TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The stock of beleaguered plant nutrients producer MBAC Fertilisers on Friday ended the week up 128.57% on the TSX, following a midweek corporate update.
MBAC, which placed its Brazilian flagship Itafós mine on care and maintenance in December owing to a soft seasonal single super phosphate (SSP) market, on Wednesday announced that in response to its strategic review process it had received nonbinding indicative offers and expressions of interest from several third-parties, most of which were active in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors.
These third-parties were currently completing their due diligence on MBAC's assets and were expected to submit binding proposals in the second quarter.
The company’s stock price rose 114.29% to C$0.075 on Thursday following the announcement.
MBAC had been dealing with lower-than-expected working capital levels, restricting it to buy consumables and spare parts, which caused interruptions, delays and operational inefficiencies.
These setbacks climaxed in a slower-than-expected ramp-up and reduced output at the Itafós project, resulting in the company being unable to declare commercial production, originally pencilled in for the second quarter.
MBAC’s outstanding loans were originally incurred to build the Itafós operations and start SSP production.
The company advised that once it had received the binding proposals, it would evaluate the relative benefits of each in consultation with its financial adviser, Deutsche Bank, and its senior lenders to identify which was in the best interests of its existing stakeholders.
MBAC was considering either securing a strategic partner or selling the company or its assets, as well as other potential value-enhancing transactions.
The company would re-evaluate operations once fertiliser demand had increased and it had strengthened its working capital position in the coming months.
Meanwhile, MBAC had reached an agreement with its auditors on the amounts required to complete the 2014 year-end audit. It had now secured the funds required to cover auditing expenses and the company expected to complete the filing before the end of this month.
MBAC's TSX-listed stock on Friday closed at C$0.08 apiece.