african minerals appears to be upping its stake - possible takeover / offer?

Cool! bring it on ! been in BAO since 10.5p

Baobab has drilled close to 40,000 metres so far this year and will probably finish up at around 50,000 metres by the end of 2011. To achieve these rates of productivity, the company has had up to eight rigs turning across the project.



Baobab Resources (LON:BAO) said its latest drilling results underline the quality and scale of its iron ore project in the Tete region of Mozambique.

The data from the Ruoni South deposit returned some significant drill intercepts, including one 136 metre section at 32 per cent iron ore, giving a Davis Tube Recovery grade of 64 per cent.

Also contained in this sample were 1 per cent vanadium oxide and 5 per cent titanium dioxide.

The Tete project splits into two distinct parts the Singore area and directly to the north of this, the Massamba Group.

Massamba can then be split into a number of target areas - Chitongue Grande, Chimbala, the Tenge-Ruoni prospect and finally the rather blandly named South Zone.

A JORC resource estimates for Ruoni and Chitongue Grande Extensions are nearing completion with Ruoni South expected by the end of November, the company said.

Chief executive Ben James said: "The latest round of Ruoni South Davis Tube Recovery results underlines the quality and potential scale of the deposit.

Baobab will be keeping investors up to date as additional results become available."

Ruoni South is part of the Massamba Group iron ore, vanadium and titanium project, which currently has a 160 million tonne resource.

The company said it is confident of lifting this figure to 300 million tonnes by the year-end significant milestone in terms of the projects economics.

Drilling is progressing steadily on the Tenge prospect, which is reported to have outlined substantial zones of strong mineralisation. First analytical results are expected during December, the company added.

Baobab has drilled close to 40,000 metres so far this year and will probably finish up at around 50,000 metres by the end of 2011. To achieve these rates of productivity, the company has had up to eight rigs turning across the project.

Separately, Baobab said the compilation of a scoping study on the project is at an advanced stage with preliminary results expected in the latter half of November.

The plan in the next three-and-a-half to four years is to create an operation that will initially export magnetite and an increasingly more profitable ilmenite (titanium) concentrate.

It will then move into the production of pig iron using well established rotary hearth furnace technology successfully employed in South Africa and New Zealand.

The capital costs of such a project are substantial, at anywhere between US$500-US$750 million, but off-set by the staggering revenue potential of pig iron, magnetite and ilmenite concentrate production.

When compared to some of the iron ore projects planned for West Africa that require a huge investment in infrastructure, Baobabs Tete project looks much more affordable.

Baobab has cash in the bank to see them through to year end and beyond, with plenty of funding options going forward including an untapped US$23 million (15 million) equity drawdown facility.

Investors have been treated to a roller coaster ride this year as the stock topped 50 pence in the spring. It is trading at 20 pence today, valuing Baobab at just 38 million.

But you get a lot of bang for your buck at that price, with one analysts suggesting the stock is worth as much as 1. We are the dress circle of Mozambique, James said in a recent interview with Proactive Investors.

We have two of the worlds largest mining companies in Vale and Rio immediately south of us, and we have some of the worlds largest steel producers.

In the next 10 years Tete is going to be an industrial and mining hub of global significance, producing up to 20 per cent of the worlds coking coal.

It is not going to be a sleepy little backwater on the Zambezi. Baobab is positioning itself to become a cornerstone player in Mozambiques integrated iron and steel sector.

KEEP an EYE

15.75 / 16p +1.125p

on the way up today with lots of buying and some paying premium, has had a large retracement after reaching 23p last time.
small spread and good Level 2 of 3 v 1

BAO has good grades of Vanadium

Vanadium miners ready, hoping for green tech boom - By: Reuters - 10th November 2011

TORONTO A little-known metal used in steelmaking could emerge as a game-changer for battery technology, raising the prospect of an investment boom like the one that lifted rare earths out of obscurity last year.

Electric cars fueled by vanadium could one day travel hundreds of miles on a six-minute charge, while renewable energy sources like wind and solar could use vanadium batteries to rival coal in terms of reliability. The technology could boost demand for the metal by more than 35% in the next two or three years, analysts say.

"The potential to make vanadium into a multi-billion dollar metal resides in the battery business, and in particular in the energy storage business," said Chris Berry, founder of House Mountain Partners, a research firm based in New York.

Vanadium's special attributes have been known for decades. In small quantities it can double the strength of steel, and Henry Ford used it to build his Model T, a car that revolutionized the auto industry.

The metal is also a critical additive for modern construction, and there is no substitute for it in making alloys used by the aerospace industry.

But its potential in energy storage really makes vanadium interesting. Vanadium flow batteries charge in a flash, their capacity expands and they last for decades.

The batteries have been around since the 1980s, but there are only a few examples of the technology in a commercial setting. The battery is bigger than in other mass storage systems, and also more expensive, at least for now.

That may change if the early scramble to secure a stable supply of vanadium gains traction, much like the recent dash to find new sources of rare earths, the 17 metals that go into products as diverse as Apple iPhones and Toyota's Prius cars.

"Vanadium has all that rare earth-type opportunity, yet it has a very stable base on the steel-strengthening side," said American Vanadium CE Bill Radvak. "It's just about to take off in the next year or two."

That bodes well for the small Canadian miner and the handful of other companies that specialize in mining the metal. American Vanadium, Largo Resources, Apella Resources and Energizer Resources are developing deposits around the world.

The stocks have retreated along with the broader market, but analysts say the group could catch a wave if investors latch on to the growth story that many see in the offing.

"You're seeing dollars flow into this technology, so there is some good promise in it going forward," said Jonathan Lee, an analyst with Byron Capital Markets. "In the long term, the demand will rise."

GOING GREEN

Renewable energy like solar and wind are becoming part of the power mix as nations look to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but power generation depends on favorable weather.

Mass storage batteries such as the vanadium redox flow battery can help by capturing the energy as it is generated, storing it and releasing it as needed.

China is investing heavily in the technology. Prudent Energy recently raised $30-million to try to reduce the cost of its vanadium battery systems, while China Strategic Holding is spending nearly $300-million to build the world's largest vanadium battery, according to industry reports.

"Once you get energy storage into the whole smart grid technology, it can largely reduce the cost and lead to the faster implementation," said Liyu Li, a chemist with the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

"With just a little more work, the battery could potentially increase the use of wind, solar and other renewable power sources," said Li. "But we need to make sure the cost is acceptable compared with other technologies."

VOLATILE PRICES

At present, vanadium prices tend to surge when steel demand is high and plummet during economic downturns. The volatility is a major deterrent for battery producers.

This has American Vanadium, which owns the Gibellini deposit in Nevada, thinking outside the box.

The company wants to partner with battery makers rather than simply selling them raw vanadium, offering the battery maker a supply at a set price, and giving miner a percentage of the higher-value battery products.

"We're putting ourselves out there as the domestic, secure supply," said Radvak. "We really want to work with the battery companies to capitalize on that, it's a value-added product."

Analysts estimate demand for vanadium in mass storage and electric vehicle batteries will hit about 20 000 t a year by 2014. Steelmaking and aerospace demand is expected to grow from about 60 000 t to 70 000 t in the same period.

With current production dominated by China, Russia and South Africa, securing vanadium supply in the Americas has become a focus for end users.

Largo has signed an off-take deal with Glencore , where Glencore can buy all the vanadium it produces at its Maracas deposit in Brazil for six years.

"From a North American perspective, we are almost 100 percent dependent on imports of vanadium," said Berry. "If you can't access the raw material, then the supply chain doesn't exist."

DRIVING CHANGE

The dream for the future centers on using the supercharger metal to change the game for electric cars, much as the vanadium-using Model T changed the auto sector.

"People are worried about how fast can they charge batteries," said Lee. "One of the benefits of the vanadium phosphate battery is that it can charge and discharge more quickly than others."

German start-up DBM Energy has made a lithium vanadium car battery that it says can travel more than 600 kilometers on a single charge and recharge in just six minutes from a 240-volt source.

That means an electric car would charge in around the time it takes to fill up a conventional vehicle with gasoline.

By comparison, the current front-runner in electric vehicles is GM's Chevrolet Volt, which has a city driving range of 80 kilometers and takes about four hours to charge from a 240-volt source.

But the vanadium car battery technology has not been proven on a commercial level, and if rival batteries using cheaper metals can achieve similar results, vanadium batteries would no longer have any advantage, say analysts.

Still, car-makers like BYD and Subaru have plans to produce electric vehicles using vanadium batteries.

"It's still quite aways away, but there is growth potential there," said Lee. "As supply comes on line, you'll see a lot more companies look at using vanadium."

Another good move up today now 16.75 / 17.50p +0.625p

spread 14 / 14.50p

Signs on the chart and Level 2 of wanting to go higher from here. Lots of buying on bigger size and earlier paying premium.

Marked down at the start with the market, level 2 of 2 v 1

If finishing higher than the opening price the candlestick ( hammer ) would be bullish for the chart

as money am charts are allways behind here are others on time

Baobab makes the grade in Mozambique
By Mark Robinson, 24 November 2011


SHARE TIP
Baobab Resources PLC (uk:BAO)
SPECULATIVE
HIGH RISK
Bull points
Established infrastructure
Reliable power access
High ore grades
'First-mover' status
Bear points
Risk of political instability
High capital expenditure
Think of Southern Africa's producers of bulk commodities, and it's unlikely that Mozambique would readily spring to mind. But a small Aim-traded miner with big ambitions is seeking to change all that.
Baobab Resources has achieved 'first-mover' status in Mozambique through four prospects in the central-north of the country. Mozambique's mineral profile was previously woefully inadequate, partly because in large parts of the country almost no modern exploration techniques had been deployed, but also because the mining industry was held back by two decades of civil war. The potential for political instability still presents a risk factor, but almost five years after joining Aim, Baobab has made significant headway towards establishing a commercial resource base and opportunities abound.
The main focus for the company is its flagship Tete iron ore project, which shares licence boundaries with two coal operations owned by Vale , Rio Tinto , and India's Tata Group . The proximity of these projects to Baobab's Tete project is hugely advantageous because port and rail links are already in place and there are substantial new infrastructure plans in development, including an upgrade in rail capacity and plans for a barge network down the Zambezi River. The Zambezi provides Baobab with access to reliable, low-tariff hydro-electric power a factor that can't be taken for granted on the 'Dark Continent'. The potential importance of the Tete project to the local economy can be gauged by the fact that the World Bank, in the form of its commercial arm the International Finance Corporation has entered into a strategic partnership with Baobab and has a 15 per cent stake in the project.
BAOBAB RESOURCES (BAO)
ORD PRICE: 14.38p MARKET VALUE: 27m
TOUCH: 14.25-14.5p 12-MONTH HIGH: 56p LOW: 10p
DIVIDEND YIELD: nil PE RATIO: na
NET ASSET VALUE: 2.6p NET CASH: 5.7m
Year to 30 Jun Turnover (m) Pre-tax profit (m) Earnings per share (p) Dividend per share (p)
2008 nil -2.19 -3.80 nil
2009 nil -1.55 -1.86 nil
2010 nil -1.96 -1.38 nil
2011 nil -6.06 -3.61 nil
2012* nil -2.46 -1.10 nil
% change - - - -
Normal market size:25,000
Matched bargain trading
Beta:1.46
*Estimates by Edison Investment Research
Baobab's managing director, Ben James, reckons that the company is "rapidly approaching a watershed in the development of the Tete project", because a pending resource statement from the Ruoni South prospect within Tete should ensure that Baobab will meet or exceed its 300m tonne iron ore resource target. An additional resource statement based on current work at the adjacent Tenge prospect is scheduled for release early next year, and Baobab anticipates that this will push its resource inventory well beyond the base requirements needed to secure investment and accelerate Tete towards the commercial planning stage. Baobab's next most advanced project is the Monte Muande magnetite phosphate deposit, located 25km northwest of Tete, with a 200m-250m tonne exploration target.

But unlocking Mozambique's mineral wealth won't come cheap. Mr James estimates a $500m (318m) capital expenditure bill for Tete alone, so Baobab's share in the project is likely to be diluted over time. The most direct route towards commercialisation would be to simply sell the proved assets at Tete, or perhaps bring in a partner with sufficient financial clout to see it through to production. Given the strong port and rail links already in place, and a short easterly sea-route to India, a prime candidate might be Tata Group, the world's seventh-largest steelmaker. Baobab has 5.7m in cash to progress Tete towards commercialisation, in addition to a 15m unused drawdown equity facility, so the company has sufficient resources to enable it to make a measured decision on the Tete resource when the time comes.
SHARE TIP SUMMARY:
It's also conceivable that Baobab itself could be subject to a takeover bid but, even without factoring in merger and acquisition activity, the company's valuation as a standalone entity is attractive. A recent conservative valuation by investment research provider Edison values the shares at 23.6p, around 60 per cent more than the current price, using a sector average price of $1.02 per tonne for its existing inferred resource of 267m tonnes of iron ore at a 29.4 per cent grade (Ruoni North actually averages 34.6 per cent). In other words, using a worst-case scenario that doesn't factor any further growth in Baobab's resource base (a highly unlikely scenario), the shares are trading almost 40 per cent below fair value estimates. Buy.
visible-status-Subscription-Only story-url-Baobab_TIP_181111.xml
Print this article
Share this article
0 Comments
Recommend 0

Further good news today and share price rise 15 / 15.50p +1.125p

TENGE DELIVERS 159Mt, EXPANDING GLOBAL RESOURCE INVENTORY TO 482Mt -- 5 MARCH 2012

Tenge adds 159m tonnes to Baobab's Tete resource base

Baobab Resources increased the resource base at its Tete iron/vanadium/titanium project in Mozambique tenfold in 2011.

Baobab started 2011 with a resource base of 48m tonnes and this had now increased to 482m tonnes - far outstripping the company's original 300Mt target.

Baobab said the Tenge prospect had added an additional 159m tonnes 'inferred' resource at a head grade of 38.4% Fe and an average concentrate grade of 60.4% Fe, 0.8% V2O5 and 12.5% TiO2 at a mass recovery of 47.6%.

Coffey Mining has been commissioned to complete an exploration target assessment of the resource potential underlying the 'Flats' area of Tenge/Ruoni.

Baobab managing director Ben James said: "The Tenge resource statement is the culmination of the 2011 drilling programme.

"Baobab started 2011 with a resource base of 48m tonnes and has increased it tenfold to 480m tonnes, far outstripping the company's original 300m tonnes target.

"The project has made the transition from one of exploration to one of development and is strategically located in the emerging mining hub of the Tete province, Mozambique, one of Africa's fastest developing economies, with unique access to existing and expanding power and infrastructure as well as abundant coal reserves."

DO they have funding to use these or are going to issue shares, etc?

ahoj

re - funding

Sure you will have to ask the management that, or what is their plans, to extract the findings or passed it on to a larger company.

In the meantime I play short term, so I did sell my punt soon after my post as the MMs were paying a very good premium to bid price ( above middle price ).

other reasons was SP over Higher bolinger Band, Indicators around the overbought territory and my % gain was on my target 20% ( not to bad for less than 3 weeks ( 17 February)

Hey guys, I found this link of an audio interview with Baobab Resources and wanted to share it with you guys.

Its well worth a click:

http://www.brrmedia.co.uk/event/98087/ben-james-managing-director

bao wow = dog

why don't you F*** off js8

there are a couple of Pissing Dogs on this thread >>> SHAME

I dipped my toe on the stock today, everything seems just right for the bounce from the bottom floor 7p now 8p

What worries me about Baobab etc with iron ore and coal at Tete -

Iron ore and coal are a low cost and high volume products to transport
I do not think there is a sustantial local market for iron ore or coal anywhere
near Tete
Steel could be made from coal, iron ore, and limestone if a blast furnace
could be built, then they could export steel from Tete perhaps
Tete iron ore would be competing with iron ore which is much closer to
user markets i.e Ukrane for Europe, Australia for China, etc
They would need to transport the iron ore or coal for miles to the coast

Maybe I need to study the economics of Tete deposits, but at the moment
I just do not see it ?

Is it like finding gold on the moon ? Have a look on a map and find Tete.

What worries me about Baobab etc with iron ore and coal at Tete -

Iron ore and coal are a low cost and high volume products to transport
I do not think there is a sustantial local market for iron ore or coal anywhere
near Tete
Steel could be made from coal, iron ore, and limestone if a blast furnace
could be built, then they could export steel from Tete perhaps
Tete iron ore would be competing with iron ore which is much closer to
user markets i.e Ukrane for Europe, Australia for China, etc
They would need to transport the iron ore or coal for miles to the coast

Maybe I need to study the economics of Tete deposits, but at the moment
I just do not see it ?

Is it like finding gold on the moon ? Have a look on a map and find Tete.

Audio interview with Ben James, Managing Director
Ben James, Managing Director gives an update on the final year results, forthcoming pre-feasability study and financing potential.

Click the link below to listen:

http://www.brrmedia.co.uk/event/106741/ben-james-managing-director

Audio interview with Ben James, Managing Director of Baobab Resources. The Company is very pleased to present the Ruoni Flats resource statement. Baobab is now able to realistically consider significantly larger production options at Tete, with the expanded 490Mt Tenge/Ruoni resource base sufficient on its own to underpin a 4Mtpa Pig Iron operation over an impressive life of mine of c.35 years
Click the link below to listen:
http://www.brrmedia.co.uk/event/107071/ben-james-managing-director

I suggest you sell now at 12.75p

I agree that pig iron production is the way to go from Tete.
But the economics of getting it to ? Asia, etc I really do not know.

I think Baobab was funded and floated to explore mainly old Portugese
mining operations in Mocambique. It seems that gem stones, copper
and nickel have not yet been commercially found as intended, and they
have switched operations into Tete, where it was already known their were
quantities of coal. Do know about iron ore.

Looks like they will need to transport pig iron across Malawi, where they
would need to construct some rail line and repair some, or down the Zambezi
"corridor" to Beira somehow. Either journey is a good distance to the Indian
Ocean coast. Then ship to markets, probably in Asia.

Interesting ambitions, but far too much of a long shot for me.
Share price seems to be dropping back now