JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Indonesian consortium bidding for Australian miner Finders has extended its offer period to January 19, to allow the takeover target to clarify a number of “misleading” statements in the target statement.
The target statement, which Finders sent to shareholders on December 5, is used to assist shareholders to make a decision about the A$0.23 a share offer.
Eastern Field Developments Limited (EFDL) has taken particular issue with the manner in which the target statement deals with production at the Wetar copper mine, in Indonesia, the consortium said in a letter addressed to Finders shareholders.
It lists four production downgrades that Finders has announced in the last three months and notes that the Wetar plant has not yet operated at its nameplate capacity for an entire quarter.
The target statement notes that production will be at the lower end of the 4 000 t to 5 000 t range in the December quarter, but that production will return to the June 2017 quarter rates during the March 2018 quarter and to nameplate capacity thereafter.
“EFDL will be requesting Finders to explain why Finders considers that production for the March 2018 quarter will reach 6 800 t when the reprocessing of the slow leaching dump leached material is not completed and the impact of the lower grades and slower leaching properties of such materials will continue to affect 2018 production,” the consortium stated.
Finders has issued a production guidance of 28 000 t for 2017, but it is now expected to be only 23 230 t.
EFDL had total voting power in Finders of 19.84% on December 12.
Finders has repeatedly urged shareholders not to accept the offer.