With the maiden drill campaign at Turesi well on it way, the focus has been taken off management but with very little announced on the OHD front its time for a where the hell are the progress announcements keeping us up to date as per "
Updates on all the steps described in this particular announcement will be issued as they occur." https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20171026/pdf/43nldbdnpt9pjk.pdf
Also in the above announcement (26/10/17) GPP will build its own PDU and the design for the "Demonstration Plant" (20t per day) are basically complete with some aspects requiring further testing (currently in progress)
Firstly though, as much as we all want them to concentrate on Turesi they have an obligation to shareholders that bought into GPP for the OHD and/or the SOP projects bearing in mind that OHD was the principle activity before stumbling on Morabisi and only as recently as mid February in the "Half Yearly Accounts" the groups principal businesses still are:
1) the development of its CTL/OHD project
2) Morabisi
3) mineral exploration in the NT
Plus from the words of King:
"
Greenpower's OHD project is a major value driver for all shareholders and the company continues to be particularly busy behind the scenes piecing together the necessary jigsaw puzzle together that is required to bring a proven and tested product to market that is capable of disrupting both the agricultural and fertiliser markets. Whilst the company .................. (sic). 2018 is projected to be a watershed year for Greenpower's OHD project given the PDU startup, field grower trials and if the Commercial Plan support, the construction of the 20 tonne per day OHD plant."
And really what are they doing,
it isn't as if they are actually over in Guyana digging the holes is it!
One of the disappointments I have with management is their lack of responsibilities to their current and prospective shareholders alike whereas they do not instil much faith in their ability to deliver, specially on the OHD front. Any new investors can be caught out (I was one of them) with the exuberant headings and content of announcements that plainly doesn't materialise:
and we can start with the much anticipated PSF (now Commercial Plan) that had been slated to be completed as far back as the end of 2016 and in numerous quarterlies/half yearlies and yearly reports since.
I understand that a disruptive technology takes time and evolves but …….
(from announcement 26/10/17) “To prove the efficacy of the OHD process beyond laboratory level, in 2013, Thermaquatica built a “Process Demonstration Unit” (PDU) which has operated since converting coal to liquid...
Then we have all these reports/trial results pending/imminent/soon to be released and King did say they would keep market updated on ALL aspects as they occurred ….
Not forgetting a key item to have the PFS/Commercial Plan finalised:
The grant of the formal license is a key requirement to finalise the PFS --- this was 12
th May 17 announcement but the PFS was being sprouted as being completed end of 2016 / end of June 17 quarter/nearing completion (22nd June 17) then it changed to being reliant on the Market Scope (30th June 17)
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170512/pdf/43j6pvvqh9tdhg.pdf
Ooppps this dang Commercial Plan still isn’t finished, we nee an excuse, lets add……
March 2017 GPP engaged Metrix Consulting to carry out an assessment of the possible market in Australia (Marketing Study) for plant growth bio-stimulants (including all possible plants grown for commercial purposes) The Marketing Study will enable GPP to complete its Commercial Plan, the assessment was nearing completion and the final report is anticipated before the end of the current quarter… that current quarter was Oct 2017, its now mid May – meaning they have been assessing for over 12 months now – pffffft
But hidden in the same announcement was:
Studies on the logistics of product transport, siting of the main plant, manning and all economic aspects of the intended business need to be completed before the Commercial Plan can be finalised.
Enter Trench with the Announcement:
Project Management EXPERT appointed to Lead OHD COMMERCIALISATION but,
Trench’s job made easy: As per the announcement of his appointment, 11th August 17 https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170811/pdf/43lb8hslkvjrvz.pdf aspects of his job were supervising the sourcing of feedstock
a) coal: an announcement released 18th August 16 GPP had already determined the licence areas for the most suitable, accessible and geologically well defined area of the inferred lignite deposit that contains sufficient volume to supply foreseeable needs for the company’s CTL feedstock requirements – almost 12 months before his appointment.
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20160818/pdf/439dh8h69z2nr6.pdf
b) water/electricity/site: Discussions with the preferred infrastructure provider in the Latrobe Valley regarding the supply of coal, electricity, and water at one site where the OHD plant is proposed to be constructed were progressing well with a final decision to be made shortly. Announcement released 24th May 17 – 2 ½ months before his appointment.
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170525/pdf/43jh654k62s877.pdf
One wonders what progress he has made other than a trip to the USA with King to the Bio-stimulant conference and to meet with NREL in Denver to investigate alternative usages for OHD off-take, one would of thought that they would concentrate on actually making Bio-Stimulant prior to trying to garner off-take agreements!!!
Report from the 3 glasshouse and an incubation studies re:
Evaluation of fulvic-like products from lignite for horticulture & broad acre applications? Finished Nov 17
https://research.monash.edu/en/proj...-like-products-from-lignite-for-horticulture-
or the Evaluation of stressed weeds with herbicide/adjuvant/bio-stimulant blends? Finished 1stMarch 18
https://research.monash.edu/en/proj...ed-weeds-with-herbicideadjuvantbiostimulant-b
or the Treatment of stressed weed with herbicide/adjuvant and OHD liquor blends? Finished Feb 18
https://research.monash.edu/en/proj...d-weeds-with-herbicide-adjuvant-and-oxidative
Given the inbound interest in potential off-take and partnering the company has sort to promptly undertake OHD trials on Canola and Palm Oil plants.” - Results from the Canola and Palm Oil trials? - we all know they never happened or GPP haven’t had any inclination to say so or give any indication they were progressing well.
“The company is currently in discussions with international firms and national grower groups regarding off-take and partnering opportunities.” – these may still be ongoing, but if there was still interest and with GPP’s desire to add fluff to announcements then this would have been mentioned?
“The company in conjuncture with Monash is planning further trials to cover oil cereals with a focus on Canola and at the request of international parties Palm Oil – nothing showed on the Monash site.
Again, it is warranted to mention the failed CRC-P grant, not so much in the fact the application was rejected but more so in the company’s response to the ASX’s aware letter with their reply inferring that the failure of the grant would:
“The basis for GPP’s view is that for the reasons set out in the Announcement, the rejection of the grant application is likely to have virtually no effect on GPP, either from the perspective of its ongoing plans or financial position.”
The may have been able to convinced the ASX at the time that their forward plans wouldn’t be affected but it is obvious that it did indeed have an effect, one would argue that ongoing plans may still be the same but the time lines have been pushed out by a long margin……
a) as we currently do not have a PDU built (was going to be part of the OHD watershed year and be completed first half 2018) and with the fact that they have resorted back to the uneconomical process of shipping “coal” to the USA, processing it and shipping it back indicates the the PDU is still some time off as Thermaquatica (from announcements) have some design issues and it wasn’t dedicated to GPP and spent a percentage of time not operational.
b) also means the 15 month lead time to get the 20 tonne Demonstration Plant construction started will be further pushed back past their original (fluffy announcement) of being end of 2018/ early 2019.
c) The “Tomato Trial” has resorted back to “hydroponics” and some small scale activities versus broad acre field trials.
d) The “Wheat Trial’ has been scaled back to a small scale Monash trial versus broad acre field trials.
Nope never had any effect at all – pfffffffft
The mention of these is just to highlight that investors did/could have put money into GPP on the basis of their fluff announcements, hence a degree of arrogance to current and prospective investors.
All the above IMO
Cheers