Reviewing sydneyguy's stellar post again:
https://hotcrapper.com.au/threads/running-discussion-on-sp.4111732/page-70754?post_id=61271347
As you all know by now I am long AVZ so don't shoot me for asking this honest question as I can't find the answer (though I hope HC trollers don't find this post and create FUD with it):
I can see that AVZ executed the 5% of Dathcom from Dathomir on 24 June 2019. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) specifically mentioned as required to approve the sale. Following this, on 1 October 2019, AVZ announced that the EGM was convened and sale of the 5% to AVZ was approved. Cool, 65% definitely in the bag. No question about it.
Then AVZ on 21 Sept 2020 announced executing the option to purchase 10% of Dathcom from Dathomir. Again, EGM mentioned as a requirement to approve the sale. However, I have not been able to find another mention/announcement of this second EGM as happened for the initial 5% purchase. So my question: does anyone know for sure that this second EGM has been convened to approved the 10% sale from Dathomir? I know that the balance of the two payments have been made to Dathomir for the full 15% share, but might this EGM requirement be Dathomir's way of throwing mud on our project share?
Found what I believe to be the surface rights fees for DRC from my research tonight:
Page 56 of
https://www.cabemery.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Mining_Law_Review_DRC_Chapter.pdf
Fees current as of November 2012 (so might be a little out-dated):
"For holders of PEs, the fees are in Congolese francs, equivalent to US$0.04 per hectare for the first year, US$0.06 per hectare for the second year, US$0.07 per hectare for the third year and US$0.08 per hectare for subsequent years."
Above figures also corroborated with this source:
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/m...in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-20622
So, Manono project is 188 square kilometres i.e. 18,800 hectares (1 square kilometre = 100 hectares). So 18,800 x US$0.04 = US$752.00 for the first year. Not an alarming figure at all.
I am aware that there is a more recent source (November 2021):
https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-mining-law-review/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-mining-law
In this source: "Any holder of a research or exploitation permit is subject to a surface right at the rate of US$5.89 per quadrangle."
Your guess is as good as mine as to what unit of measurement a quadrangle is but assuming that it is a square kilometre, it conveniently equates to US$0.0589 per hectare (which is a slight increase from the aforementioned Nov 2012 sources). Using this assumption, the surface rights fee for the first year should be US$1,107.32.
Anyway DYOR.
Oh, and here's the DRC's official mining code from 2018:
https://eiti.org/sites/default/files/attachments/j_o_ndeg_speicial_du_28_mars_2018_code_minier.pdf
Also, a scenario that I have been pondering (along with my investor mate). What if, it was actually Nigel who is delaying the CATH transaction from closing because he is aware of all these extra fingers in the pie and does not want to give away the 24% too early without concrete and public support from the DRC about the Zijin/Jin Cheng invaders? Because right now, I am feeling relieved that Nigel has not sold the 24% because that is the thing that allows us alternative backup options in case the Chinese play dirty and DRC don't want to stamp their illegal deals out hard. Is it a case of CATH been raring to send us the cash after removing ML as a condition but NF telling CATH that he won't accept it until this is sorted? Because I don't know what other reasons CATH has for removing ML as a condition but yet still don't want to transfer the money. If If CATH was doing China's bidding, they would rush to complete the transaction immediately before this Zijin/Jin Cheng issue comes to the surface because that would weaken AVZ's position when dealing with this issue. Anyway, I am very glad that the CATH deal has not been closed yet because project share is king in this situation. Now Jin Cheng is begging us to talk with them.
Anyway just my 2c. DYOR. Bedtime for me