SP Angel . Morning View - Volatility continues on Western COVID-19 mortality rates

SP Angel . Morning View . Thursday 02 04 20

Volatility continues on Western COVID-19 mortality rates

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Ariana Resources* (AAU LN) 3p, Mkt Cap £31.3m – Sample results from Kepez North

Bushveld Minerals* (BMN LN)  9.3p, Mkt cap £107m – Invinity (redT/Avalon) raises a further £7.9m to roll out VRFB developments

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) 0.2p, Mkt Cap £1.3m – American institution invests £600,000

SP Angel Healthcare - Smith and Nephew to build OxVent ventilators

Avacta  (AVCT.L) Trading update and £2m subscription 

Technology sector - Roto VR™ announced the successful completion of a fundraise for £1.5m by SP Angel

 

Video Interview on SP Angel mining sector thoughts:  https://youtu.be/bUUyiD3LJjc

 

Emerging market debt crisis looms as lower commodity prices collapse revenues and tax receipts

• We expect a rerun of the Asian Crisis, Latin American debt crisis and possibly every other debt crisis to be averted by the IMF.
• The economic impact of the Coronavirus on developing and emerging markets will cripple finances causing many nations to almost certainly default on their debt obligations.
• Existing and new Chinese debt into many nations will need restructuring to avert default and to qualify for new IMF bailout funds.

 

China - Over 85% of companies in Wuhan have resumed business

• The work resumption rate in Wuhan has increased to 85.4% with the resumption rate for workers reaching 40.4% according to local authorities.
• As of the 31st of March, 42,130 out of 44,918 companies in Hubei province have got back to business, a resumption rate of nearly 94% (SMM). 

 

China concealed mortality rates from global markets according to the US

• Satellite data on emissions from crematoria in the Wuhan area in February and March gave an early indication of a much higher than expected mortality rate.
• The US is likely to press the Chinese Authorities on the suppression and inaccurate reporting of data relating to the Coronavirus.
• We would not be surprised if the US were to look to see compensation from China after the crisis.

  

Stimulus funding pledged

• $2tn US fiscal package approved by Congress. US may add $0.6t state aid for mortgage markets and travel industries
• $2tn US – Trump looking at $2tn infrastructure fund
• $700bn – US + Fed rate cut to 0-0.25% last night. The $700bn QE is to buy Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The program in two parts $500bn + $200bn  
• $963bn (€750bn) ECB scraps limits on sovereign bond purchases. ECB PEPP buying running at around €250bn
• $825bn (€756bn) Germany – Bundestag approved €156bn in extra borrowing and ~€600bn in emergency funds
• $344bn - China stimulus + $127.2bn. China stimulus was $586bn in 2009
• $544bn (¥60tn) – Japan fiscal stimulus package equiv. ~10% of GDP $17.4bn Japan + Y300bn of inflation-linked bonds,
• $400bn (£330bn) UK + $242bn (£200bn) UK QE from BoE & no business rates plus £25,000 cash grants for hospitality sector
• $387bn (€304bn), France, $200bn (€200bn), Spain, $214bn (A$320bn) Australia, $78bn (C$107bn) Canada, $32bn Saudi Arabia, US$38.6bn Singapore, $22.6bn India, $15.4bn HK, $13.7bn South Korea, $10bn Switzerland, $8.4bn Italy, $7bn NZ, $3.5bn Ireland, $2bn Taiwan, $0.75bn Indonesia,
• $1,000bn - IMF available + $12bn World Bank,
• >11tr Total

 

Tailings dam leak in China

• The mining industry website mining.com reports that a discharge from a molybdenum mine in north-east China’s Heilongijiang Province has contaminated the Hulan River up to 10km downstream of the discharge from the mine owned by Yichun Lumin Mining. The main contaminant is said to be an oil based flotation reagent which is said to be 2.8times the normal level. Local sources report that 2.53m cubic metres of material were involved in the leak and that the breach was repaired on Tuesday. No casualties have been reported as a result of the incident.

 

121 London Mining Investment Online Conference - 19-21 May 2020 – Lockdown special

• The 121 Group are holding their London conference Online in may
• Companies and investors will simply login from their place of ‘Self-isolation’ for online meetings managed by 121’s system
• The event has the added benefit of broadening the field of participating investors and companies while reducing everyone’s travel costs
• Companies can show slides online to investors within the system and present opportunities via video link
  • Company slots are limited to maintain quality levels and enable better management
  • Click here to register your interest if attending as a corporate
  • Click link to see how it works: https://www.weare121.com/121mininginvestment-london/

 

UN - petition for a Global Ceasefire - We don’t normally advertise campaigns of any kind but we are making an exception in this case

• https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/global_ceasefire_123/?creNQpb

 

Dow Jones Industrials		-4.44%	at	20,944
Nikkei 225		-1.37%	at	17,819
HK Hang Seng		+0.54%	at	23,210
Shanghai Composite		+1.67%	at	2,780

 

Economics

 Companies are allowed now to raise up to 19.9% of their capital without a shareholder vote in the UK, up from 10%, FT reports.

• The change allows firms to stay afloat raising required capital at depressed valuations.
• More than half of UK firms have just three months’ cash in reserve or less, according to a survey from th British Chambers of Commerce published Thursday.

 

The FCA proposed a temporary freeze on loans and credit card payments for people whose finances were affected by the coronavirus.

• The proposal includes an option to suspend loan repayments for three months as well as an offer for a £500 interest free overdraft.
• The measures will go through a brief consultation and if confirmed would come into force by April 9, according to FT.

 

Florida joins a number of other states by issuing a stay-at-home order as growth in new cases of coronavirus in the US continues to accelerate.

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis implied a 30-day executive order on Thursday night after facing criticism of not enacting one earlier.

 

US – Factory orders and employment measures slide to the weakest since 2009, according to the ISM report.

• Auto sales dropped to the lowest level since 2010 in March (11.4m annualised rate, down from 16.8m units in February.
• Weekly jobless claims to be released later today with a further deterioration forecast (3,700k est.) from 3,283k recorded last week, the record high level and up on 282k posted in the week before that.
• VP Mike Pence suggested Italy is currently the most comparable area to the US in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Italy is among the worst hit nations with one of the highest rates of infected per capita and the highest absolute and relative number of deaths from the coronavirus.

 

China – The nation will start buying oil for its emergency reserves following a major correction in the price, Bloomberg reports.

• In addition to state-owned reserves, Beijing may use commercial capacities for storage as well encouraging companies to fill their own tanks.
• The target is to accumulate 90 days’ worth of net imports which can then be expanded to as much 180 days when commercial reserves are included.
• The nation held around 996mbbl of oil combined in strategic and commercial storage as of March 31, according to SIA Energy.
• The news arrives on the heels of the US announcement of a planned increase in oil stockpiles with the nation currently holding some 635mbbl in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

 

Germany – The government extended the lockdown until April 19.

 

UK – Data for the period before the coronavirus lockdown was announced showed house prices were growing at the fastest pace in more than two years, according to Nationwide data.

• Values climbed 3%yoy earlier in March and were up 0.8%mom.
• Next set of data is likely to paint a different picture.
• “Housing market activity is now grinding to a halt… a lack of transactions will make gauging house price trends difficult in the coming months,” Nationwide said.

 

Spain – Jobless claims climbed the most on record in March.

• Extra 302k applications recorded this month, up from a drop of 7.8k in February.

 

Mexico – The Finance Ministry forecasts the economy to post a 3.9% GDP drop this year before a rebound of 1.5-3.5% in 2021.

• This compares to growth of 1.5-2.5% in 2020 estimated previously.
• Forecasts remain on a more optimistic side with the central bank forecasts a 4% contraction while JPMorgan is eyeing a 7% slump.
• In the wake of efforts to stimulate demand and soften the blow to the economy from the pandemic, the government is planning to drop the primary budget target.

 

Zambia – bond restructuring of up to $11.2bn of foreign debt likely to precede IMF bailout

• Zambia is unilaterally restructuring up to $11.2bn of foreign owned bonds to put its debt (Bloomberg).
• The nation has been struggling under unsustainable new debt from China used to fund infrastructure projects largely built by Chinese companies.
• The move has further devalued Zambia’s already weak currency which is also hit by lower receipts and taxes from lower copper prices.
• Zambia is reported to have some $3bn of dollar bonds outstanding.

 

Currencies

US$1.0935/eur vs 1.0979/eur yesterday.  Yen 107.22/$ vs 107.68/$.  SAr 18.153/$ vs 18.016/$.  $1.241/gbp vs $1.235/gbp.  0.610/aud vs 0.608/aud.  CNY 7.106/$ vs 7.097/$.

 

Commodity News

Gold US$1,597/oz vs US$1,591/oz yesterday - London gold vault holdings hit record 8,326 tonnes in December

• The gold was stored in London vaults by the end of last year, and valued at $408bn according to the LBMA.
• Silver stockpiles were at 36,147 tonnes, worth $21bn.

   Gold ETFs 90.7moz vs US$90.5moz yesterday

Platinum US$733/oz vs US$723/oz yesterday

Palladium US$2,308/oz vs US$2,344/oz yesterday

Silver US$14.25/oz vs US$14.00/oz yesterday

           

Base metals:   

Copper US$ 4,853/t vs US$4,826/t yesterday

Aluminium US$ 1,494/t vs US$1,517/t yesterday - Aluminium prices drop to four year lows

• Aluminium prices have fallen for three days straight to four-year lows on Wednesday as the coronavirus continues to fuel demand fears.
• Data on Wednesday showed factories suffered one of their worst months on record in March, across Asia, Europe and the US and this fall in manufacturing activity has corresponded to aluminium demand falling off a cliff.
• Three-month aluminium on the LME closed $26 lower at $1,500/t (Bloomberg).

Nickel US$ 11,300/t vs US$11,330/t yesterday

Zinc US$ 1,880/t vs US$1,866/t yesterday

Lead US$ 1,707/t vs US$1,715/t yesterday

Tin US$ 14,375/t vs US$14,440/t yesterday

           

Energy:           

Oil US$27.3/bbl vs US$25.4/bbl yesterday

Natural Gas US$1.622/mmbtu vs US$1.633/mmbtu yesterday

Uranium US$27.25/lb vs US$27.05/lb yesterday

           

Bulk:   

Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$77.9/t vs US$81.4/t - Iron ore prices fall on China's weakening steel market

• Analysts a Citigroup project that prices will fall a further 17% to $70/t in the coming weeks.

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$517.2/t vs US$520.6/t - Chinese stainless steel prices fall as sell-off continues

• Stainless steel cold-rolled coil prices were $1,620-1,670/tonne yesterday, down $30/t from a week earlier (Fastmarkets MB).
• Prices of stainless steel have continued to fall as sellers sought to generate more sales to draw down their inventories.
• Prices are falling as suppliers are still trying to attract buyers amid the pandemic, however exporters of finished steel products say 'the market is almost at a standstill because of the current situation'. 

Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$54.3/t vs US$55.3/t

Coal India produced 602mt output for the financial year

• The state owned coal producer produced 602mt of coal in FY 2019-20, missing its target of 660mt for the year.
• The drop in production would have been much lower had it not recorded a 9.9% annual rise in the final three months output.

Chinese coal production has recovered steadily since the lunar new year

• Chinese coal mining capacities were operating at a utilisation rate of 39% on the 1st of February, however this increased to 70% on the 17th of February and 84% by the 6th of March (Mining-Technology). 
• In the same time frame, daily output increased from 3.9mt to 7mt and then to 8.4mt by the 6th of March according to the Chinese National Energy Administration. 
• By late February, coal production of state-owned enterprises was around 95% and production across the country was down just 6% over the first two months of 2020. 
• Coal mining capacity is expected to reach its full capacity of 3.4bt by early April 2020.

Coking coal swap Australia FOB US$144.0/t vs US$147.0/t

           

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$30,000/t vs US$30,000/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$37,575/t vs US$37,901/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$5,629/t vs US$5,636/t

Ferro Vanadium 80% FOB (China) US$26.5/kg vs US$26.5/kg

Antimony Trioxide 99.5% EU (China) US$5.1/kg vs US$5.1/kg

Tungsten APT European US$240-245/mtu vs US$240-245/mtu

Graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh, fob China US$540/t vs US$540/t

Graphite spherical 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China US$2,550/t vs US$2,550/t

 

Battery News

Addionics raises $6m in funding (TechCrunch)

• Israeli/UK start-up Addionics developing next generation rechargeable batteries has raised $6m in a recent funding round.
• The Company's key technology is a patent protected scalable 3D metal fabrication method which enhances performance, adds up to 200% to capacity/range, improves safety, is more sustainable and reduces charge times up to 50%. (Addionics)
• The battery applications include laptops and smartphones, EVs, Medical devices, wearables and IOT, aviation and drones and consumer electronics. 
• The funding round was led by Next Gear Ventures and includes a $2.5m grant from the European Union as part of its Horizon2020 innovation competition. 

 

China and US to ease clean energy policy on automakers

• China is to consider temporarily easing clean energy vehicle quotas to reduce the burden on automakers badly affected by the coronavirus.
• There are also plans to delay implementation of new emissions standards by six months. (Auto blog)
• The State council announced on Tuesday an extension of rebates on EVs for a further two years but is now discussing potentially reducing incentives by 10% in late 2020. They may also reduce the number of cars that qualify for the discounts. (Bloomberg)
• The Chinese auto market saw demand fall 79% in February with expectations of a further 10% fall in sales for H1’20.
• The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling back fuel standards introduced under Barack Obama. (CNN)
• The rule reduces the amount emissions standards must increase by each year from 5% to 1.5%. The move will affect mileage standards until 2026.
• The new standards will increase to 40.4 miles per gallon by vehicle model year 2026, 6 miles per gallon fewer than the 2012 rule.
• The administration promised the legislation would lower the average price of new vehicles by $1000. However, the EPAs own research shows consumer would end up losing money by having to purchase more fuel. (Inside Hook).

 

UPS partnership to optimise EV fleet charging (Business Green)

• UPS is teaming up with UK Power Networks (UKPN), Innovate UK and Cross River Partnerships to optimise EV fleet charging.
• The trial is led by UKPN alongside energy storage specialist Moixa.
• From May UPS electric delivery vehicles working out of their Camden depot will be charged using Moixa’s GridShare AI software to optimise when charging takes place, preferably at times of lowest demand.
• Utilizing data collected from the project the firms involved hope to optimise charging for when electricity is cheapest and greenest.

 

Company News

 Ariana Resources* (AAU LN) 3p, Mkt Cap £31.3m – Sample results from Kepez North

• Ariana Resources has announced results from a programme of rock-saw channel sampling undertaken over the Kepez North prospect area, located some 14km by road from the company’s 50% owned Kiziltepe mine within its Red Rabbit joint-venture area with Proccea.
• A total of 91 samples covering 157.7m were obtained from 16 separate outcrops across approximately 450m of strike on the Kepez North vein system. Among the highlighted results from the programme are:
  • A 14.2m long sample averaging 10.77g/t gold and 92.9g/t silver in sample 5; and
  • A 110.0m long sample averaging 11.45g/t gold and 72.8g/t silver in sample 6; and
  • A 4.0m long sample averaging 3.64g/t gold and 33.5g/t silver in sample 8
• The Kepez area already has a relatively small JORC compliant indicated resource of 60,000t at an average grade of 4.61g/t gold and 34.7g/t silver and the company describes the objective of the new sampling campaign as being ʺto confirm and add confidence to significant historic results, in addition to extending the data beyond the current grid to close-off the footprint of the mineralised scree material. Results from this latest phase of work provided excellent correlations with the historic data.ʺ

• Explaining that ʺThis additional work at Kepez was required in order to confirm our resource estimation at this important, high-grade satellite for the Kiziltepe processing plantʺ Managing Director, Dr. Kerim Sener, confirmed that ʺThe in-situ grades and the widths of mineralisation reported add significant confidence to earlier work and will result in a more robust mineral resource estimate. We envisage this area being developed as a series of shallow open-pits producing ore which will be trucked approximately 14km to the Kiziltepe plant for processing.”

Conclusion: The additional work at Kepez North confirms its potential as a modest-sized  high-grade satellite source of ore feed for Kiziltepe. We look forward to a revised mineral resource estimate for an insight into the additional scale of the mineralisation.

*An SP Angel mining analyst has visited Ariana’s licenses in Turkey

 

Bushveld Minerals* (BMN LN)  9.3p, Mkt cap £107m – Invinity (redT/Avalon) raises a further £7.9m to roll out VRFB developments

• Bushveld Minerals reports shareholder approval has been received for the merger of redT and Avalon Battery Corporation
• The new group will be called Invinity Energy Systems plc which has raised £7.9m through an equity placing at 1.65p
• The combined group will have a leading position in the development and deployment of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries in Europe, the US, Sub-Sahara Africa and Asia.
• Bushveld will supply vanadium electrolyte to Invinity through its existing Vanadium Financing Partnership with redT for its battery system developments. We expect these battery developments to be owned by third-parties with lease finance used to pay for the cost of the vanadium electrolyte.
• Bushveld is supporting the deal through the conversion of their existing $5m convertible loan to Avalon which will convert into shares in the combined group.
• Bushveld has a right to nominate a director to the Board of Invinity for a 5% stake in the first year and 10% in the second year plus the right for a second director if Bushveld holds a 20% stake in Invinity

Conclusion:  There is increasing news supporting the development of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries ‘VRFB’ in the US, UK, Europe and S Africa. 

We expect Bushveld’s Vanadium Investment Program to support the roll-out of VRFB technology and for Bushveld’s vanadium electrolyte lease-finance structure to support the cost of buying vanadium electrolyte for the batteries.

The future development of VRFB batteries should in time support the expansion of Bushveld’s primary vanadium production beyond that supported by growth in the use of vanadium for hardening steel in China and India.

China and India accounted for 1.1bnt (59%) of steel production last year and are subject to increasing compliance in the addition of vanadium for hardening steel.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and broker to Bushveld Minerals

 

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) 0.2p, Mkt Cap £1.3m – American institution invests £600,000

• Tertiary Minerals reports that the US based Precious Metals Capital Group has invested £600,000 ʺto fund ongoing exploration once the recently announced exploration programmes at the Pyramid Gold and Paymaster Polymetallic Projects in Nevada are completed and to ensure that the Company has sufficient working capital for the foreseeable duration of the Covid-19 pandemic.ʺ
• ʺThe placing will be made by the Subscriber by way of prepayment for Company shares to be issued, at the Subscriber's request, within 24 months of the date of the placing. A further investment may be made by the Subscriber within 12 months after the date of this placement, but only with the consent of the Company, in the amount not exceeding an additional £600,000, by way of prepayment for shares to be issued, at the Subscriber's request, within 24 months following the date of such subsequent placement.ʺ
• The shares will be issued at either 95% of the VWAP over the five days preceding the issue or at a price of ʺ£0.0042, being an approximately 133% premium to the Company's share price on 1 April 2020.ʺ
• Tertiary Minerals has also announced that the agreement for the issue of convertible securities with the Bergen Global Opportunity Fund ʺhas been terminated by the parties by mutual consent, effective as of 1 April 2020. Following the termination, no further funding will be provided to the Company under the Agreementʺ.
• Managing Director, Richard Clemmey welcomed the investment from Precious Metals Capital saying that ʺthe funding will further strengthen the company's cash position and provide additional working capital during these uncertain times as well as enable the Company to continue with the planned exploration on its Paymaster Polymetallic and Pyramid Gold Projects in Nevada."
• Mr. Clemmey also expressed appreciation to ʺthe team at Bergen for their support." 

Conclusion:  The support of a specialist US based investment institution provides important funding and an endorsement of the merits of the company’s metals exploration projects in Nevada.

*SP Angel act as Nomad and broker to Tertiary Minerals

 

SP Angel Healthcare team - Vadim Alexandre, Liam Gascoigne-Cohen

Smith and Nephew to build OxVent ventilators

• Medtech multinational, Smith & Nephew (SN.L), announced it will be manufacturing a new ventilator device once it receives approval by the UK regulator. 
• The OxVent ventilator is the result of a collaboration between the University of Oxford, King’s College London and Smith & Nephew and is currently under review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).
• If approved Smith & Nephew is prepared to begin manufacture of the OxVent ventilator at its site in Hull, UK.

Ventilators are expected to be in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a small subset of COVID-19 patients will develop viral pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is a critical condition whereby infection spreads into parts of the lung involved in gas exchange, provoking a damaging immune response. This can lead to respiratory failure and mechanical ventilators, such as those developed by OxVent, can assist these patients in breathing. New ventilators, such as OxVent, utilise 3D printing and off the shelf components. Although not complex devices, ventilators need to be reliable as any malfunction can quickly lead to a patient’s death. Manufacturers and regulators need to be mindful of this given the demand and speed at which new devices are being developed and tested. 

 

Avacta (AVCT.L) Trading update and £2m subscription 

Share price: 21.3p; Market Capitalisation: £37.4m

• Avacta, the developer of ‘Affimer®’ technology, small proteins which mimic the properties of antibodies, announced a trading update and a £2m subscription.
• The £2m subscription was completed at 18p (a 15% discount to the previous days close) via two high net worth investors.
• The net proceeds are intended to support company objectives including initiating first-in-man trials for the Group’s preCISION chemotherapy programme, secure further drug development partnerships and growing the diagnostics reagents business.  
• Avacta had £8.7m in cash at 31 December 2019 with the Group’s agreements with LG Chem, ADC Therapeutics, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals expected to fund the related R&D activities. 

The £2m subscription was a prudent move given the continued disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Group expects the COVID-19 pandemic to not materially affect revenues but there may be an impact in clinical trials timelines.  We are seeing many trials being halted due to the risk of COVID-19 to vulnerable patients and the reprioritising of healthcare staff

 

Special Situations / Technology - Tania Maciver

Private placement - Roto VR™ announced the successful completion of a fundraise for £1.5m by SP Angel

• The £1.5m fundraise was completed with support from a group of investors, led by Pembroke VCT, TVB Growth fund and Jenson Solutions. The funds are to be used for the commercial launch of the Company’s RotoVR Chair for in-home and office use, as well as the out-of-home market, such as cinemas and arcades, as well as for the related product development to support Roto VR’s growth strategy
• Founded in March 2015 Roto VR™ Ltd. was established with the goal of improving virtual reality (VR) experiences for users in an effort to establish widespread adoption of VR technologies. Roto VR has produced the world’s first interactive VR chair. which overcomes many of the technical issues that have constrained the growth of the VR market, such as tangled cables, motion sickness and unhindered locomotion.
• OUTLOOK: After 4 years of development the company started to deliver to its pre-order customers and has received 5-star reviews for the RotoVR Chair and its customer service support. There are currently no direct competitors to Roto VR. The closest are traditional gaming chairs, home racing chairs and arcade motion simulators, none of which come close to providing the functionality embedded in the RotoVR Chair.
• Notably worldwide spending on VR is expected to reach US$18.8bn in 2020, with much of the industry growth being driven by easier-to-use headsets and related accessories at accsssible price-points, as well as by increased availability of VR content. Roto VR is currently still able to manufacture and deliver product, despite the disruptions from the COVID-19 social distancing programs in place. We believe there is an unexpected opportunity for increased market penetration in this current market, with many ordered to stay at home.

 

 

Analysts

John Meyer – 0203 470 0490

Simon Beardsmore – 0203 470 0484

Sergey Raevskiy – 0203 470 0474

 

Sales

Richard Parlons – 0203 470 0472

Abigail Wayne – 0203 470 0534

Rob Rees – 0203 470 0535

 

SP Angel                                                            

Prince Frederick House

35-39 Maddox Street London

W1S 2PP

 

*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)

+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.

 



Sources of commodity prices
Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver	BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London)
Gold ETFs, Steel	Bloomberg
Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt	LME
Oil Brent	ICE
Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore	NYMEX
Thermal Coal	Bloomberg OTC Composite
Coking Coal	SSY
RRE	Steelhome
Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Antimony	Asian Metal
Tungsten	Metal Bulletin

 

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MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below

 

 

Ariana Resources* (AAU LN) 3p, Mkt Cap £31.3m – Sample results from Kepez North

Bushveld Minerals* (BMN LN)  9.3p, Mkt cap £107m – Invinity (redT/Avalon) raises a further £7.9m to roll out VRFB developments

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) 0.2p, Mkt Cap £1.3m – American institution invests £600,000

SP Angel Healthcare - Smith and Nephew to build OxVent ventilators

Avacta (AVCT.L) Trading update and £2m subscription 

Technology sector - Roto VR™ announced the successful completion of a fundraise for £1.5m by SP Angel

 

Video Interview on SP Angel mining sector thoughts:  https://youtu.be/bUUyiD3LJjc

 

Emerging market debt crisis looms as lower commodity prices collapse revenues and tax receipts

• We expect a rerun of the Asian Crisis, Latin American debt crisis and possibly every other debt crisis to be averted by the IMF.
• The economic impact of the Coronavirus on developing and emerging markets will cripple finances causing many nations to almost certainly default on their debt obligations.
• Existing and new Chinese debt into many nations will need restructuring to avert default and to qualify for new IMF bailout funds.

 

China - Over 85% of companies in Wuhan have resumed business

• The work resumption rate in Wuhan has increased to 85.4% with the resumption rate for workers reaching 40.4% according to local authorities.
• As of the 31st of March, 42,130 out of 44,918 companies in Hubei province have got back to business, a resumption rate of nearly 94% (SMM). 

 

China concealed mortality rates from global markets according to the US

• Satellite data on emissions from crematoria in the Wuhan area in February and March gave an early indication of a much higher than expected mortality rate.
• The US is likely to press the Chinese Authorities on the suppression and inaccurate reporting of data relating to the Coronavirus.
• We would not be surprised if the US were to look to see compensation from China after the crisis.

  

Stimulus funding pledged

• $2tn US fiscal package approved by Congress. US may add $0.6t state aid for mortgage markets and travel industries
• $2tn US – Trump looking at $2tn infrastructure fund
• $700bn – US + Fed rate cut to 0-0.25% last night. The $700bn QE is to buy Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The program in two parts $500bn + $200bn  
• $963bn (€750bn) ECB scraps limits on sovereign bond purchases. ECB PEPP buying running at around €250bn
• $825bn (€756bn) Germany – Bundestag approved €156bn in extra borrowing and ~€600bn in emergency funds
• $344bn - China stimulus + $127.2bn. China stimulus was $586bn in 2009
• $544bn (¥60tn) – Japan fiscal stimulus package equiv. ~10% of GDP $17.4bn Japan + Y300bn of inflation-linked bonds,
• $400bn (£330bn) UK + $242bn (£200bn) UK QE from BoE & no business rates plus £25,000 cash grants for hospitality sector
• $387bn (€304bn), France, $200bn (€200bn), Spain, $214bn (A$320bn) Australia, $78bn (C$107bn) Canada, $32bn Saudi Arabia, US$38.6bn Singapore, $22.6bn India, $15.4bn HK, $13.7bn South Korea, $10bn Switzerland, $8.4bn Italy, $7bn NZ, $3.5bn Ireland, $2bn Taiwan, $0.75bn Indonesia,
• $1,000bn - IMF available + $12bn World Bank,
• >11tr Total

 

Tailings dam leak in China

• The mining industry website mining.com reports that a discharge from a molybdenum mine in north-east China’s Heilongijiang Province has contaminated the Hulan River up to 10km downstream of the discharge from the mine owned by Yichun Lumin Mining. The main contaminant is said to be an oil based flotation reagent which is said to be 2.8times the normal level. Local sources report that 2.53m cubic metres of material were involved in the leak and that the breach was repaired on Tuesday. No casualties have been reported as a result of the incident.

 

121 London Mining Investment Online Conference - 19-21 May 2020 – Lockdown special

• The 121 Group are holding their London conference Online in may
• Companies and investors will simply login from their place of ‘Self-isolation’ for online meetings managed by 121’s system
• The event has the added benefit of broadening the field of participating investors and companies while reducing everyone’s travel costs
• Companies can show slides online to investors within the system and present opportunities via video link
  • Company slots are limited to maintain quality levels and enable better management
  • Click here to register your interest if attending as a corporate
  • Click link to see how it works: https://www.weare121.com/121mininginvestment-london/

 

UN - petition for a Global Ceasefire - We don’t normally advertise campaigns of any kind but we are making an exception in this case

• https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/global_ceasefire_123/?creNQpb

 

Dow Jones Industrials		-4.44%	at	20,944
Nikkei 225		-1.37%	at	17,819
HK Hang Seng		+0.54%	at	23,210
Shanghai Composite		+1.67%	at	2,780

 

Economics

 Companies are allowed now to raise up to 19.9% of their capital without a shareholder vote in the UK, up from 10%, FT reports.

• The change allows firms to stay afloat raising required capital at depressed valuations.
• More than half of UK firms have just three months’ cash in reserve or less, according to a survey from th British Chambers of Commerce published Thursday.

 

The FCA proposed a temporary freeze on loans and credit card payments for people whose finances were affected by the coronavirus.

• The proposal includes an option to suspend loan repayments for three months as well as an offer for a £500 interest free overdraft.
• The measures will go through a brief consultation and if confirmed would come into force by April 9, according to FT.

 

Florida joins a number of other states by issuing a stay-at-home order as growth in new cases of coronavirus in the US continues to accelerate.

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis implied a 30-day executive order on Thursday night after facing criticism of not enacting one earlier.

 

US – Factory orders and employment measures slide to the weakest since 2009, according to the ISM report.

• Auto sales dropped to the lowest level since 2010 in March (11.4m annualised rate, down from 16.8m units in February.
• Weekly jobless claims to be released later today with a further deterioration forecast (3,700k est.) from 3,283k recorded last week, the record high level and up on 282k posted in the week before that.
• VP Mike Pence suggested Italy is currently the most comparable area to the US in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Italy is among the worst hit nations with one of the highest rates of infected per capita and the highest absolute and relative number of deaths from the coronavirus.

 

China – The nation will start buying oil for its emergency reserves following a major correction in the price, Bloomberg reports.

• In addition to state-owned reserves, Beijing may use commercial capacities for storage as well encouraging companies to fill their own tanks.
• The target is to accumulate 90 days’ worth of net imports which can then be expanded to as much 180 days when commercial reserves are included.
• The nation held around 996mbbl of oil combined in strategic and commercial storage as of March 31, according to SIA Energy.
• The news arrives on the heels of the US announcement of a planned increase in oil stockpiles with the nation currently holding some 635mbbl in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

 

Germany – The government extended the lockdown until April 19.

 

UK – Data for the period before the coronavirus lockdown was announced showed house prices were growing at the fastest pace in more than two years, according to Nationwide data.

• Values climbed 3%yoy earlier in March and were up 0.8%mom.
• Next set of data is likely to paint a different picture.
• “Housing market activity is now grinding to a halt… a lack of transactions will make gauging house price trends difficult in the coming months,” Nationwide said.

 

Spain – Jobless claims climbed the most on record in March.

• Extra 302k applications recorded this month, up from a drop of 7.8k in February.

 

Mexico – The Finance Ministry forecasts the economy to post a 3.9% GDP drop this year before a rebound of 1.5-3.5% in 2021.

• This compares to growth of 1.5-2.5% in 2020 estimated previously.
• Forecasts remain on a more optimistic side with the central bank forecasts a 4% contraction while JPMorgan is eyeing a 7% slump.
• In the wake of efforts to stimulate demand and soften the blow to the economy from the pandemic, the government is planning to drop the primary budget target.

 

Zambia – bond restructuring of up to $11.2bn of foreign debt likely to precede IMF bailout

• Zambia is unilaterally restructuring up to $11.2bn of foreign owned bonds to put its debt (Bloomberg).
• The nation has been struggling under unsustainable new debt from China used to fund infrastructure projects largely built by Chinese companies.
• The move has further devalued Zambia’s already weak currency which is also hit by lower receipts and taxes from lower copper prices.
• Zambia is reported to have some $3bn of dollar bonds outstanding.

 

Currencies

US$1.0935/eur vs 1.0979/eur yesterday.  Yen 107.22/$ vs 107.68/$.  SAr 18.153/$ vs 18.016/$.  $1.241/gbp vs $1.235/gbp.  0.610/aud vs 0.608/aud.  CNY 7.106/$ vs 7.097/$.

 

Commodity News

Gold US$1,597/oz vs US$1,591/oz yesterday - London gold vault holdings hit record 8,326 tonnes in December

• The gold was stored in London vaults by the end of last year, and valued at $408bn according to the LBMA.
• Silver stockpiles were at 36,147 tonnes, worth $21bn.

   Gold ETFs 90.7moz vs US$90.5moz yesterday

Platinum US$733/oz vs US$723/oz yesterday

Palladium US$2,308/oz vs US$2,344/oz yesterday

Silver US$14.25/oz vs US$14.00/oz yesterday

           

Base metals:   

Copper US$ 4,853/t vs US$4,826/t yesterday

Aluminium US$ 1,494/t vs US$1,517/t yesterday - Aluminium prices drop to four year lows

• Aluminium prices have fallen for three days straight to four-year lows on Wednesday as the coronavirus continues to fuel demand fears.
• Data on Wednesday showed factories suffered one of their worst months on record in March, across Asia, Europe and the US and this fall in manufacturing activity has corresponded to aluminium demand falling off a cliff.
• Three-month aluminium on the LME closed $26 lower at $1,500/t (Bloomberg).

Nickel US$ 11,300/t vs US$11,330/t yesterday

Zinc US$ 1,880/t vs US$1,866/t yesterday

Lead US$ 1,707/t vs US$1,715/t yesterday

Tin US$ 14,375/t vs US$14,440/t yesterday

           

Energy:           

Oil US$27.3/bbl vs US$25.4/bbl yesterday

Natural Gas US$1.622/mmbtu vs US$1.633/mmbtu yesterday

Uranium US$27.25/lb vs US$27.05/lb yesterday

           

Bulk:   

Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$77.9/t vs US$81.4/t - Iron ore prices fall on China's weakening steel market

• Analysts a Citigroup project that prices will fall a further 17% to $70/t in the coming weeks.

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$517.2/t vs US$520.6/t - Chinese stainless steel prices fall as sell-off continues

• Stainless steel cold-rolled coil prices were $1,620-1,670/tonne yesterday, down $30/t from a week earlier (Fastmarkets MB).
• Prices of stainless steel have continued to fall as sellers sought to generate more sales to draw down their inventories.
• Prices are falling as suppliers are still trying to attract buyers amid the pandemic, however exporters of finished steel products say 'the market is almost at a standstill because of the current situation'. 

Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$54.3/t vs US$55.3/t

Coal India produced 602mt output for the financial year

• The state owned coal producer produced 602mt of coal in FY 2019-20, missing its target of 660mt for the year.
• The drop in production would have been much lower had it not recorded a 9.9% annual rise in the final three months output.

Chinese coal production has recovered steadily since the lunar new year

• Chinese coal mining capacities were operating at a utilisation rate of 39% on the 1st of February, however this increased to 70% on the 17th of February and 84% by the 6th of March (Mining-Technology). 
• In the same time frame, daily output increased from 3.9mt to 7mt and then to 8.4mt by the 6th of March according to the Chinese National Energy Administration. 
• By late February, coal production of state-owned enterprises was around 95% and production across the country was down just 6% over the first two months of 2020. 
• Coal mining capacity is expected to reach its full capacity of 3.4bt by early April 2020.

Coking coal swap Australia FOB US$144.0/t vs US$147.0/t

           

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$30,000/t vs US$30,000/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$37,575/t vs US$37,901/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$5,629/t vs US$5,636/t

Ferro Vanadium 80% FOB (China) US$26.5/kg vs US$26.5/kg

Antimony Trioxide 99.5% EU (China) US$5.1/kg vs US$5.1/kg

Tungsten APT European US$240-245/mtu vs US$240-245/mtu

Graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh, fob China US$540/t vs US$540/t

Graphite spherical 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China US$2,550/t vs US$2,550/t

 

Battery News

Addionics raises $6m in funding (TechCrunch)

• Israeli/UK start-up Addionics developing next generation rechargeable batteries has raised $6m in a recent funding round.
• The Company's key technology is a patent protected scalable 3D metal fabrication method which enhances performance, adds up to 200% to capacity/range, improves safety, is more sustainable and reduces charge times up to 50%. (Addionics)
• The battery applications include laptops and smartphones, EVs, Medical devices, wearables and IOT, aviation and drones and consumer electronics. 
• The funding round was led by Next Gear Ventures and includes a $2.5m grant from the European Union as part of its Horizon2020 innovation competition. 

 

China and US to ease clean energy policy on automakers

• China is to consider temporarily easing clean energy vehicle quotas to reduce the burden on automakers badly affected by the coronavirus.
• There are also plans to delay implementation of new emissions standards by six months. (Auto blog)
• The State council announced on Tuesday an extension of rebates on EVs for a further two years but is now discussing potentially reducing incentives by 10% in late 2020. They may also reduce the number of cars that qualify for the discounts. (Bloomberg)
• The Chinese auto market saw demand fall 79% in February with expectations of a further 10% fall in sales for H1’20.
• The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling back fuel standards introduced under Barack Obama. (CNN)
• The rule reduces the amount emissions standards must increase by each year from 5% to 1.5%. The move will affect mileage standards until 2026.
• The new standards will increase to 40.4 miles per gallon by vehicle model year 2026, 6 miles per gallon fewer than the 2012 rule.
• The administration promised the legislation would lower the average price of new vehicles by $1000. However, the EPAs own research shows consumer would end up losing money by having to purchase more fuel. (Inside Hook).

 

UPS partnership to optimise EV fleet charging (Business Green)

• UPS is teaming up with UK Power Networks (UKPN), Innovate UK and Cross River Partnerships to optimise EV fleet charging.
• The trial is led by UKPN alongside energy storage specialist Moixa.
• From May UPS electric delivery vehicles working out of their Camden depot will be charged using Moixa’s GridShare AI software to optimise when charging takes place, preferably at times of lowest demand.
• Utilizing data collected from the project the firms involved hope to optimise charging for when electricity is cheapest and greenest.

 

Company News

 Ariana Resources* (AAU LN) 3p, Mkt Cap £31.3m – Sample results from Kepez North

• Ariana Resources has announced results from a programme of rock-saw channel sampling undertaken over the Kepez North prospect area, located some 14km by road from the company’s 50% owned Kiziltepe mine within its Red Rabbit joint-venture area with Proccea.
• A total of 91 samples covering 157.7m were obtained from 16 separate outcrops across approximately 450m of strike on the Kepez North vein system. Among the highlighted results from the programme are:
  • A 14.2m long sample averaging 10.77g/t gold and 92.9g/t silver in sample 5; and
  • A 110.0m long sample averaging 11.45g/t gold and 72.8g/t silver in sample 6; and
  • A 4.0m long sample averaging 3.64g/t gold and 33.5g/t silver in sample 8
• The Kepez area already has a relatively small JORC compliant indicated resource of 60,000t at an average grade of 4.61g/t gold and 34.7g/t silver and the company describes the objective of the new sampling campaign as being ʺto confirm and add confidence to significant historic results, in addition to extending the data beyond the current grid to close-off the footprint of the mineralised scree material. Results from this latest phase of work provided excellent correlations with the historic data.ʺ

• Explaining that ʺThis additional work at Kepez was required in order to confirm our resource estimation at this important, high-grade satellite for the Kiziltepe processing plantʺ Managing Director, Dr. Kerim Sener, confirmed that ʺThe in-situ grades and the widths of mineralisation reported add significant confidence to earlier work and will result in a more robust mineral resource estimate. We envisage this area being developed as a series of shallow open-pits producing ore which will be trucked approximately 14km to the Kiziltepe plant for processing.”

Conclusion: The additional work at Kepez North confirms its potential as a modest-sized  high-grade satellite source of ore feed for Kiziltepe. We look forward to a revised mineral resource estimate for an insight into the additional scale of the mineralisation.

*An SP Angel mining analyst has visited Ariana’s licenses in Turkey

 

Bushveld Minerals* (BMN LN)  9.3p, Mkt cap £107m – Invinity (redT/Avalon) raises a further £7.9m to roll out VRFB developments

• Bushveld Minerals reports shareholder approval has been received for the merger of redT and Avalon Battery Corporation
• The new group will be called Invinity Energy Systems plc which has raised £7.9m through an equity placing at 1.65p
• The combined group will have a leading position in the development and deployment of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries in Europe, the US, Sub-Sahara Africa and Asia.
• Bushveld will supply vanadium electrolyte to Invinity through its existing Vanadium Financing Partnership with redT for its battery system developments. We expect these battery developments to be owned by third-parties with lease finance used to pay for the cost of the vanadium electrolyte.
• Bushveld is supporting the deal through the conversion of their existing $5m convertible loan to Avalon which will convert into shares in the combined group.
• Bushveld has a right to nominate a director to the Board of Invinity for a 5% stake in the first year and 10% in the second year plus the right for a second director if Bushveld holds a 20% stake in Invinity

Conclusion:  There is increasing news supporting the development of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries ‘VRFB’ in the US, UK, Europe and S Africa. 

We expect Bushveld’s Vanadium Investment Program to support the roll-out of VRFB technology and for Bushveld’s vanadium electrolyte lease-finance structure to support the cost of buying vanadium electrolyte for the batteries.

The future development of VRFB batteries should in time support the expansion of Bushveld’s primary vanadium production beyond that supported by growth in the use of vanadium for hardening steel in China and India.

China and India accounted for 1.1bnt (59%) of steel production last year and are subject to increasing compliance in the addition of vanadium for hardening steel.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and broker to Bushveld Minerals

 

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) 0.2p, Mkt Cap £1.3m – American institution invests £600,000

• Tertiary Minerals reports that the US based Precious Metals Capital Group has invested £600,000 ʺto fund ongoing exploration once the recently announced exploration programmes at the Pyramid Gold and Paymaster Polymetallic Projects in Nevada are completed and to ensure that the Company has sufficient working capital for the foreseeable duration of the Covid-19 pandemic.ʺ
• ʺThe placing will be made by the Subscriber by way of prepayment for Company shares to be issued, at the Subscriber's request, within 24 months of the date of the placing. A further investment may be made by the Subscriber within 12 months after the date of this placement, but only with the consent of the Company, in the amount not exceeding an additional £600,000, by way of prepayment for shares to be issued, at the Subscriber's request, within 24 months following the date of such subsequent placement.ʺ
• The shares will be issued at either 95% of the VWAP over the five days preceding the issue or at a price of ʺ£0.0042, being an approximately 133% premium to the Company's share price on 1 April 2020.ʺ
• Tertiary Minerals has also announced that the agreement for the issue of convertible securities with the Bergen Global Opportunity Fund ʺhas been terminated by the parties by mutual consent, effective as of 1 April 2020. Following the termination, no further funding will be provided to the Company under the Agreementʺ.
• Managing Director, Richard Clemmey welcomed the investment from Precious Metals Capital saying that ʺthe funding will further strengthen the company's cash position and provide additional working capital during these uncertain times as well as enable the Company to continue with the planned exploration on its Paymaster Polymetallic and Pyramid Gold Projects in Nevada."
• Mr. Clemmey also expressed appreciation to ʺthe team at Bergen for their support." 

Conclusion:  The support of a specialist US based investment institution provides important funding and an endorsement of the merits of the company’s metals exploration projects in Nevada.

*SP Angel act as Nomad and broker to Tertiary Minerals

 

SP Angel Healthcare team - Vadim Alexandre, Liam Gascoigne-Cohen

Smith and Nephew to build OxVent ventilators

• Medtech multinational, Smith & Nephew (SN.L), announced it will be manufacturing a new ventilator device once it receives approval by the UK regulator. 
• The OxVent ventilator is the result of a collaboration between the University of Oxford, King’s College London and Smith & Nephew and is currently under review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).
• If approved Smith & Nephew is prepared to begin manufacture of the OxVent ventilator at its site in Hull, UK.

Ventilators are expected to be in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a small subset of COVID-19 patients will develop viral pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is a critical condition whereby infection spreads into parts of the lung involved in gas exchange, provoking a damaging immune response. This can lead to respiratory failure and mechanical ventilators, such as those developed by OxVent, can assist these patients in breathing. New ventilators, such as OxVent, utilise 3D printing and off the shelf components. Although not complex devices, ventilators need to be reliable as any malfunction can quickly lead to a patient’s death. Manufacturers and regulators need to be mindful of this given the demand and speed at which new devices are being developed and tested. 

 

Avacta (AVCT.L) Trading update and £2m subscription 

Share price: 21.3p; Market Capitalisation: £37.4m

• Avacta, the developer of ‘Affimer®’ technology, small proteins which mimic the properties of antibodies, announced a trading update and a £2m subscription.
• The £2m subscription was completed at 18p (a 15% discount to the previous days close) via two high net worth investors.
• The net proceeds are intended to support company objectives including initiating first-in-man trials for the Group’s preCISION chemotherapy programme, secure further drug development partnerships and growing the diagnostics reagents business.  
• Avacta had £8.7m in cash at 31 December 2019 with the Group’s agreements with LG Chem, ADC Therapeutics, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals expected to fund the related R&D activities. 

The £2m subscription was a prudent move given the continued disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Group expects the COVID-19 pandemic to not materially affect revenues but there may be an impact in clinical trials timelines.  We are seeing many trials being halted due to the risk of COVID-19 to vulnerable patients and the reprioritising of healthcare staff

 

Special Situations / Technology - Tania Maciver

Private placement - Roto VR™ announced the successful completion of a fundraise for £1.5m by SP Angel

• The £1.5m fundraise was completed with support from a group of investors, led by Pembroke VCT, TVB Growth fund and Jenson Solutions. The funds are to be used for the commercial launch of the Company’s RotoVR Chair for in-home and office use, as well as the out-of-home market, such as cinemas and arcades, as well as for the related product development to support Roto VR’s growth strategy
• Founded in March 2015 Roto VR™ Ltd. was established with the goal of improving virtual reality (VR) experiences for users in an effort to establish widespread adoption of VR technologies. Roto VR has produced the world’s first interactive VR chair. which overcomes many of the technical issues that have constrained the growth of the VR market, such as tangled cables, motion sickness and unhindered locomotion.
• OUTLOOK: After 4 years of development the company started to deliver to its pre-order customers and has received 5-star reviews for the RotoVR Chair and its customer service support. There are currently no direct competitors to Roto VR. The closest are traditional gaming chairs, home racing chairs and arcade motion simulators, none of which come close to providing the functionality embedded in the RotoVR Chair.
• Notably worldwide spending on VR is expected to reach US$18.8bn in 2020, with much of the industry growth being driven by easier-to-use headsets and related accessories at accsssible price-points, as well as by increased availability of VR content. Roto VR is currently still able to manufacture and deliver product, despite the disruptions from the COVID-19 social distancing programs in place. We believe there is an unexpected opportunity for increased market penetration in this current market, with many ordered to stay at home.

 

 

Analysts

John Meyer – 0203 470 0490

Simon Beardsmore – 0203 470 0484

Sergey Raevskiy – 0203 470 0474

 

Sales

Richard Parlons – 0203 470 0472

Abigail Wayne – 0203 470 0534

Rob Rees – 0203 470 0535

 

SP Angel                                                            

Prince Frederick House

35-39 Maddox Street London

W1S 2PP

 

*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)

+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.

 



Sources of commodity prices
Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver	BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London)
Gold ETFs, Steel	Bloomberg
Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt	LME
Oil Brent	ICE
Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore	NYMEX
Thermal Coal	Bloomberg OTC Composite
Coking Coal	SSY
RRE	Steelhome
Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Antimony	Asian Metal
Tungsten	Metal Bulletin

 

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