Good afternoon
In 2017, the US budget was a deficit of 460 bill US$ for the year incl September…in 2018, it was 552 bill US$….in 2019, it is
Widespread chaos in Chile, as the government has declared State of Emergency for Santiago, and many other places. Apparently, the superficial reason behind the chaos seems to be an increase of underground tickets from 1 Euro to 1,04 Euro - showing, that some very negative sentiment is cooking below the surface… in Chile….as it is in Venezuela, in Ecuador, in Argentina, in Mexcio, in Brazil at varying degrees. The continent seems to be in trouble…and we all know, how important it is for some base metals, and especially copper. So far, miners have joined the chaos only to a very limited degree…and they are the ones, who get high salaries anyway in comparison to average workers. But there are certainly risks, that copper production could be affected.
Perseus -announced a new board member today, David Ransom. Most probably, a great win - David has been running the mining side of Acorn, a large fund manager, until recently and has been one of the most respected fundmanagers in Australia. Very knowledgeable, and very likeable! Great person, and should be a plus for PRU. Probably more important was their Quarterly, also out today…66.000oz at 922US$AISC was a good result - Edikan producing at 1027 US$ and Sissingue at 709 US$. Yaoure remains on track and on budget for first production by the end of 2020. Yaoure will provied a step-change for the company, and will be their
St Barbara - announced a pretty rough cut in guidance on Friday, by about 10% in terms of ounces, and by 12-14% in terms of costs. The main reason for the cut of production ís the Gwalia extension project, which impacts negatively on production at Gwalia, as there is lmited air-availibility, until the new ventitaltion shaft has been completed. Forecasts for sustaining capex as well as growth capex have also increased slightly…overall I fear there is no hurry to buy this one! Cash & Bullion decreased by 7 mill US in the Quarter - but that is after spending 23 mill on Yaoure. Cash is ok at this stage to get Yaoure done - and with continued cash generation from production, it should continue so, especially, as the company expects the 1st half of calendar year 2020 to deliver stronge grades from existing mines. PRU have been a consistent performer and this should not change!
have a nice evening
WS