LUNCH DEALS: Nickel boom?
Could a better way of extracting nickel laterite save BHP's Ravensthorpe and deliver Andrew Forrest's second Poseidon boom? Plus news on Gunns and lots more.
Skipped BREAKFAST DEALS this morning? Catch up on the most important deal of the day.
.
.
Nickel for a dime?
The rumoured $1 sale of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel project in Western Australia continues to be hotly discussed, with rumours that Andrew Forrest's Poseidon Nickel may be lining up to take up the mine and create a company to rival Minara Resources, or in the words of its marketing literature, to create "Poseidon Boom II". Still, nickel prices are low and until they rise again, Ravensthorpe could be a dud for whoever buys it. The problem is the mine's low-grade nickel laterite ore, and of this fact Andrew Forrest should be aware, for it was the cost of extracting nickel out of the Murrin Murrin laterite project that caused his Anaconda Nickel so much grief and it was the cost of laterite too that sent Joe Gutnick's Centaur Mining & Exploration into receivership. But there may be a solution in a little company BHP happens to own 5 per cent of: Haoma Mining. In its December quarterly report it is said that the company's refined elazac assay and extraction methods could be used for extracting greater quantities of low-grade nickel as well as gold. While it is unclear how much more nickel could be extracted from deposits like Ravensthorpe using refined elazac, assay testwork last year showed that about 6.06 grams per tonne of gold could be measured at the company's Bamboo Creek project in the Pilbara versus 0.17 grams per tonne using traditional fire assay methods. Such landslide numbers should excite pollster Gary Morgan, who also happens to be Haoma's chief executive, chairman and major shareholder. It could also excite life back into Ravensthorpe and the wider nickel laterite industry.
.
.
Gunns
Gunns has given a brief indication that it is proceeding with one company, believed to be Sweden's Sodra, in its Bell Bay pulp mill joint venture. No details have been announced yet, but Gunns says it continues to progress with project finance negotiations. Robert Gottliebsen says the odds are the project will make a lot of money. The question is whether the project's controversy among environmental groups and local residents will go away.
.
.
FKP Property Group
Brisbane-based FKP Property Group has completed the institutional component of its $324 million fully-underwritten capital raising, with over 97 per cent of shares available on offer being taken up. Insto investors subscribed for $204 million worth of new securities at 40 cents per share following a 46 cent bookbuild. Renouncing security holders will receive 6 cents for every renounced entitlement, FKP said. Goldman Sachs JBWere is acting as sole lead manager and underwriter to both the institutional and retail offer, with major investor Mulpha acting as a sub-underwriter. Fellow FKP shareholder Stockland also took up its entitlement.
.
.
Macquarie funds
Ambac Assurance has given its consent to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's offer for Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (MCG). The investor's agreement came as MCG received US Federal Communications Commission approval for the proposed deal, which is now expected to proceed unhindered. Meanwhile, Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) is expected to internalise management, according to analysis from none other than the research desk at the silver doughnut. A Macquarie Equities note says that based on Macquarie Group's book value of MIG at almost $700 million an internalisation would be preferable to an outright sale of the toll-road operator. With $900 million cash in the bank, MIG could also afford to buy its own management rights and Macquarie's share of the fund.
.
.
Southern Gold
South Australian explorer Southern Gold has reached an in-principle agreement with Ken Talbot's private investment vehicle Talbot Group Holdings, Chinese commodity trader CITIC Australia to offer its 39.1 per cent shareholding in Southern Uranium for $2.475 million at 5.5 cents per share. Following a $1.6 million share placement, Southern Gold intends to use the funds to focus on drilling work at its Challenger gold project and its Bulong gold and nickel sulphide project. The company has also flagged further development to its Roxby geothermal project and projects in Cambodia.
.
.
Iron Mountain Mining
Western Australia and Tasmania-focussed explorer Iron Mountain Mining has canned its bid for Terrain Minerals after only securing 15.43 per cent of the target's shares on issue. Despite freeing its offer of conditions earlier in the month, shareholders agreed with Terrain's rejection of the offer, which in the company's target's statement said the bid undervalued Terrain and would dilute shareholders' interests from 100 per cent to 39 per cent.
.
.
Amazing Loans
Beleaguered micro-lender b has restructured an amazing $100 million in debt owed to Fortress Credit Corporation. The deal sees the facility extended to September 30 this year and a waiver of all existing default and review events. The company's major shareholder, IEG Holdings, has also negotiated a selective buy-back op all shares held by Fortress for $1, subject to IEG shareholder approval. A deferred restructure fee of $2 million is payable on September 30, Amazing Loans said.
.
.
Patrys
Antibody treatments group Patrys has launched a $6.8 million renounceable one-for-six rights issue at 25 cents per new share. The offer, conditionally underwritten by major shareholder PNK Holdings, with assistance by Shaw Stockbroking, has a July 7 record date. PNK, a company associated with technology investor Michael Stork, a non-executive director of Patrys, has agreed to underwrite the offer up to $5 million.
.
.
ComputerCorp
Perth-based ComputerCorp has announced the acquisition of information technology business Synergy Plus from Hyro, completing a deal first flagged in March. The acquisition, which will see ComputerCorp take on Synergy's name, comes as the company enters into a revised term sheet with another target, unlisted S Central, and proposes a $10.5 million capital raising to shore up working capital. The Synergy Plus purchase, which totals $9.3 million, will be paid over several instalments, the last being on January 31, 2012.
.
.
Wrapping up
Midas Resources has announced a purchase agreement with privately-held Mulga Minerals for 6 million Midas shares and $75,000 in cash, subject to due diligence. Mulga, which holds iron ore tenements in the Pilbara, is owned by a family trust associated with Midas chairman Don Boyer and holds tenements equal to 144 square kilometres. Resource Base has meanwhile entered a trading halt pending the announcement of a capital raising. Elsewhere, Wesfarmers has sold 45 Coles and Bi-Lo supermarkets and eight associated Liquorland bottle shops to independent grocery group FoodWorks. The $35 million sale is subject to ACCC approval and will be undertaken over a 9 month period. Most of the stores are in New South Wales, with others in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. And finally, biotech companies Polartechnics and Fermiscan Holdings have both has entered trading halts ahead of Fermiscan's target's statement in response to Polartechinc's three-for-two scrip takeover offer, detailed earlier this month.
.
.
Nickel for a dime?
The rumoured $1 sale of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel project in Western Australia continues to be hotly discussed, with rumours that Andrew Forrest's Poseidon Nickel may be lining up to take up the mine and create a company to rival Minara Resources, or in the words of its marketing literature, to create "Poseidon Boom II". Still, nickel prices are low and until they rise again, Ravensthorpe could be a dud for whoever buys it. The problem is the mine's low-grade nickel laterite ore, and of this fact Andrew Forrest should be aware, for it was the cost of extracting nickel out of the Murrin Murrin laterite project that caused his Anaconda Nickel so much grief and it was the cost of laterite too that sent Joe Gutnick's Centaur Mining & Exploration into receivership. But there may be a solution in a little company BHP happens to own 5 per cent of: Haoma Mining. In its December quarterly report it is said that the company's refined elazac assay and extraction methods could be used for extracting greater quantities of low-grade nickel as well as gold. While it is unclear how much more nickel could be extracted from deposits like Ravensthorpe using refined elazac, assay testwork last year showed that about 6.06 grams per tonne of gold could be measured at the company's Bamboo Creek project in the Pilbara versus 0.17 grams per tonne using traditional fire assay methods. Such landslide numbers should excite pollster Gary Morgan, who also happens to be Haoma's chief executive, chairman and major shareholder. It could also excite life back into Ravensthorpe and the wider nickel laterite industry.
.
.
Gunns
Gunns has given a brief indication that it is proceeding with one company, believed to be Sweden's Sodra, in its Bell Bay pulp mill joint venture. No details have been announced yet, but Gunns says it continues to progress with project finance negotiations. Robert Gottliebsen says the odds are the project will make a lot of money. The question is whether the project's controversy among environmental groups and local residents will go away.
.
.
FKP Property Group
Brisbane-based FKP Property Group has completed the institutional component of its $324 million fully-underwritten capital raising, with over 97 per cent of shares available on offer being taken up. Insto investors subscribed for $204 million worth of new securities at 40 cents per share following a 46 cent bookbuild. Renouncing security holders will receive 6 cents for every renounced entitlement, FKP said. Goldman Sachs JBWere is acting as sole lead manager and underwriter to both the institutional and retail offer, with major investor Mulpha acting as a sub-underwriter. Fellow FKP shareholder Stockland also took up its entitlement.
.
.
Macquarie funds
Ambac Assurance has given its consent to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's offer for Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (MCG). The investor's agreement came as MCG received US Federal Communications Commission approval for the proposed deal, which is now expected to proceed unhindered. Meanwhile, Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) is expected to internalise management, according to analysis from none other than the research desk at the silver doughnut. A Macquarie Equities note says that based on Macquarie Group's book value of MIG at almost $700 million an internalisation would be preferable to an outright sale of the toll-road operator. With $900 million cash in the bank, MIG could also afford to buy its own management rights and Macquarie's share of the fund.
.
.
Southern Gold
South Australian explorer Southern Gold has reached an in-principle agreement with Ken Talbot's private investment vehicle Talbot Group Holdings, Chinese commodity trader CITIC Australia to offer its 39.1 per cent shareholding in Southern Uranium for $2.475 million at 5.5 cents per share. Following a $1.6 million share placement, Southern Gold intends to use the funds to focus on drilling work at its Challenger gold project and its Bulong gold and nickel sulphide project. The company has also flagged further development to its Roxby geothermal project and projects in Cambodia.
.
.
Iron Mountain Mining
Western Australia and Tasmania-focussed explorer Iron Mountain Mining has canned its bid for Terrain Minerals after only securing 15.43 per cent of the target's shares on issue. Despite freeing its offer of conditions earlier in the month, shareholders agreed with Terrain's rejection of the offer, which in the company's target's statement said the bid undervalued Terrain and would dilute shareholders' interests from 100 per cent to 39 per cent.
.
.
Amazing Loans
Beleaguered micro-lender b has restructured an amazing $100 million in debt owed to Fortress Credit Corporation. The deal sees the facility extended to September 30 this year and a waiver of all existing default and review events. The company's major shareholder, IEG Holdings, has also negotiated a selective buy-back op all shares held by Fortress for $1, subject to IEG shareholder approval. A deferred restructure fee of $2 million is payable on September 30, Amazing Loans said.
.
.
Patrys
Antibody treatments group Patrys has launched a $6.8 million renounceable one-for-six rights issue at 25 cents per new share. The offer, conditionally underwritten by major shareholder PNK Holdings, with assistance by Shaw Stockbroking, has a July 7 record date. PNK, a company associated with technology investor Michael Stork, a non-executive director of Patrys, has agreed to underwrite the offer up to $5 million.
.
.
ComputerCorp
Perth-based ComputerCorp has announced the acquisition of information technology business Synergy Plus from Hyro, completing a deal first flagged in March. The acquisition, which will see ComputerCorp take on Synergy's name, comes as the company enters into a revised term sheet with another target, unlisted S Central, and proposes a $10.5 million capital raising to shore up working capital. The Synergy Plus purchase, which totals $9.3 million, will be paid over several instalments, the last being on January 31, 2012.
.
.
Wrapping up
Midas Resources has announced a purchase agreement with privately-held Mulga Minerals for 6 million Midas shares and $75,000 in cash, subject to due diligence. Mulga, which holds iron ore tenements in the Pilbara, is owned by a family trust associated with Midas chairman Don Boyer and holds tenements equal to 144 square kilometres. Resource Base has meanwhile entered a trading halt pending the announcement of a capital raising. Elsewhere, Wesfarmers has sold 45 Coles and Bi-Lo supermarkets and eight associated Liquorland bottle shops to independent grocery group FoodWorks. The $35 million sale is subject to ACCC approval and will be undertaken over a 9 month period. Most of the stores are in New South Wales, with others in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. And finally, biotech companies Polartechnics and Fermiscan Holdings have both has entered trading halts ahead of Fermiscan's target's statement in response to Polartechinc's three-for-two scrip takeover offer, detailed earlier this month.
Share this article and show your support
Call 1300 880 160
Start a chat
Schedule a call
