to go to as long as 10-year agreements and the rationale for that is really around security of supply," he said.

 

"Not just security of supply of that type of molecule but security of supply of an [electric vehicle] grade that meets those specification for our battery that they can make a 10-year warranty on."

 

The comments will be taken as positive news for the raft of Australian lithium producers, including Pilbara Minerals, Galaxy Resources, Altura Mining and Tawana Resources, who have come from obscurity three years ago to be market darlings in recent times.

Tawana recently exported its first cargo of lithium, while Pilbara and Altura are scheduled to begin exporting within months. Some analysts have expressed concerns the arrival of three new mines in 2018 will push the lithium market into oversupply for several years.

No concerns

Mr Mitchell said almost 100 per cent of Albemarle's lithium sales in 2018 were under long-term contracts, meaning the company was less exposed to the wild swings in spot market prices.

 

"The other benefit in terms of our approach is that we don't see risk in terms of pricing going down," he said.

"We feel the market remains in balance through 2021 and don't see any increase in supply that gives us any concerns in terms of oversupply."

Albemarle and its partner in the Greenbushes mine, Chinese company Tianqi, sought federal approval on Friday for a long-standing plan to double production at the mine.

The extra production from Greenbushes will go to the two beneficiation plants that Albemarle and Tianqi are separately building south of Perth.

 

The plants will upgrade spodumene concentrate from Greenbushes into battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Albemarle's plant will be built in the Kemerton Industrial zone near Bunbury.

Albemarle chief executive Luke Kissam indicated that first production at Kemerton could be later than previously expected.

"Engineering activities have commenced in Kemerton, Australia, for a new lithium hydroxide plant with expectations to commission the first 40,000 metric tonnes in 2021," Mr Kissam said.

That schedule appears to have pushed out since Albemarle sought federal approval for the Kemerton plant in November, when it told regulators that initial production would come in 2020.

Edited by Dusty Mountain, 14 May 2018 - 02:09 PM.

[Dusty Mountain]

Courtesy of randosmit hotcopper.

 

Mercedes-Benz due to unwrap their electric vehicle (EQC) in September. I think they quoted 1 billion GBP to be spent on infrastructure (charging etc) and more on materials. Listen into the video below.

 

https://youtu.be/Y7ZjkoJgXWk

[Dusty Mountain]

EV`s in china taking off

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-05-09/china-s-xpeng-motors-sees-market-for-evs-about-to-take-off-video