RE:ValuationLooking at a 20 year stock chart of NSU can really put things into perspective....
between the years of 1996-1997 ...NSU traded $8.00 USD per share.... (This was Before any mining took place). Nsu shares then, surpassed our current share price and our market cap today by a huge margin....and this was just due to the high grade mine at Bisha at the time ...no mining activities had begun yet in 1996-97. Everything was just being discovered at the time...much like Timok is now.
fast forward 10 years....
between 2006 -2007 Nsu shares were trading at $3.50 usd per share. This was pre financing, pre mining, and pre global financing crash of 2008-2009... When they're was a shroud of doubt as to whether or not NSU could get the financing necessary to start mining Bisha. That $3.50 usd share price back then , still surpasses our current valuation and NSU is a profitable, dividend paying mine today. (Although during that same period the stock had a 52 week low of $0.60).
fast forward 5 years..
between 2011-2012... The NSU share price trades over $6 usd per share... At this time Gold markets are surging and NSU is flush with gold during this phase of the mine extraction.
fast forward 4 years
In 2016-... Nsu was paying out a 5% dividend, has no debt, and had over $400 million in cash.
in mid 2016 ...NSU announces the acquisition of Resevoir Minerals, ( who owns a super high grade mine that for all intense and purposes is an accretive deal for NSU shareholders. They pay for it partly in cash and by issuing 100 million new shares...
Fast forward to 2017...
ever since the RMC acquisition ...NSU stock has been in free fall.... Nsu management cut the dividend .... The timing couldn't have been more bad...no warning given ...and it came at the same time as they were working to resolve their copper recovery issues that were impacting earnings....(but NSU was still posting profitable quarters)...
So what is a shareholder in NSU to think?
clearly , from an operational point of view, NSU management have done a great job. They've consitntly delivered on time and on budget, gold, copper, and zinc production and facilities.
nsu management also deserve great credit, for getting the financing they needed to start the Bisha mine back in 2009 during a global banking crisis where money was scarce.
nsu management also deserve gratitude for paying their shareholders a great dividend over the last couple of years... As a long time share holder I really appreciated it, however, the timing of the cut of the dividend was done in poor taste and timing. Mr. Cliff Davis, months before had said that the dividend was core to NSU shareholder... And it was... To go and cut it at the time of difficulty was a very poor decision.
why not wait to cut the dividend in September 2017 , when all the dust is settled and you have the knowledge of what's in the upper and lower zones of Timok?!?!?!?!?!?
Lastly, with all the good NSU mgmt was able to accomplish ... The stock never got the support in terms of share price appreciation. NSU mgmt really failed every shareholder when it comes to return on investment.
And the proof is visible... 10 years ago NSU was worth more.... ? Now how could that be????considering all the ups and downs we have traded through...?
fundementally speaking, NSU is in terrific shape... It's balance sheet and its assets are amazing....Its probably the best mid tier miner in the world.
basically, what I'm trying to say is.... If it weren't for the market manipulators ... (With their bogus and unproven W5 documentary , and their Eritrean lawsuits fairy tales...) this stock price would be much much much higher today.
Hopefully justice will prevail and those accountable for the demise of this stock price will be put in jail, and their own funds liquidated to pay back the investors they defrauded all these years!!!!