Shares in Vast Resources (VAST) rose by more than 13% in early trade after the company publicly addressed in a Question and Answer format several issues that have been raised by shareholders on various bulletin boards and elsewhere.
Firstly, the company reiterated that although a significant parcel of its diamonds is going out to tender in Dubai this week, a larger, higher-value portion has been retained and is undergoing beneficiation work to increase the potential sales value still further.
The number of overall carats that Vast holds remains unchanged, although post-cleaning the total weight of the industrial stones was reduced.
Secondly, Vast addressed the issue of its debt repayments. The plan remains to pay off the company’s debts using the proceeds from the sale of the diamonds, although the company has always added that alternative funding measures might be required. That being said, Vast emphatically stated that it has no intention of conducting a placing to satisfy the December 2025 debt repayment.
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There’s quite a lot of technical nitty-gritty involved in the sale of Vast’s diamonds, as the quality of the stones varies widely, and the amount of work that is merited in adding value to the stones also therefore varies. The results mean that there are several different classes of stone, not all of which are being sold at the same time. Still, when all is said and done it looks like Vast is due for a significant influx of cash from the sale of these stones, and that will be very welcome as it continues to progress with its portfolio of metals assets in Europe and Central Asia.