Last checked at 
22 Jan 2015 07:00
BAKER STEEL RESOURCES TRUST LIMITED
(Incorporated in Guernsey with registered number 51576 under the provisions of The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 as amended)
22 January 2015
31 December 2014 Unaudited NAV Statement
Net Asset Value
Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited (the "Company") announces its unaudited net asset value per share at 31 December 2014:
Net asset value per Ordinary Share: 44.9 pence
Since 28 November 2014, the NAV per share has decreased by 3.4% largely due to a fall in the share price of Metals Exploration on the AIM market and further write downs in the carrying values of Ironstone Resources Limited ("Ironstone") and Ferrous Resources Limited ("Ferrous") reflecting continued weakness in the prices of listed iron ore shares.
At 31 December 2014, the Company had a total of 71,703,776 Ordinary Shares in issue.
Update on Potential Acquisitions and Issue of Equity
The Board reconfirms its intention to proceed with the proposals for the acquisition of certain assets in exchange for equity, and the issue of new equity for cash, as outlined in the Company's announcement of 10 November 2014 and the Company remains on course to issue a shareholder circular and prospectus during January 2015 in this regard. The valuation process of this unaudited NAV has been, and the valuation process of the NAV on completion of the proposed transaction will be, reviewed by Grant Thornton.
Portfolio Update
Notwithstanding the additional review at the end of the November 2014, the Company has carried out its normal year end review of general market movements in mining equities, as well as specific factors, and an assessment of whether these should impact the carrying values of its unlisted holdings. In order to quantify how the share price of a particular unlisted stock might have moved during the period had it been listed, the Investment Manager maintains an index of comparable listed companies for each unlisted investment.
Due to the continued deterioration in the prices of iron ore stocks, the carrying value of Ironstone has been written down by a further 13% in December, resulting in a 72% write down for the year and Ferrous has been written down by a further 35% in December, resulting in a 65% write down for the year.
The Company is fully invested with top 10 investments as follows as a percentage of NAV:
Black Pearl Limited Partnership | 20.1% | |
Polar Silver Resources Ltd | 17.2% | |
Bilboes Gold Limited | 14.5% | |
Ivanhoe Mines Limited | 10.1% | |
Gobi Coal & Energy Limited | 8.5% | |
Metals Exploration plc | 8.1% | |
Global Oil Shale Group plc | 6.6% | |
China Polymetallic Mining Limited | 5.0% | |
Ironstone Resources Limited | 4.7% | |
Ferrous Resources Limited | 3.0% | |
Other Investments | 2.8% | |
Net Cash, Equivalents and Accruals | -0.6% | |
Investment Update
Black Pearl Limited Partnership ("Black Pearl")
The Black Pearl management team has reported that the Black Pearl iron ore beach sands project received its export permit at the beginning of December 2014, a new requirement following changes to the Indonesian Mining Regulations in January 2014. Following receipt of the permit, the first shipment of concentrate product has been delivered to China.
The Company's investment is held via a convertible loan which was repayable in November 2014, however it has been agreed for the term of the loan to be extended by four months to March 2015 in return for an increase in the interest rate payable from 20% to 25%, backdated to the beginning of the term of the loan.
Ivanhoe Mines Limited ("Ivanhoe")
On 8 January 2015, Ivanhoe announced the results of the pre-feasibility study ("PFS") into the development of its Platreef platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+AU), nickel and copper project in South Africa. The findings of the PFS are broadly in line with the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") released in March 2014, and a positive development is the reduction in pre-production capital cost of the project from US$1.5bn to US$1.2bn including contingencies.
The PFS covers the first phase of the mine to produce 433,000 ounces of 3PE+AU with 31 million pounds of nickel and copper per annum. The PEA envisaged two further development phases, ultimately raising production to 1.1 million ounces of 3PE+AU per annum.
Further details of the Company and its investments are available on the Company's website www.bakersteelresourcestrust.com
Enquiries:
Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited +44 20 7389 8237
Francis JohnstoneTrevor Steel
Numis Securities Limited +44 20 7260 1000
David Benda (corporate)
James Glass (sales)
The Net Asset Value ("NAV") figure stated is based on unaudited estimated valuations of the underlying investments and not necessarily based on observable inputs. Such estimates are not subject to any independent verification or other due diligence and may not comply with generally accepted accounting practices or other generally accepted valuation principles. In addition, some estimated valuations are based on the latest available information which may relate to some time before the date set out above.
Accordingly, no reliance should be placed on such estimated valuations and they should only be taken as an indicative guide. Other risk factors which may be relevant to the NAV figure is set out in the Company's Prospectus dated 31 March 2010.