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AFRIcA DoWn UnDeR PReVIeW

AVZ finds friendly audiences for

Manono story

urging prices and shifting political pri- Manono’s potential was on the verge of “There’s no doubt the updated DFS
Sorities have placed AVZ Minerals Ltd being realised. [due for release in August] will be strong-
at the forefront of Africa’s blossoming bat- “There were a lot of new investors who er on the back of prices for both SC6
tery minerals sector. came in because they realised it was [spodumene concentrate] and tin,” Fer-
With a market cap of more than $600 likely to be the last capital raising before guson said.
million, AVZ is the most valuable Afri- the final investment decision,” Ferguson As well as higher prices, the updated
can battery minerals stock on the ASX said. “We’d gone on a no-deal roadshow DFS will include outcomes for several
– its share price increased more than a few months before and that sparked so other work programmes, including im-
20% last month – with investors encour- much interest it gave us confidence to proved tin and tantalum recoveries,
aged by the growing significance of the put the capital raising away. lower rail rates, onsite production of sul-
company’s Manono lithium-tin project in “We started looking for $25 million and phuric acid and tax incentives from the
DRC. eventually settled on $40 million with an- proposed Manono special economic
The market’s enthusiasm for the AVZ other $10 million left on the table.” zone (SEZ).
story was reinforced in July via a suc- Ferguson’s mention of a final invest- “The capex will creep up because we
cessful $40 million placement to sophis- ment decision betrays how close the are putting a sulphuric acid plant into the
ticated and institutional investors which company is to pulling the trigger on flowsheet but the opex savings around
will allow the company to lift its stake in Manono. The company completed a DFS that are significant,” Ferguson said. “We
the asset to 75% and begin early works on the project in April 2020 forecasting are also negotiating a better deal on the
on the ground at Manono. post-tax NPV of $US1.03 billion for the rail with an independent rail operator and
AVZ managing director Nigel Fer- project. However, recent price trends there are also other product streams we
guson told Paydirt the capital raising could add further weight to project eco- haven’t even looked at yet such as mica
was further proof investors recognised nomics. and silica.”

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