Post by
mrmomo on Jul 28, 2021 11:29am
Trigon Metals Vs Deep South....
With all the drama that's been occuring in Namibia recently, specifically Deep South's situation there, i was wondering how others operating in that area are getting by? I see some folks here have mentioned Trigon Metals several times as one who seems to be experiencing NO ISSUES with the Namibian Gov't and SEEMS to be doing OK as far as license & operations go. As i wasn't very familiar with the company, i had to get in touch & discuss the matter with people much more informed & knowledgeable than i (and i'm no slouch btw on these issues 8) concerning both Trigon & Namibia. What was revealed & talked about was........VERY interesting.
If investors don't actually follow the politics in a certain area, especially unstable third world juridications like Africa, they will never REALLY know what is going on and what mining companies have to put up with or compromise with local Gov't in order to have a SMOOTH process to operate there. Since we are specfically targeting & speaking about Namibia, i will focus just on this country. As it was pretty obvious (at least to those investors who were either perceptive, experienced or knowledgeable enough) what the Namibian Gov't was attempting to do to Deep South, this will not be in question. We know what is happening here. What is in question though, is why only Deep South (for now) and not others like Trigon?
During my conversations with my "friends & acquaintances" about this subject, there were some interesting "revelations" regarding Trigon situation. I was made to understand that in order for Trigon to receive their licence or renwal for their property in Namibia, they had to make some "material' changes or additions to both the board & mgmt team of the company. In essence, Trigon was "ecouraged" by the Namibian Gov't to appoint several "miniority' (meaning black here) members to the bod & mgmt. If the company did not comply with this directive, they would NOT receive the licence or the renewal. After only a few months of complying with their demands, Trigon received their licence renewal for the property. Though this was quite informative & interesting BUT not surprising......something didn't add up here. For those that don't understand where i'm going with this or probably dont know, let me explain a bit further.
You see folks, what doesn't add up is this. Deep South ALREADY had a decent amount of "African" officers in the company. In addition, these managers are actual native Namibians not any run of the mill Africans like at Trigon. What's even more crazy, is that Deep South even has a minority ownership of shares of about 20% held by Namibians. So something didn't really add up as to why Deep South was targeted and not Trigon......until you look at the actual ownership of the property itself. You see my friends, it seems that having some Namibian or black officers in the company isn't enough anymore for ANY foreign company to operate or hold on to its assets in Namibia. The Namibian Gov't wants (demands) a significant minority ownership, and as Ypenewpappy mentions.....without having to fork over the money to acquire it. They want it for free or at the foreign company's expense. Basically the "cost of doing business" for having the privelege to operate there.
That's more or less the reason for the shakedown at Deep South. The Namibian Gov't seeing that Deep South had 100% of Haib, probably weren't too happy and with rising copper prices making it a VERY valuable asset decided to make life difficult for DSM mgmt. This is why Deep South is getting a shakedown and why the Namibian Gov't is trying to remove the company from the asset AND Trigon is being left alone. Remember folks, Trigon ONLY 80% of their asset, the remaing 20% is owned by the Namibian Gov't or those close to it. And as mentioned earlier, Trigon was also at risk of losing their own license IF they didn't make those mgmt changes that were demanded by the Namibian Gov't.
So before people go ahead and start quoting why OTHERS are doing great mining in Namibia compared to DSM, please get your facts straight by getting informed on what they had to actualy do or give up be in that position.
Good luck & God speed
Comment by
Yepnewpapy on Jul 28, 2021 1:13pm
mrmomo Excellent comments 2 scenarios #1 DSM offer to the Ministry of Mines and Energy 20-30% of interest in the Haib license (EPL 3140) without any financial contribution #2 Ministry already have a deal with other company This scenario generally involved back door money, expensive diner, trip to South Africa for shopping, new car, new house etc..... Time will tell