AVZ Discussion 2022

[Bin59]

DRC: The government is preparing to formalize the gold trade of artisanal exploitation​

January 2, 2023
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The Democratic Republic of Congo will implement several initiatives to increase revenues and improve financial transparency over the new year, including a plan to formalize the artisanal trade in gold and amend an agriculture law to encourage foreign investment, government officials said.

The copper and cobalt producer is seeking to diversify its sources of income after an exceptional year in the mining sector, which will result in economic growth of nearly 7%. The government also plans to extend income taxes and offer tax exemptions in special economic zones, officials said.

"The goal is to become a country of transformation, not just a country of production," Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi said last week on the sidelines of a United States-Africa summit.

Congo is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources, but it has long been considered a difficult place to do business because of corruption, conflict and limited infrastructure. Millions of people are currently displaced in the east of the country due to fighting fueled in part by the illicit trade in minerals such as tantalum and gold.

The government hopes to break this link after signing an agreement with the United Arab Emirates "that will allow us to buy all the gold produced by the craft sector," added Kazadi.

Most of Congo's smuggling gold passes through Rwanda and Uganda and ends up in Dubai, he hammered. The United Arab Emirates and Congo are setting up infrastructure to formalize the market, he said, without giving more details.

Congo will launch its first gold refinery in the city of Bukavu in 2023, Industry Minister Julien Paluku informed in an interview in Washington. The country also creates special economic zones that benefit from 10 to 20 years of tax exemptions, said Paluku.

A Chinese tile company, Saphir Ceramics, will start production in the first quarter of 2023 in the first area of the country on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The Indian Varun Beverages, a Pepsi bottler and a pharmaceutical manufacturer should also join them, he said.

 

[ptlas]

I'm low key worried that we will end up with Hunter Biden on the AVZ board to pay the yanks back for sorting out the jackals. He does have experience with brokering mining deals in the DRC. At least the AGM after parties will be lit as fuck.

How Hunter Biden’s Firm Helped Secure Cobalt for the Chinese (Published 2021)

The president’s son was part owner of a venture involved in the $3.8 billion purchase by a Chinese conglomerate of one of the world’s largest cobalt deposits. The metal is a key ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles.

www.nytimes.com

An investment firm where Hunter Biden, the president’s son, was a founding board member helped facilitate a Chinese company’s purchase from an American company of one of the world’s richest cobalt mines, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Biden and two other Americans joined Chinese partners in establishing the firm in 2013, known as BHR and formally named Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Company.

The three Americans, all of whom served on the board, controlled 30 percent of BHR, a private equity firm registered in Shanghai that makes investments and then flips them for a profit. The rest of the company is owned or controlled by Chinese investors that include the Bank of China, according to records filed with Chinese regulators.

One of BHR’s early deals was to help finance an Australian coal-mining company controlled by a Chinese state-owned firm. It also assisted a subsidiary of a Chinese defense conglomerate in buying a Michigan auto parts maker.

The firm made one of its most successful investments in 2016, when it bought and later sold a stake in CATL, a fast-growing Chinese company that is now the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric vehicles.

The mining deal in Congo also came in 2016, when the Chinese mining outfit China Molybdenum announced that it was paying $2.65 billion to buy Tenke Fungurume, a cobalt and copper mine, from the American company Freeport-McMoRan.

As part of that deal, China Molybdenum sought a partner to buy out a minority stakeholder in the mine, Lundin Mining of Canada. That is when BHR became involved.

Records in Hong Kong show that the $1.14 billion BHR, through subsidiaries, paid to buy out Lundin came entirely from Chinese state-backed companies.

China Molybdenum lined up about $700 million of that total as loans from Chinese state-backed banks, including China Construction Bank. BHR raised the remaining amount from obscure entities with names like Design Time Limited, an offshore company controlled by China Construction’s investment bank, according to the Hong Kong filings.

Before the deal was done, BHR also signed an agreement that allowed China Molybdenum to buy BHR’s share of the mine, which the company did two years later, the filings show. That purchase gave China Molybdenum 80 percent ownership of the mine. (Congo’s state mining enterprise kept a stake for itself.)

By the time BHR sold its share in 2019, Mr. Biden controlled 10 percent of the firm through Skaneateles L.L.C., a company based in Washington. While Chinese corporate records show Skaneateles remains a part owner of BHR, Chris Clark, a lawyer for Mr. Biden, said that he “no longer holds any interest, directly or indirectly, in either BHR or Skaneateles.” The Chinese records show that Mr. Biden was no longer on BHR’s board as of April 2020. Mr. Biden did not respond to requests for comment.

A similar fear has haunted me for some time.
US just want control of the white gold and don't really care which company owns the mine, or who owns the company.

Regarding disclosure by AVZ board of where this shit storm is upto, I believe that they were deliberately not showing their hand to the Chinese.
I understand and agree with that tactic and therefore accept that little information could be forthcoming.
In hindsight though, it is apparent that AVZ not only did not know about all of the shenanigans but also knew that they did not know. ie AVZ knew that there were known unknowns.
With that in mind, I find it reprehensible that NF, and a complicit board, could misinform shareholders on timelines.
I use the word 'misinform' generously.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Shorter than the previous extension

 

[TDITD]

CATH must surely be applying pressure to get the mine started, not exactly a company you mug off with everything DRC are claiming to want to be. Mr Pei and Nigel need to get Felix in a meeting an knock some heads. Lets go guys, ffs lets not have 'extension' be AVZs word for 2023

 

[smileatme]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

 

[TDITD]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

at $2 they can have SOME of mine, only some.

 

[TDITD]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

The BOD should offer to buy any shares we wish to sell them . At a fair price, factoring in damage caused by the suspension. So what say $2 a share.

 

[Onthefm]

Can any of you tell me the exact reason why there is no ML to date? Did AVZ explain and communicate that very clearly?

No

 

[TDITD]

Can any of you tell me the exact reason why there is no ML to date? Did AVZ explain and communicate that very clearly?

Well this is likely going to burn my Sauce, but since you asked I'm going to say "fuck it" an risk losing the sauce.

OK,
Tims dads cousin who's sister is shagging a guy (Rhett) who works for a company that makes the particular dog food that Nigels dog likes (Dogs a shiatzu called Imminent btw), well you see Nigels dog "Imminent" is best friends with a bitch that's neighbours to Jan the neapolitan mastiff that catches up every fortnight at the beach for a run with graeme the rottweiler, apparently Ben the pug was there too and was partially overheard by John the puli while sniffing graemes ass to have said "the ML is being withheld until we can give its release the celebration it deserves at the Kanamara Matsuri festival", also
apparently there was a dodgy looking chinese crested hanging around the group the whole time trying to get a sniff in.

I think this would be right down your street @Peter Clark

 

[Azzler]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

Hey mate, is are your shares under a chess holding (HIN) or sponsored holding (SRN)?

 

[JAG]

 

[smileatme]

Hey mate, is are your shares under a chess holding (HIN) or sponsored holding (SRN)?

Thanks for your response.
My accounts are in HIN. Does it matter? Hope to get a response from you Azzler, so I learn something new today.

 

[Azzler]

Thanks for your response.
My accounts are in HIN. Does it matter? Hope to get a response from you Azzler, so I learn something new today.

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, Chess holding (HIN) shares can't be traded off market during a supension.
I asked my broker this as I was hoping to sell some of mine. They told me the chess system wont alow the trade.

I'd love if anyone can verify this info though.

 

[Remark]

 

[Retrobyte]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

If only you were German

 

[MoneyBags1348]

I was discussing our situation and financing privately a few weeks back with @Winenut @Sammael @Frank @JAG.

My thinking was that if CATH only took a 9% interest in Dathcom then the rest of their funding might be provided as a pre-payment for SC6. Nuts suggested that it would more than likely be provided as debt rather than pre-payment. My initial concern was that if it was provided as pre-payment for SC6 we would not be getting the revenue to pay off our debt. Anyway, it led to my following reply to Nuts and the group, including the following calculations....


If CATH only take 9% and provide us with additional capital via debt, we would have a lot of debt and interest to pay off and at some point I will try and come up with some figures to work off.

A random guess to start

1) AVZ 90% equity in Dathcom (best case)
2) Minus 9% equity to CATH
3) Minus 20% equity to DFI’s
4) $300mil debt funding CATH
5) $400mil debt funding DFI’s
6) $150mil Capital Raise (Equity) or Debt
> required for Cominiere’s 15%

Outcome

1) AVZ 61% equity in Dathcom
2) CATH 9% equity in Dathcom
3) DFI’s 20% equity in Dathcom
4) Total debt (CATH / DFI’s / Cominiere)
> $850mil

5) Annual debt repayment $115mil
6) Annual interest payment $85mil
7) Current annual OPEX $50mil

I’ve added on the current OPEX ($50mil) to our projected CAPEX $ (debt) to be safe…. considering drilling etc will continue…. and then you also need to consider extra capital required for PLS production and other expansions.

I’m pretty sure the $1billion CAPEX doesn’t include the increased production from 4mtpa SC6 to 10mtpa…. So, a few things to think about fellas

That’s all just off the top of my head without factoring share dilution and it factored in full ownership of Dathomir and Cominiere’s shares…. So perhaps a best-case scenario

Just putting it out there and just something to get us started when considering finances, it might take us a while to get our heads around it…. And it could be 6 months before we know ownership….

Also in relation to this last point regarding Cominiere’s shares…. Management have been ambiguous about coming out of suspension but

1) Pan African DFI’s won’t provide finance without ML

2) Therefore we will have to come out of suspension to raise capital (finance) for Cominiere’s 15% if we don’t have the ML issued unless CATH provide that finance as well CAPEX finance

3) If CATH provide finance (for CAPEX) and finance (for Cominiere’s 15%) it would make our debt repayments to them $450mil going by above calculations

4) So things might be riding on CATH if Felix can’t get rid of Mupande and Lukonde won’t get rid of MoP



I know there are a few shareholders on TSE who are accountants, who might play around with these calculations (or not)…. Doesn’t matter really, the reason I ended up posting this is because I try to assess our financial situation moving forward as our BOD and CFO don’t provide information on our financials other than the cash and cash equivalents at the end of each Quarter.

No doubt financial institutions will be running the numbers on our company and our project, so for any retail investors interested in accountancy or a general overview of our financial situation, here are some more examples to play with as base case scenarios:

These financial projections are based on CATH taking 9% of the project (Dathcom) which would include them paying $100mil towards CAPEX…. Then the $300mil could either be debt, pre-paid offtake or in AVZ shares which would dilute our SOI by just under 10%.

The Pan African DFI’s could take 20% of the project (Dathcom) making them cough up $200mil in CAPEX and then either provide debt or buy % in AVZ shares (again diluting our SOI)…. Or a combination of both:

Examples of Pan African financing could be:

> 20% equity stake in Dathcom
> $400mil debt funding

Or

> 20% equity stake in Dathcom
> $200mil debt funding
> $200mil equity in AVZ shares (Dilution to investors SOI = 7.5%)


One example of financing using the above metrics could be:

> Total dilution of CATH and DFI’s to current SOI = 17.5%
> Leaving AVZ debt repayments on $650 million
> Years to pay off debt > ?


A few things that need to be factored in to the above metrics are whether or not we have ownership in Dathcom of 60%....75% or 90%....
My estimate of the Quarter just ending 31st December 2022 is we have around $36 million left in cash and cash equivalents
I personally value our project at $15 billion + and also bear in mind time lines and other factors

 

[wombat74]

I was discussing our situation and financing privately a few weeks back with @Winenut @Sammael @Frank @JAG.

My thinking was that if CATH only took a 9% interest in Dathcom then the rest of their funding might be provided as a pre-payment for SC6. Nuts suggested that it would more than likely be provided as debt rather than pre-payment. My initial concern was that if it was provided as pre-payment for SC6 we would not be getting the revenue to pay off our debt. Anyway, it led to my following reply to Nuts and the group, including the following calculations calculations....


If CATH only take 9% and provide us with additional capital via debt, we would have a lot of debt and interest to pay off and at some point I will try and come up with some figures to work off.

A random guess to start

1) AVZ 90% equity (best case ownership)
2) Minus 9% equity to CATH
3) Minus 20% equity to DFI’s
4) $300mil debt funding CATH
5) $400mil debt funding DFI’s
6) $150mil Capital Raise (Equity) or Debt
> required for Cominiere’s 15%

Outcome

1) AVZ 61% equity
2) CATH 9% equity
3) DFI’s 20% equity
4) Total debt (CATH / DFI’s / Cominiere)
> $850mil

5) Annual debt repayment $115mil
6) Annual interest payment $85mil
7) Current annual OPEX $50mil

I’ve added on the current OPEX ($50mil) to our projected CAPEX $ (debt) to be safe…. considering drilling etc will continue…. and then you also need to consider extra capital required for PLS production and other expansions.

I’m pretty sure the $1billion CAPEX doesn’t include the increased production from 4mtpa SC6 to 10mtpa…. So, a few things to think about fellas

That’s all just off the top of my head without factoring share dilution and it factored in full ownership of Dathomir and Cominiere’s shares…. So perhaps a best-case scenario

Just putting it out there and just something to get us started when considering finances, it might take us a while to get our heads around it…. And it could be 6 months before we know ownership….

Also in relation to this last point regarding Cominiere’s shares…. Management have been ambiguous about coming out of suspension but

1) Pan African DFI’s won’t provide finance without ML

2) Therefore we will have to come out of suspension to raise capital (finance) for Cominiere’s 15% if we don’t have the ML issued unless CATH provide that finance as well CAPEX finance

3) If CATH provide finance (for CAPEX) and finance (for Cominiere’s 15%) it would make our debt repayments to them $450mil going by above calculations

4) So things might be riding on CATH if Felix can’t get rid of Mupande and Lukonde won’t get rid of MoP



I know there are a few shareholders on TSE who are accountants, who might play around with these calculations (or not)…. Doesn’t matter really, the reason I ended up posting this is because I try to assess our financial situation moving forward as our BOD and CFO don’t provide information on our financials other than the cash and cash equivalents at the end of each Quarter.

No doubt financial institutions will be running the numbers on our company and our project, so for any retail investors interested in accountancy or a general overview of our financial situation, here are some more examples to play with as base case scenarios:

These financial projections are based on CATH taking 9% of the project (Dathcom) which would include them paying $100mil towards CAPEX…. Then the $300mil could either be debt, pre-paid offtake or in AVZ shares which would dilute our SOI by just under 10%.

The Pan African DFI’s could take 20% of the project (Dathcom) making them cough up $200mil in CAPEX and then either provide debt or buy % in AVZ shares (again diluting our SOI)…. Or a combination of both:

Examples of Pan African financing could be:

> 20% equity stake in Dathcom
> $400mil debt funding

Or

> 20% equity stake in Dathcom
> $200mil debt funding
> $200mil equity in AVZ shares (Dilution to investors SOI = 7.5%)


One example of financing using the above metrics could be:

> Total dilution of CATH and DFI’s to current SOI = 17.5%
> Leaving AVZ debt repayments on $650 million
> Years to pay off debt > ?


A few things that need to be factored in to the above metrics are whether or not we have ownership in Dathcom of 60%....75% or 90%....
My estimate of the Quarter just ending 31st December 2022 is we have around $36 million left in cash and cash equivalents
I personally value our project at $15 billion + and also bear in mind time lines and other factors

Too hard basket mate . Lets just get this f--king ML so we can be swallowed by a Major ($2-$3 ) . Let someone else worry about this sh1t . Building a mine in the DRC ? What could possibly go wrong ?

 

[Carlos Danger]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

Hey mate, is are your shares under a chess holding (HIN) or sponsored holding (SRN)?

Thanks for your response.
My accounts are in HIN. Does it matter? Hope to get a response from you Azzler, so I learn something new today.

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, Chess holding (HIN) shares can't be traded off market during a supension.
I asked my broker this as I was hoping to sell some of mine. They told me the chess system wont alow the trade.

I'd love if anyone can verify this info though.

Best bet is to call the ASX on 131 279, or 02 8973 3625 or +61 2 9338 0000 (from overseas). CHESS is their system so if anyone can give you a definitive answer it will be them.

Let them know it's about AVZ which is suspended and ask them if they will allow your broker to process shares sold privately through an Off Market Transfer.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Wish you all happy new year!
I hope to sell/transfer some of my shares through contract sale while the company is in suspension.
Is anyone had any experience on this or if they know any broking firms are doing this, please respond to me privately.
Thanks for your time and response.

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, Chess holding (HIN) shares can't be traded off market during a supension.
I asked my broker this as I was hoping to sell some of mine. They told me the chess system wont alow the trade.

I'd love if anyone can verify this info though.

Best bet is to call the ASX on 131 279, or 02 8973 3625 or +61 2 9338 0000 (from overseas). CHESS is their system so if anyone can give you a definitive answer it will be them.

Let them know it's about AVZ which is suspended and ask them if they will allow your broker to process shares sold privately through an Off Market Transfer.

CHESS direct phone number is 1300 300 279. Will probs be quicker than going through the ASX.

 

[TDITD]

Too hard basket mate . Lets just get this f--king ML so we can be swallowed by a Major ($2-$3 ) . Let someone else worry about this sh1t . Building a mine in the DRC ? What could possibly go wrong ?

The only 'major' that would touch us is Chinese, who are globally known for paying a fair and equitable price for assets. If its Zijin a minimum fuckwit tax of $1 gets added to whatever the board would accept from others, they need to overpay.

CATL can have it for $3 after we have announced BFS but before we start construction and deal with the absolute cesspit of corruption, that will likely continue to plague the nations largest project.

Its like corruption on corruptions back stealing from corruption whose doing time for murdering corruption that was squatting illegally in corruptions house paid for with corrupt and counterfeit money !

Cynical tits out tonight