Vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals (Bushveld) is being put into liquidation and will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market where its share price has crashed from around 30p five years ago to the current 0.3p.
This follows a decision by the Bushveld board of directors that Bushveld “has liabilities due that it cannot pay and does not have the means to continue to operate.”
As a result of the decision to put the company into liquidation Bushveld’s Nomad (nominated advisor) SP Angel Corporate Finance said it intends resigning its position. AIM rules are that if a replacement Nomad is not appointed within one month Bushveld’s listing on AIM will be cancelled.
The Bushveld directors stated, “the company has no current intention of appointing a replacement nominated advisor.”
Bushveld’s demise is the end-result of years of operating problems coupled with falling vanadium prices and its inability to raise the funding required to keep going. Founding CEO Fortune Mojapelo was replaced in June 2023 by former De Beers CFO Craig Coltman.
Coltman was unable to pull off a financial restructuring that would save the company after running into problems with deals to raise additional funds from backers Acacia Resources and Southern Point Resources. He warned in April last year that Bushveld was “staring into the abyss.”
Bushveld went into business rescue in November, but a statement released last week said “the publication of the business rescue plan has now been delayed to mid-April and the Vametco mining and plant operations are not yet back on stream as previously expected by the end of the first quarter 2025.”
Bushveld added “having discussed matters with the joint business rescue practitioners, the most likely outcome of the business rescue proceedings will be a sale of the South African entities.
“In the event of a sale the likely realisations made will flow solely to the Bushveld’s secured creditors with no benefit being received by the company.”
