24/08/2023

CleanTech Lithium (CTL), an exploration and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile for the clean energy transition, announced an upgraded JORC resource estimate of 0.92 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at an average grade of 207mg/L lithium at the company´s second project – Francisco Basin. The resource estimate now includes 0.44 million tonnes at an average grade of 221mg/L lithium in the Indicated category. The company said seeing a 74% increase in the Francisco Basin resource estimate to 0.92 million tonnes of LCE with 0.44 million tonnes now in the Indicated category provides more confidence in the resource potential and further de-risks the project following an extensive work programme this year. It thinks there remains strong potential for a large increase in the resource with further exploration work planned in 1H 2024.

Comment: Shares of CTL rallied hard after the large Laguna Verde JORC upgrade last month. One would expect a similar, if not stronger rebound after the 74% increase in the Francisco project, especially as the second upgrade rather suggests a positive pattern is in place. This second upgrade also underlines how increasingly undervalued CTL is as compared to its peers.

Zinnwald Lithium (ZNWD), the European focused lithium company, announced its Interim Results for the period ended 30 June 2023. The company said looking ahead, it has an extremely active work schedule.  The company’s near-term priorities are the completion of the in-fill and hydrogeological drill campaigns at the Zinnwald Project, detailed mine planning and testwork programmes related to mineral and chemical processing.

Comment: ZNWD was one of the best performers in its space from the start of the year until May. One would expect given how far the retracement in the stock has been that announcements like today may signal to some at least that a turnaround is overdue.

Yesterday Alkemy Capital (ALK) and its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Port Hedland Lithium Pty Ltd announced the completion of a Feasibility Study for Australia’s first stand-alone lithium sulphate processing facility, located at the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area, just outside of Port Hedland, Australia’s largest export port. The Feasibility Study has been produced ahead of schedule in response to the due diligence requirements of certain global OEMs looking to utilise and contract with Alkemy’s refineries.

Comment: The share price of ALK continues to be disconnected from the progress the company is making both here in the UK, and as the latest announcement reveals, in Australia. ALK is certainly getting itself match fit in terms of doing deals with OEMs.

On Tuesday there was news that Afro Energy, a subsidiary of Kinetiko Energy(ASX:KKO), has executed a non-binding Term Sheet with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa to co-develop a new joint venture for the appraisal and production of LNG to deliver 50MW growing to 500MW gas equivalent energy. The first stage 50MW equivalent project is estimated to cost approximately A$138m comprising A$90m equity and A$48m debt. IDC shall equity fund approximately A$52m for 30% JV interest.

Comment: This is a company making announcement for KKO, especially given the energy security issues in South Africa, and how keen the government there, via IDC to remedy the current state of affairs.

Touchstone Exploration (TXP) updated on Royston-1X well production testing, commissioning of the Cascadura natural gas and liquids facility, and operations at Coho. The company said it was looking forward to the commencement of commercial production from the Cascadura facility, it now has in place the infrastructure to process and monetize all future potential drilling successes on the Ortoire block. This has been a long process, but it has now put in place the building blocks for a fully funded, full-cycle exploration and production strategy.

Comment: There is indeed plenty to look forward here at TXP in terms of the commercial production. The shares have already rallied well in anticipation, and one would expect this to continue as we go into autumn.

hVIVO (HVO), the world leader in testing infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge clinical trials, announced that it will release its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2023 on Tuesday 12 September 2023.

Comment: Given the incessant contract wins for HVO over recent months, one would imagine that there could be a decent run up for the shares around that time, whether just before, or just after the announcement. This is especially so given the improvement in the stock since March – June support was built near 14p.

Thor Explorations (THX) provided an operational and financial review for its Segilola Gold mine, located in Nigeria, and for the Company’s mineral exploration properties located in Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso for three and six months to June 30, 2023. The company said the second quarter of 2023 has seen good developments across Thor’s project portfolio. Operations are performing well, with the processing plant still operating above nameplate design. The company posted strong revenues for H1 of $81 million, with an EBITDA of $35.1 million and a net profit of $12 million for the same period. The company expects to achieve its total material mined forecast for H2, however grade control drilling for Q3 indicates a lower than forecast recovered gold production for the period.

Comment: It is perhaps ironic that over the near term at THX the sizzle has focused as much on the new lithium initiative, as the gold. Ideally, the lower gold production forecast will not detract from the overall solid numbers here, and the added lithium angle.

Ashington Innovation (ASHI), a special purpose acquisition company, announced it has entered into a non-binding heads of terms agreement with Calon Cardio-Technology Limited, to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares in Calon in an all-share transaction. The acquisition is subject to the completion of the proposed reverse takeover of Cell Therapy Limited. Calon is a UK medical device company developing a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), an implantable heart pump for patients with severe heart failure. ASHI said it was delighted to be able to announce our broader strategy namely, to create a material regenerative medicine group by combining some of the most innovative British companies. The biotech and MedTech sectors present compelling opportunities to create value for shareholders and the Proposed Acquisition of CTL and Calon represent high-quality targets with experienced and expert leadership teams.

Comment: Today’s RNS is a decent answer to recent mudslinging at the company, where one does not necessarily know if it is based on envy, a lack of knowledge, pure malice, or a mixture of all three. The LVAD is something which by definition could save lives, and one would hope the deal goes ahead smoothly on this basis alone.

Seeen (SEEN) the CEO reacted to recent share price weakness by purchasing 354,081 shares at 2.26p. Furthermore, he will vacillate employees purchasing shares without broker accounts. Seeen is a media and technology platform that delivers AI-led Key Video Moments to drive increased views and revenues across all its client’s video content. The recently reported losses for the December 2022 year-end reflect the stage of investments with R&D testing and certification, increased staffing costs and fees. The new focused strategy seems to be gaining traction as since the year-end there are two new strategic customers,  worth more than $1m in revenues and $0.25m annual GP so the cash burn rate is reducing. The net cash of cir. £1.7m suggests no imminent funding requirement.

Comment:  The CEO’s support helps build confidence that it new tech sales are progressing … a potential bottom fishing opportunity at the market cap of £2.3m.

Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL), the West African agriculture company, confirmed it has passed the BRC Global Food standard assessment at its large-scale cashew processing plant at Tiebissou, Côte d’Ivoire. DKL said completing all food and safety accreditation with the highest possible grade is a key milestone and is a testament to the quality of its Cashew Operation and management team.  It is now focused on becoming a consistent high quality producer of Cashews for its growing list of customers as it seeks to maximise prices for its high quality cashew products.

Comment: DKL has already proved this year that it has its agricultural ducks all in a row. The share price is already significantly up on the March lows, and today’s thumbs up regarding its cashews should continue to build confidence.

Aterian (ATN), the exploration and development company advancing its portfolio of African-focused critical and strategic metal assets was informed on 22 August 2023 of COO Luke Rogers buying 787,500 shares.

Comment: Keen watchers of ATN will have noticed that our Luke has bought his stock at 0.1p, around 8% above the mid-close, suggesting perhaps that the boy is keen.