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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V and ASX: EMN; OTCQX: EUMNF; Frankfurt: E06) (the “Company” or “EMN”) is pleased to announce key developments during the fourth fiscal quarter and to date. The Company has now filed its September 30, 2022 year-end Financial Statements, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and other financial reports.

Key Developments During and Subsequent to the Quarter

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• Commissioning of Demonstration Plant underway with on-spec samples expected in Q1 2023. Following arrival of the Demonstration Plant modules at the Chvaletice site in early September, the modules were installed within two fully refurbished buildings adjacent to the intended site of the commercial Chvaletice processing plant. Commissioning commenced in early November and is advancing on a module-by-module basis. Commissioning is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023 with on-spec samples also expected then. Thereafter, deliveries of bulk samples to customers will commence.

       –     View a video of the demonstration plant modules in process flow order.

  Six companies from across the EV supply chain have requested samples from the Demonstration Plant as they look to qualify the Company’s high-purity manganese products. A further six companies, including European and North American automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and cathode manufacturers, who are currently testing initial-run Pilot Plant samples, are expected to request Demonstration Plant samples as part of their strategy to move to local supply chains with full traceability and the highest sustainability standards.

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• Pilot Plant samples ready for shipment. The Company’s smaller-scale Pilot Plant in China completed a second run to produce additional samples for customers.
• Formal off-take tender process underway. A structured off-take tender process, which has included site visits and making a customer data room available, is ongoing. Multiple indicative bids have been received, in addition to the five MoUs currently in place. Active discussions are occurring with numerous consumers of high-purity manganese products, which include battery, chemical and automobile manufacturers, in Asia, Europe and North America.
• EPCM tender process advancing. The Company has issued an Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management (“EPCM”) tender package to solicit bids from firms interested in developing the commercial Chvaletice processing plant. The Company aims to partner with a firm who has experience in developing similar types of projects in Europe. Bids have been received from five tier 1 EPCM firms and the EPCM contract is expected to be awarded in Q1 2023. Selection of the EPCM contractor will allow for advancement of basic engineering design and procurement of long lead process equipment.
• Completion of two separate Life Cycle Assessment (“LCA”) studies for the Chvaletice Manganese Project. The initial LCA measured the environmental impacts of producing 1kg of HPEMM and 1kg of HPMSM at Chvaletice. Results were released in August and validated the environmental proposition of the Project, namely its low carbon footprint and that remediation of the historic tailings area improves soil and freshwater quality over the lifetime of the Project.

  The second LCA compared the global warming potential (“GWP” or “carbon footprint”) of 1kg of HPEMM and 1kg of HPMSM to be produced at Chvaletice with the same produced by the incumbent industry. Currently, 95% of global high-purity manganese products are processed in China. Highlights of this LCA, released in December, showed the Company’s high-purity manganese products have a carbon footprint that is approximately one-third of the China-based incumbent industry.

  The results of both LCA studies demonstrate the Company’s commitment to producing low-carbon battery-grade manganese products. They also support conversations with potential off-takers, who are testing and qualifying both the chemistry and environmental credentials of the Company’s high-purity manganese products.

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• MoU with Statkraft signed to form a renewable energy supply agreement for the Chvaletice Project. In September, the Company signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with Norwegian state-owned company Statkraft for the long-term supply of carbon-free renewable energy for the Chvaletice Project. The MoU lays the foundation for the strategic cooperation between Euro Manganese and Statkraft to support the ongoing net-zero objectives of the Project’s proposed processing plant. Statkraft is Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy.
• Positive Feasibility Study filed for the Chvaletice Project. During the quarter, the Company filed the Technical Report and Feasibility Study, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, on SEDAR, and filed the Public Report and Feasibility Study, prepared in accordance with the JORC Code, on the ASX announcement platform. The Feasibility Study outlines robust base case project economics of after-tax NPV_8% of US1.34 billion and an ungeared IRR of 21.9% with a 4.1-year payback period. Initial capital is estimated at US$757.3 million, including total contingencies of $106.5 million. Forecast life of project net revenues are US$13.3 billion with an EBITDA of US$8.1 billion.
• Opportunity to produce battery-grade manganese in Canada for the North American market being explored. Site due diligence is underway on a proposed 15-hectare land parcel within the Port of Bécancour in Québec. The Company has signed an option agreement with the Société du Parc Industriel et Portuaire de Bécancour allowing it to purchase the site for a period of up to 21 months subject to the outcome of the due diligence and other conditions. Concurrently, a scoping study is underway to evaluate the development of an HPEMM dissolution plant to produce a HPMSM powder and/or a high-purity manganese sulphate solution in Bécancour. The study will leverage the extensive process development and engineering work already completed at the Chvaletice Project.
• Third and final tranche of EIT InnoEnergy’s investment received. The Company received €62,500 (CAD$80,606) during the quarter, bringing the aggregate funds received from EIT InnoEnergy, an EU-backed institution, to €250,000. The Company will issue 237,077 shares to EIT InnoEnergy at the price of CAD$0.34 per share being the 10-day volume weighted average stock price on the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) prior to receipt of the third investment tranche. The issuance of the shares is not expected to occur until early January 2023, and in accordance with Canadian securities laws and policies of the TSXV, the shares will be subject to a four month and one day statutory hold from their date of issuance. The funds were used to support work on the Chvaletice Project’s definitive feasibility study and on the Chvaletice demonstration plant.
• Euro Manganese’s manganese metal validated as feedstock in Nano One’s patented one-pot process. The Company has a joint development agreement with Nano One Materials Corp., a clean technology company with patented processes for the low-cost, low-environmental footprint production of high-performance cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. The collaboration is aimed at developing low-cost, environmentally sustainable applications of high-purity manganese in next-generation cathode materials.

  In August 2022, the Company was approved to receive advisory services and up to $165,000 in funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (“IRAP”). The funding supports the initiative the Company is undertaking with Nano One Materials Corp. (“Nano One”), Metal direct to Cathode Active Material, as well as the evaluation of the manganese metal by-product from the battery black mass recycling.

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• Joined the Global Battery Alliance (“GBA”). During the quarter, the Company announced its membership of the Global Battery Alliance, a partnership of leading organizations from across the battery value chain, governments, academics and NGOs who have mobilized to ensure that battery production not only supports green energy, but also safeguards human rights and promotes environmental sustainability. Euro Manganese is the first high-purity manganese company to join the GBA.

Financial Position

• Cash and cash equivalents of approximately C$21.6 million as at fiscal year-end (September 30, 2022); compared to $31.2 million at fiscal year-end 2022. The decrease in cash of $9.7 million year over year is a result of $9.6 million used in operating activities and $8.2 million used in investing activities, which included the payment for the royalty buy back, the demonstration plant and certain land related payments. The decrease was partially offset by cash generated from financing activities of $8.1 million. The proceeds of cash in financing activities represents the private placement by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
• Working capital of C$19.8 million as at fiscal year-end (September 20, 2022), compared with C$26.1 million at September 30, 2021.
• Sufficient funding for delivery of key project milestones including completion of environmental studies, permitting, commissioning of the Chvaletice Demonstration Plant and its operation for one year. Additional funding will be required for the continuous operation of the Demonstration Plant, additional land acquisitions, as well as potential future construction of infrastructure and facilities for the Project and the progress of the Company’s North American strategy.

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Corporate Team Growth

• Appointment of VP Commercial. Dr. James Fraser joined Euro Manganese as Vice President, Commercial on October 31, 2022, bringing over 25 years of experience from the geosciences, consulting, mining, carbon credit and automotive sectors. After completing his doctorate in Earth Sciences at Oxford, James worked as a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company and then held a range of senior positions during his 11 years at Rio Tinto in commercial and technical fields across different commodities. He subsequently worked for Permian Global, an investment fund focused on forest carbon and most recently held Head of Sales & Sourcing and Managing Director roles with two UK-based specialist automotive/motorsport engineering firms.

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Dr. Matthew James, President & CEO of Euro Manganese, commented:

“The Chvaletice project gained real momentum in 2022. We achieved several project milestones in the fourth fiscal and calendar quarter of this year, including delivery, installation, and commencement of commissioning of the Demonstration Plant, advancing selection of an EPCM contractor for the next stage of project development, and advancing a formal off-take tender process for our high-purity manganese products. We also completed two Life Cycle Assessments, which not only validated the environmental credentials of the Project but also showed that our high-purity manganese products have a carbon footprint significantly lower than the current China-based incumbent industry.

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The growth opportunities that the North American market presents are compelling, and I look forward to providing updates on our growth plans in Canada as they evolve. This is an exciting time for the battery raw materials sector and Euro Manganese is very well-positioned to take advantage of the localisation of supply to the EV market with high-purity manganese for lithium-ion batteries.

We remain focused on completing commissioning of the Demonstration Plant, producing on-spec samples, and delivering those samples to prospective customers in the New Year. Equally, we are driving towards the establishment of long-term commercial offtake agreements and continue to hold active discussions with interested parties across the battery value chain.

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I am extremely proud of the ongoing commitment of our Team to advance the Chvaletice Project and look forward to continued delivery of key catalysts in 2023 and beyond. Together, we are moving closer to our vision of being a leading and environmentally responsible producer of high-purity manganese.”

Q4 and Year-End 2022 Conference Call Details

Euro Manganese will host two separate Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2022 conference calls to serve stakeholders in their respective time zones. Content of both calls will be the same. Replays and transcripts of both calls will be available on Euro Manganese’s website: www.mn25.ca

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About Euro Manganese Inc.

Euro Manganese Inc. is a battery materials company focused on becoming a leading, competitive, and environmentally superior producer of high-purity manganese for the electric vehicle industry and other high-technology applications. The Company is advancing development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic, which is a unique waste-to-value recycling and remediation opportunity involving reprocessing old tailings from a decommissioned mine. The Chvaletice project is the only sizable resource of manganese in Europe, strategically positioning the Company to provide battery supply chains with critical raw materials to support the global shift to a circular, low-carbon economy.

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Authorized for release by the CEO of Euro Manganese Inc.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the ASX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Inquiries

Dr. Matthew James
President & CEO
+44 (0)747 229 6688

Louise Burgess
Senior Director, Investor Relations & Communications
+1 (604) 312-7546
[email protected]

Company Address: #709 -700 West Pender St., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 1G8
Website:
www.mn25.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, its Chvaletice Project, its North American growth strategy, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved.

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Results of the Feasibility Study constitutes forward-looking information or statements, including but not limited to estimates of internal rates of return (including any pre-tax and after-tax internal rates of return), payback periods, net present values, future production, assumed prices for HPMSM and HPEMM, ability of the Company to achieve a pricing premium for its products, proposed extraction plans and methods, operating life estimates, cash flow forecasts, metal recoveries and estimates of capital and operating costs. Such forward-looking information or statements also include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s intentions regarding the development of the Chvaletice Project in the Czech Republic, anticipated timelines for commissioning of the Demonstration Plant and on-spec sample availability, excepted demand for Demonstration Plant samples, the ability to source green power and other requirements for the Chvaletice Project, anticipated timelines for EPCM contract award, the benefits of remediating the historic tailings areas, the growth and development of the high purity manganese products market, the desirability of the Company’s products, the growth of the EV industry, the use of manganese in batteries, the ability to enter into long term off-take agreements, and statements regarding the Company’s North American growth strategy.

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Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company.

Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: the ability to develop adequate processing capacity; the availability and reliability of equipment, facilities, and suppliers necessary to complete development; the cost of consumables and extraction and processing equipment; risks and uncertainties related to the ability to obtain, amend, or maintain necessary licenses, or permits, risks related to acquisition of surface rights; risks and uncertainties related to expected production rates; timing and amount of production and total costs of production; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; the failure of parties to contracts with the Company to perform as agreed; risks and uncertainties related to the accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the price of HPEMM and HPMSM, power supply sources and price, reagent supply resources and prices, future cash flow, total costs of production, and diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources and reserves; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks related to global epidemics or pandemics and other health crises, including the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); availability and productivity of skilled labour; risks and uncertainties related to interruptions in production; unforeseen technological and engineering problems; the adequacy of infrastructure; risks related to project working conditions, accidents or labour disputes; social unrest or war; the possibility that future results will not be consistent with the Company’s expectations; risks relating to variations in the mineral content and grade within resources from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in EV battery markets and chemistries; and risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, changes in laws or regulations; and regulation by various governmental agencies. For a further discussion of risks relevant to The Company, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form for the year ended September 30, 2022, available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

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All forward-looking statements are made based on the Company’s current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by the Company and information currently available to the Company. Generally, these assumptions include, among others: the presence of and continuity of manganese at the Chvaletice Project at estimated grades; the ability of the Company to obtain all necessary land access rights; the ability of the Company obtain all required environmental and other permits; the availability of personnel, machinery, and equipment at estimated prices, in good order, and within estimated delivery times; currency exchange rates; manganese sales prices and exchange rates assumed; growth in the manganese market; appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in economic analyses; tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed operations; the availability of acceptable financing for the Chvaletice Project and for continued operations; anticipated extraction losses and dilution; success in realizing proposed operations in the Czech Republic and for the Company’s North American growth strategy; and demand for the Company’s products.

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Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

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When Zoltan Tompa first presented a nuclear fusion company to his Canadian government development fund’s investment committee, he viewed the technology as a “moonshot” with “an outside chance” of success.

Fifteen years later, he says it is a matter of “when, and not if” fusion energy gets connected to grid.

“We believe it has a real shot at putting a commercial power plant on the grid within about a decade from now,” Tompa said of Canada’s General Fusion, where he now sits on the board.

General Fusion is one of around 35 private companies worldwide seeking to build on decades of experimental fusion research and deliver on its promise of near limitless, zero-carbon power.

This week that goal moved slightly closer with confirmation that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had achieved energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time in history. The gain occurred for a split second and the energy produced was only greater than that in the lasers used to trigger the reaction, and not the total electrical energy use to power the system.

However, the breakthrough, first reported by the Financial Times, has focused global attention on a technology normally derided as constantly being 30 years away.

“It’s a huge shot in the arm and I think it’s a psychological signal to society at large, to investors, to policymakers, that fusion is no longer in the realm of science fiction,” said Tompa, who leads clean technology investments at the Business Development Bank of Canada. “It proves that fusion is real and that the time for fusion is now.”

British astronomer Arthur Eddington first theorised in 1920 that the sun was powered by a fusion reaction that could be replicated on Earth to generate unlimited energy.

Since then, largely publicly funded laboratories have conducted hundreds of experiments, successfully heating hydrogen isotopes — normally deuterium and tritium — to such extreme temperatures that the atomic nuclei fuse, releasing helium and energy in the form of neutrons. But progress has been slow, littered with false dawns, and until last week no group had achieved energy gain.

Sceptics point to the many remaining challenges. The energy gain from the fusion reaction needs to be significantly increased from the levels obtained at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Furthermore, that result was achieved through a different, less common fusion approach to that of the most advanced private sector projects.

Many of the current plans for potential fusion power stations will also require teams to overcome difficult engineering challenges and in some cases manufacture, at scale, complex new materials.

“A significant leap” is still required to get to commercial power but this is the role that private sector companies — which “work at a much faster clock speed” and “innovate much more quickly” — will now play, said Tompa.

“We see this as a passing of the torch moment,” said Andrew Holland, executive director of the Fusion Industry Association, which was set up in 2018 to represent the nascent sector. “This is where it goes from the lab to the market place.”

The oldest private company in the field, according to the association’s most recent report, is Princeton Fusion Systems, founded in 1992. California-based TAE Technologies came next in 1998, followed by General Fusion in 2002. But most of the private sector growth has come in the past five years after the 2016 Paris climate agreement committed countries to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and supercharged interest in potential clean technologies.

“Four years ago, five years ago, the only people that were building real fusion machines that can make real fusion work were the public programmes . . . and now the next generation of things are things that are being built by the private sector,” said Bob Mumgaard, chief executive of Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

In a sign of increased private sector enthusiasm for fusion, CFS raised $1.8bn last year from 30 investors including Tiger Global Management and Google, in a round that equalled the declared private funding of the entire industry at the time. CFS is building a demonstration plant called Sparc, about half the size of a tennis court, which it hopes will achieve energy gain by 2025. It then has plans to demonstrate commercially viable power in the early 2030s.

Many public-sector scientists suggest that these timeframes are too optimistic. But Philippe Larochelle at Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which first backed CFS when it was founded in 2018, said the fund’s fusion investments should no longer be seen as speculative.

“The reason we’ve invested in CFS and our other fusion companies is that we apply the same standard to them that we do to all of our other electricity investments, which is do we think that this is a scalable way of getting carbon free dispatchable power at less than $50 per megawatt hour,” he said. “It seems like there’s a very plausible pathway here that this could be a dominant source of energy on Earth, sometime this century, and I think maybe even in the next decade or two.”

In total, at least $2.83bn was raised by private fusion companies in the 12 months to June, which was more than had been raised in the history of the industry and brought total funding at that point to $4.9bn, according to the Fusion Industry Association.

While early funders of fusion companies tended to be Silicon Valley venture capital firms and tech billionaires — Jeff Bezos has backed General Fusion — the investor universe has widened.

“A lot of new classes of capital are trying to get smart in the space and are ready to make investments, I think, sooner than most people thought they would have,” said Larochelle.

TAE Technologies raised $250mn in July from investors including Google, Chevron and Sumitomo, bringing its own funding to date to more than $1.2bn.

“As the science and technology matures so are the types of investors that are investing,” said General Fusion chief executive Greg Twinney.

However, fusion remained a “very small fraction” of the $2.4tn in global energy investment in 2022 forecast by the International Energy Agency. “If we’re looking to speed things up or reduce the risk, more capital is the way to do that,” he said.

More than half the private fusion companies, including CFS, are developing approaches based on magnetic confinement, in which huge magnets hold the deuterium-tritium fuel in place while it is heated to temperatures hotter than the sun.

At least eight companies are working on inertial confinement approaches, similar to that used at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where a laser or high-speed projectile is used to trigger the reaction. They include the UK’s First Light Fusion and Germany’s Focused Energy. General Fusion’s approach, sometimes described as magneto-inertial, combines aspects of both.

Seattle-based Zap Energy, which is also backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, hopes to achieve fusion using a pulse of electrical current, which Larochelle described as similar to a “lightning bolt”.

Some of these approaches are bound to fail. “Any investor has to go in understanding that for any individual fusion company there is still binary technology risk,” said Tompa.

However, there is growing confidence in the sector that several will succeed.

“Sometime in the next decade or two, we are going to build the first commercial fusion reactor and then humans are going to spend the next 10 million years building better fusion reactors because fusion is really just an amazing energy source,” Larochelle said. “The fuel is infinite, carbon free and extremely cheap . . . you can build it anywhere and scale infinitely.”

VA loans generally offer more favorable terms than conventional mortgage loans as a benefit to those who have served. Because of this, there are additional requirements service members need to meet to qualify for a VA-Guaranteed Home Loan.  

What is a VA loan? 

A VA loan is a type of mortgage loan offered by private lenders that is partially backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), known as the VA Home Loan “Guaranty.” This agreement replaces the need for a down payment and acts as a reimbursement to private lenders if you foreclose on your mortgage loan. 

VA loans are available to qualifying:

• Active-duty service members
• Veterans
• National Guard members
• Reserve members
• Surviving spouses
• Certain uniformed service personnel

VA loans can be used to:

• Purchase a single-family home or townhouse
• Purchase a VA-approved condo
• Purchase a multi-family home, up to four units 
• Purchase a home to renovate
• Build a new home
• Add or update energy efficient features to your current home

VA loans qualifications and limits 

Private mortgage lenders and the Department of VA have separate minimum eligibility requirements that borrowers must meet to qualify for a mortgage loan. 

Private lender requirements: You may be required to meet a minimum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio or credit requirement to qualify for a loan through a private lender, such as a bank or mortgage company. This helps lenders determine the terms of your loan like your interest rate. 

It’s important to note that the VA does not require you to maintain a minimum credit score to qualify. Let’s say you applied for a VA loan through a private lender, and you were denied based on your credit score. This does not mean you are not able to take out a VA loan, instead try talking to another lender who may be able to work with your financial situation, says Jennifer Beeston, senior vice president of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate Mortgage. 

VA requirements: The VA requires service members to live in the home they are purchasing and meet minimum service requirements based on your duty status and when you served. 

The VA does not set a dollar limit on the amount you can borrow to purchase a home, but they do review your financial situation to determine what monthly payment you can comfortably afford to help you avoid defaulting on your loan. This is done by calculating the amount of income left after meeting your financial obligations, including your mortgage and other bill payments. 

Guide to buying a home with a VA loan 

Purchasing a home with a VA home loan requires a few additional steps on top of the already complicated process. 

1. Find a mortgage lender who specializes in VA loans. A mortgage officer with experience working on VA loans will have better insight on which documents you need to complete and what properties you are able to qualify for than someone who is unfamiliar with the process. Some lenders may also waive fees for Veterans and active-duty service members.

“A lot of times people assume that because a company says military in their title, they must be really good [at structuring VA loans],” says Beeston. But it’s actually more important to focus on whether your mortgage officer has experience with VA loans—they are structuring the loan, reviewing your debt-to-income ratio, and may be communicating on your behalf with the real estate agent. 

2. Apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Obtaining a COE from the VA confirms your eligibility for the VA home loan benefit and is required by your lender for VA-backed home loans. You can request a COE online using the eBenefits service from the Department of VA, through your lender, or by mail. 

3. Obtain a mortgage pre-approval. Your private lender will review your COE, and possibly your income and credit level to pre-approve you up to a specified dollar amount for a mortgage loan. This letter shows buyers that you are serious about purchasing a home and can secure a mortgage loan. If you are an eligible spouse of a service member applying for a COE, you may be required to provide additional documents like your marriage license. 

4. Shop for a home using a real estate agent who specializes in VA loans. Certain properties may require VA-approval prior to purchasing with your home loan benefit, like condos or certain multi-family units. Working with an experienced real estate agent who can guide you to approved properties may speed up the purchasing process so you can move into your dream home sooner. 

5. Finalize the purchase contract. After finding the right home, your real estate agent will help you submit an offer on the home. Since the VA requires you to pay closing costs on the home out-of-pocket, the purchase offer might include a request for the seller to pay a portion of your closing costs. You might consider adding contingencies to the offer, such as a right to a home inspection.

6. Work with a VA-approved home appraiser to determine the home’s value and if it meets the VA’s Minimum Property Requirements. The VA requires buyers to use an approved home appraiser when purchasing a home with a backed home loan to ensure the property meets the Minimum Property Requirements set by the Department of VA. 

In the event the purchase price exceeds the value of the home, the VA may require you to make a down payment equal to the difference. For instance, let’s say you want to purchase a home that is listed for $350,000. The home appraiser determines that the house is reasonably worth $200,000. The VA may require you to make a $150,000 down payment out with your own funds to qualify this home for a VA loan.

7. Close on your home loan and pay any additional fees. At this point, you will sign the final documents which set the terms of your mortgage loan and will be required to pay the closing costs. 

This includes the VA funding fee, which is a one-time payment based on the type of loan, and is stated as a percentage of your total loan amount. There are instances where the VA funding fee may be waived, such as disability or if you received a Purple Heart medal, says Beeston.

8. File your COE with the VA. Once you close on your home, the VA will update your COE to show how much of your benefit you used on your home purchase. If you are considering purchasing a secondary property after using a portion of your VA entitlement, it’s important to speak with a mortgage lender. 

“When you are dealing with second use entitlements, it gets a little bit tricky,” says Beeston. There are additional considerations beyond the dollar amount listed on the COE, such as loan limit increases, home sales that can restore your full entitlement, and potential down payments that impact what you’re entitled to.

VA loans vs. conventional mortgage loans 

VA loans offer more favorable terms than a traditional mortgage loan might, including no down payment or PMI requirements and possibly lower interest rates. But, they also require additional costs like the VA funding fee. 

When determining which mortgage loan suits your individual needs, you should consider the type of property you want to purchase, how much you can afford to pay monthly, and your current financial circumstances. 

From nurses to rail workers, the United Kingdom has recently bore witness to a plethora of strikes.

Whether it’s in a bid for fairer pay or better worker rights, we have seen plenty of planned strikes go ahead without governmental intervention. While the country’s leaders have remained nigh silent on the timely issues facing these esteemed professionals and frontline workers, union members continue to share their experiences with the public.

The latest report is that Environment Agency (EA) workers have now voted in a landslide decision to support yet more industrial action. The DEFRA will now be joining other civil servants from varying government departments in completing strike action next month. As an onlooker, it may be hard to fully comprehend the ramifications of this colossal decision. In the following article, award-winning environmental lawyer and sustainability expert, Rachel Pickles, shares her insights and expertise on the impact of this political move

Why are Environment Agency (EA) workers striking?

Strike action has and always will be a last resort. However, since the government has failed to intervene time and time again, countless unions are left with no choice but to stand up and take action. We are living in a period of firsts — call it history in the marking.

For the first time ever, members of Unison voted in favour of strike action. At that time, 92% of Environment Agency (EA) workers voted for action short of strike action, while 73% of workers voted in favour of strike action. Since then, we have seen another remarkable move from EA workers, who have yet again made a bold, political decision.

The latest news is that 67% of EA workers who were able to vote as part of the Prospect union ballot were in favour of strike action. As if that weren’t enough to make a statement, 92% of members voted in favour of action short of a strike. For that reason, the ballot surpassed the 50% participation threshold, which means that strike action will go ahead. If you are unclear on the terms, the unions that represent EA workers are Unite and GMB.

Now that you have the statistics, you might be concerned with what this strike action means in real terms. The vote comes as a backlash to a forced pay deal for staff that has been rejected by union members. The Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan recently released a message to staff saying that the company had “decided that we pay you this year’s pay deal next month so that you all have it well before Christmas.”

The new payment was prepped to come in staff members’ November wages and would also be backdated to July 2022, leading to an increase in salary right before the break. However, upon reviewing the so-called raises, union members labelled them as “unjust” and cited the fact that EA workers have seen a decade of “real-term pay cuts” of late. For that reason, a ballot was called to determine whether there would be industrial action.

“Our members work in the Environment Agency because they are passionate about their work but there comes a point where passion is not enough for you to carry on in the face of tough times – that point has been reached,” stated Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect union. “The Environment Agency is already struggling to fulfil its regulatory duties due to resourcing issues and experienced staff leaving. The bottom line is if you have a higher proportion of less experienced staff then either the quantity of what you do suffers, or the quality. Eventually, it’s both which is why you see pollution incidents on the rise, fewer events being investigated, fewer prosecutions and fewer penalties handed out.”

This comes amid a cost of living crisis in the United Kingdom and inflation reaching record highs. In order to continue with their duties, Environment Agency (EA) workers deserve to be properly paid for their work. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka labelled the current salary terms offered by the company as “poverty pay” saying that having to choose between food and central heating is “not acceptable for the government’s own workforce.”

Conclusion

Striking has always played a vital role in forcing social change. The Environment Agency (EA) are at the forefront of sustainable development and the preservation of resources here in the UK. Overlooking and underpaying the work that these professionals carry out is a gigantic mistake. Without governmental intervention, the proposed strikes will go ahead as planned. However, it’s important to recognise that, whatever the outcome of this action, it is commendable that the workers are taking a solid and united stand against poor pay. The choice to strike is not one that any worker takes lightly and it is a courageous act.

About Rachel Pickles

Rachel Pickles is an award-winning environmental lawyer and sustainability advocate. She holds a Masters of Law (LLM) with honours from the University of Bristol Law School in 2016 and a law degree from the University of Edinburgh.

She’s worked in private practice since 2019, dealing with high-profile litigation cases with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and regulatory bodies including the Environment Agency. Her career has focussed on environmental issues including conservation, pollution, and wildlife protection. As such, she has written highly-respected legal papers on the topics which have gained traction among her peers.

Backed by her foundation of knowledge in Corporate Social Responsibility, she has expertly advised business leaders and CEOs on how to become more sustainable. She is an outspoken advocate on the prevention of climate change, deforestation, and Ozone layer depletion. She also subscribed to a range of organisations including the Legal Sustainability Alliance, Lawyers for NetZero, and the Law Firm Sustainability Network.

Rachel is working on her first book, entitled “Net Zero to One Hundred: Advice on How FTSE 100 Companies Can (and Should) Be Saving the Planet.” She currently lives in Walthamstow, London with her long-time partner, three children, and a Cocker-spaniel.

Since being chosen as “Globes” third most promising Israeli startup in 2020, invoice payment platform Melio has continued to grow swiftly. Back in 2020, Melio had raised $144 million and today this figure has risen above $500 million.

Two years ago Melio had 150 employees and today the company has 600 employees, and its valuation has jumped from $700 million at the end of 2020 to $4 billion, when completing its most recent financing round in the summer of 2021. The volume of payments handled by Melio has grown over the past two years from tens of millions of dollars per month to $2.5 billion per month today.

Despite this impressive growth, Melio belongs to the list of Israeli unicorns that is laying off staff. In August the company fired 60 employees, 10% of its workforce. Most of those laid off were in the US and involved in sales to small businesses. Interviewed by “Globes” ahead of the Most Promising Startups of 2022 event, Melio CEO Matan Bar talked about the layoffs.

“Our product has improved in the last two years, and onboarding to the system has also become simpler, so we can bring in new customers with less human contact,” says Bar. “As a result, we reduced direct recruitment of customers, and this meant laying off dozens of people. But since then we have surpassed the number of employees we had before the layoffs, and we continue to hire in other areas of engineering and product. So the layoffs were not due to a need to cut costs.”

Although not due to cost cutting, Bar concedes that the layoffs were related to market conditions, which require more efficiency from startups, and not just growth at any price. “To say it’s not related to the market would be unrealistic,” Bar admits. “If the market had continued to behave as it did in 2021, we might have gone back on the decision about layoffs, but I believe we would have reached it anyway.”

Another Israeli unicorn, Tipalti, which was founded in 2010, helps organizations with hundreds of employees to pay suppliers. Melio, which was founded in 2018, serves this function for businesses with individual employees, such as law firms. Melio does more than transfer money. It synchronizes payments in the business’s systems and makes it possible to postpone and spread payments, with suppliers receiving money on time.

Other players in Melio’s market include Bill.com, a publicly-traded company with annual revenue of more than $600 million in 2022 and a market cap of $12 billion. Bar declines to disclose Melio’s revenue. When Bar, CTO Ilan Attias and Ziv Paz, who has since left the company, founded Melio, they tried to attack the vulnerabilities of their rival. “At Bill.com the emphasis is on creating automation that saves time in transferring payments,” explains Bar. “The main value that Melio provides is assistance to businesses in protecting cash flow.”

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The layoffs were implemented one month after Melio signed an agreement with US bank Capital One. This is Melio’s third partnership after agreements with Intuit, which develops accounting systems, and with a system for planning resources in the construction industry. However, the agreement with Capital One is the most significant of all because the bank has installed Melio’s solution on its website and gives its customers the option of paying suppliers from there.

“This has been a major milestone, and the launch has been successful,” says Bar. “We already transfer hundreds of millions of dollars there. Capital One owns the Spark card, which is one of the two leading business cards in the US, along with American Express. As part of the collaboration, customers with a Spark card pay only 30% of the amount to the supplier on the first day, and the rest can be postponed.”

Does the agreement with Capital One have anything to do with layoffs, and will Melio focus on assimilating its capabilities with partners and less on developing the channel in which it is the leader?

Bar does not confirm this. What is certain is that even when working with partners, Melio is trying to attack a weakness of Bill.com, which is less able to integrate itself into the websites of others.

“We are not putting less focus on the direct channel and continue to invest money in this channel, but we are also putting a development focus on building a platform that will work with partners,” says Bar. “By working with partners, we have a lower cost to bring in a client, but the revenue from it is also lower. We also do not own the customer, while in the direct channel, the customer is ours and it is easier for us to sell them new products in the future.”

Small businesses in the US

Melio belongs to a large group of successful Israeli startups that target small businesses in the US. This group includes insurtech company Next Insurance, credit-company Fundbox and Honeybook, which develops software for business and financial management.

Bar says, “What makes me optimistic about the recession is the decentralization of the types of businesses we work with. If I were only working with businesses in the field of gaming or online commerce, I would speak differently, because they are more affected by the recession. To a certain extent, inflation has actually increased the volume of payments through us, and created more challenges in terms of cash flow for small businesses.”

Bar also refers to the question of whether the fall in Bill.com’s share price affects Melio’s valuation, which was estimated at $4 billion last year: “I have not spoken to investors and we are not discussing raising another round of financing at the moment because the market is not good and the timing is not good. Investors are confused and it is difficult for them to estimate valuations. In any case, I think it doesn’t matter whether Melio’s value will be lower now, because in the future it will be worth much more.”

According to Bar, entrepreneurs were not wrong to try and maximize the value of startups during the peak period last year. “In the end, raising money at a high value makes it less possible to dilute the employees, entrepreneurs and investors. What’s important is that next time you come to raise, you’ll be able to show that you have built what is needed to justify the value. It is important to understand that the aim is to create profit for the business and achieve an efficient business. For us, the next milestone will be to reach profitability.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 12, 2022.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.

Turkmenistan’s vision for a trans-Afghan gas pipeline to Pakistan and India may be given a fillip in the most convoluted of manners.

With Europe steadily drawing down its purchases of Russian gas, Moscow is getting more creative in how it sells its fuel.

In late November, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakhstani counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, reportedly discussed the creation of a “tripartite gas union” also comprising Uzbekistan. Although Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have considerable gas reserves of their own, they have been caught short by surging demand, so the idea is for shortfalls to be plugged with Russian imports. The suggestion is still firmly on the drawing board, but industry experts are now talking up ways this arrangement could be extended further.

In an interview with Russian state-run news agency TASS, Alexei Grivach, the deputy head of the National Energy Security Fund, a Moscow-based think tank, suggested that once gas is being pumped down to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it would also make sense to look at buyers in Pakistan and India. Doing that would entail building new pipelines, either from Uzbekistan into Afghanistan, or piggybacking on the trans-Afghan TAPI project.

All these ideas are hazy for now, and they take little heed of current and future infrastructural constraints, but they may be considered by a Turkmenistan that is struggling to find immediate sources of funding for TAPI.

The kinds of conversations taking place among officials in Russia, Central Asia and Iran make it evident a major reconfiguration of the regional gas market is in course.

On November 28, Iran’s IRNA state news agency reported on how Russia had agreed in principle to supply Iran with gas for onward delivery to Pakistan. Moscow has committed as an extension of that arrangement to build the pipelines between Iran and Pakistan that would be needed to carry out those deliveries. Russian gas would arrive in Iran either via Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan, IRNA reported, without making it clear where it was sourcing its information.

A future Iran-Pakistan pipeline could notionally provide uncomfortable competition to TAPI, though, so it remains to be seen how much Turkmenistan will be prepared to assist with any of this.

That said, other developments indicate that Ashgabat for now sees only virtuous outcomes in dealing with Tehran on energy questions. Indeed, just to further complicate matters, Turkmenistan and Iran are separately far into discussions on how to boost deliveries of gas from the former to the latter – all part of a swap agreement with Azerbaijan. On November 30, Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian met with Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov for talks in Ashgabat. No firm details about the exchange were disclosed, but the Turkmen government website cited Berdymukhamedov talking approvingly about “favorable opportunities … in the area of energy transport and transit.”

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan, meanwhile, is eager to get TAPI up and going as soon as possible. The soi-disant Islamic Emirate’s mines and petroleum minister, Shahabuddin Delawar, made the point forcefully in a Kabul meeting with the Turkmenistan-based head of the TAPI consortium, Muhammetmyrat Amanov, Afghan news outlet Ariana reported on December 1.

“Since Afghanistan is in a good security situation, we should utilize this opportunity and start the practical work of the TAPI project as soon as possible with the cooperation of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan,” Delawar was quoted as saying.

And the westward direction cannot be forgotten either. Exporting gas that way will require the active involvement of Azerbaijan and Turkey. As it happens, a date has now been set for a three-way heads of state summit: The leaders will meet on December 13-14 in the Caspian resort town of Awaza.

President Berdymukhamedov took time out of his schedule on December 3 to pop down to Qatar to watch the Netherlands beat the United States 3-1 in the second round of the World Cup. So as to make the trip look like something more than it was – the president taking a quick break at the weekend – the government website published a lengthy article arguing how this served as fresh evidence of the importance placed by authorities on sports and physical wellbeing. While in Doha, Berdymukhamedov met with Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body. Official accounts do not relate whether the men discussed their shared indifference to human rights.

Leaving aside its cataclysmic, obfuscation-driven response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkmenistan does at least try to live up to its word on matters of health.

According to a November 29 note on the government website, excise fees on imported and locally manufactured alcohol and tobacco products are set for a steep rise. The stated purpose of the hike is to protect the health of Turkmen citizens. What is more, the lower age limit for buying cigarettes has been raised from 18 to 21.

Last week, law enforcement agencies corralled lawmakers, government officials, journalists, health workers and community leaders into a now-traditional ceremonial burning of confiscated narcotics and smuggled cigarettes. The biannual public burning of the cigarettes has been taking place since 2016, and people attending the ceremony are said to be allowed to join in by throwing items into the furnace under the attentive scrutiny of security officials.

The Turkmen government is concerned that information about the country’s achievements is not being adequately disseminated around the world. Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov proposed a solution to that problem during the December 2 Cabinet meeting. He suggested that Turkmenistan set up an “International Information Center” to be sited within the State Committee for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography. Its job will be to produce documentaries and other video material that could then be broadcast on foreign media outlets.

The experience of other countries in the region shows that such exercises are largely pointless vehicles for wasting and possibly purloining government funds. There is little to suggest that Turkmenistan will be any exception.

Ashgabat’s efforts to promote its accomplishments on the international stage have to date been to a considerable extent focused on racking up entries in the undeniably ludicrous Guinness Book of Records. That is how it has come to pass that Turkmen feats such as installing the “most fountain pools in a public place” and holding the “largest cycling awareness lesson” sit alongside the Ramos Gomez family in Mexico being recognized as the world’s “largest hairy family” and Japanese videographer Chisato Tanaka eating 72 baked beans with chopsticks in one minute.

The former president (and speaker of the Senate and father of the current president), Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, is too oblivious to be embarrassed. On December 3, he spoke at a meeting devoted to the new capital of the Ahal region, construction of which is now nearing completion, about how the city will be the first “smart” urban center of its kind in Turkmenistan. The city will teem with electric buses and cars, solar panels, wind turbines, and “smart” parking, Berdymukhamedov senior said.

“Given the fact that this will be the largest, most unique and beautiful city in the region, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov should … study the issue of entering this object into the Guinness Book of Records,” the former president suggested, without explaining which exact record the still-unnamed city would be setting.

By Eurasianet.org