Good afternoon...sorry, two in one again!
Germany´s GDP-growth revised up for the first Quarter...investment, consumption, PMI, business confidence all very strong and better than for a long time. Europe isl doing very well...and looking stronger than for a long time.
Australian banks get a downgrade from S&P - profits not growing anymore, risks from property increasing...
metals not doing much today, while, while gold is trending a little higher. Trump-volatility ahead???
Perseus - Sissingue contruction is going as planned - no negative efefct from recent, political turmoil, which has quietened down again. Yaoure - as expected, the resource/reserve will be a little smaller than estimated by the previous owner. I think informed investors at least have been pretty aware of this for some time. Just by how much we will only find out in August, when the new resource estimate will be announced. I think we should expect a new feasibility study, which shows a project with slightly lower production, less plant capacity ( = lower capex ) and better grades. The market should be happy with that - especially with the lower capex. It will be very interesting to see the costs....If PRU can show reasonable costs, this project alone could be worth the current share price, once in production. But that´s a few years from today! Ghana and their mine Edikan will be the main focus of investors. I believe, that everything is on track for the same again as last Quarter. If that will be achieved, markets will be pretty happy, I think. The mine plan has been done at 1200 US$ - so every 50$ extra should have a nice effect on cash flow! And if gold should break 1300, this thing wouldbe a rocket at a market cap of only 1000 A$/oz production 2018 - and Yaoure not included!
And from today:
China gets downgraded by Moody`s for the first time since 1989, because of debt-problems.
Trump meets the pope - I wonder, whether he had something to confess??
Metals seeing some profit-taking today - perhaps the precarious situation of large metal trader Noble Group depressing sentiment, and the Moody-downgrade? Following a late fall yesterday, gold is holding above 1250 US$
Graphex - the potential graphite miner has signed a term sheet with the leading Chinese building materials company, for them to take a 50% stake against payment of 18-20 Mill US$ in the Tansanian project. Both companies have 3 monmth to complete a binding contract. Good news, valuing GPX in the mid-forties, with furtehr upside from mine expansions. The project will most probably not produce grahpite for batteries, but for inflammable building materials. This is a very strongly growing market in China, where 90% of this type of graphite is bing produced. The GPX-project should produce an excellent product, which could demand a premium price, and which could be easily doubled in size over time. AS usual, it does take a long time to do deals with Chinese, state-owned companies, especially at a time of foreing investment restrictions! But this is certainly a positive step for GPX. Some analysts have valuations far above 1$ for the stock.
ILUKA - have taken the unusual step today to announce, that they will increase the zircon price by 13% to 1100 US$/t from 1st of July. This is an unsually strong price increase from the world market leader, aguring well for otehr producers and developers, like my little Sheffield Resources, who are developing the excellent project Thunderbird in Western Australia.
Have a nice evening
WS