Bad optics I agree.
Somebody here said they were doubtful NF was fit to do business in Africa. What would being successful doing business there look like? More brown paper bags? That is just not an option for an Australian company now.
But I'm realistic enough that we need to be creative and patient to achieve results.
However, having worked in West Africa myself, I can think of a number of ways to legally acquire and progress resource projects in this environment. It ranges from small things like being a top sponsor to next year's industry event to progressing early works through government and regulator approved agencies and contractors, perhaps at slightly inflated prices (that's why i posted a few days earlier it can be counter productive to ask for too much detail of where the early works money was spent on). All traceable and all above board, but requires creativity and connections, not just filling in a form and waiting for the'official'process to unfold.
Maybe we even had to go all the way to negotiating a complex compromise arrangement that involves an old mate who runs AJN as an intermediary to temporary "look after" parts of the original concession area before they sell it on and in that process everybody becomes happy.
I'm of course just speculating here, but there might be more going on than meets the eye. Enemies can become friends in disguise in this opaque negotiation environment. But IMO, AVZ will have to compromise until everyone has something they can walk away with. Waiting for a heavy handed approach from the president is not realistic, not after so long. FT might well require some of these shady characters for other, much more important things to him, like winning another election.
until we have an official announcement, we just do not know.
Oh yeah, disclosure, I bought 9000 AJN shares the other day for grins.
next weeks going to be a cracker GLA
