Stocks In Focus
Blencowe Resources (BRES): Blencowe noted today’s determination by the US Department of Commerce imposing aggregate antidumping and countervailing duties of approximately 160% on Chinese graphite active anode material imports, subject to final ITC approval in March. The measures highlight the accelerating shift toward secure, non-China battery supply chains. Blencowe’s Orom-Cross project in Uganda is advancing as a large-scale, long-life graphite development, with ongoing drilling at Iyan and Beehive building toward updated JORC resource statements alongside parallel funding and offtake discussions.
Comment: Shares have been grinding higher as the market starts to focus on Orom-Cross’s potential scale and longevity. The upcoming sequential JORC upgrades could prove particularly interesting given the encouraging grades seen recently. Management messaging appears increasingly aligned with US strategic and funding audiences, with Washington engagement likely to sharpen attention further.
Rome Resources (RMR): Rome reported further high-grade tin intercepts from deep drilling at Kalayi, including 11m @ 3.4% Sn (incl. 4m @ 5.9%) and 4m @ 7.5% Sn, confirming mineralisation continues below the maiden resource. The programme is targeting the same structural corridor that hosts Alphamin’s nearby Mpama North mine, which averages ~4.3% Sn. Tin prices remain robust at around $50,000/t, while work at Mont Agoma is also advancing, with the next phase of drilling expected to follow ongoing geological modelling.
Comment: The key takeaway is that Kalayi is now delivering grades increasingly comparable to Alphamin’s Mpama North ($AFM), just 8km away and widely regarded as one of the highest-grade tin mines globally. Rome’s shares traded as low as ~0.4p during the previous stop-start campaign, but this latest deep drilling is exactly what the market has been waiting for: confirmation that high-grade shoots persist at depth. For those more familiar with copper benchmarks, it’s worth considering what these tin grades represent in equivalent value terms – the comparison speaks for itself and underlines why results like this tend to attract attention. With tin at ~$50k/t, these are the kinds of intercepts explorers hope to see. The upcoming investor webinar should provide useful additional context, and may be worth tuning into:
https://romeresources.com/webinars/MP7dNy-investor-call
Meanwhile, Mont Agoma remains an additional source of potential drilling news, with prior programmes there consistently returning encouraging results and the next phase of targeting now being refined.
Buccaneer Energy Plc (BUCE): Buccaneer recently reported strong results from its Organic Oil Recovery (OOR) pilot at Pine Mills, where production in the test area doubled from 15 bopd to 30 bopd. One well saw water cut reduced from 80% to 0%, demonstrating the potential to unlock additional oil at modest cost, similar to a routine workover. The Company plans to treat the remaining wells and expand the programme fieldwide. This sits alongside a broader optimisation strategy focused on increasing recovery and cash flow from existing assets. Importantly, Pine Mills carries an NPV10 of approximately $9.6 million at $60 oil, compared to a current market capitalisation of around £1.3 million.
Comment: This story is ultimately about backing a new, credible management team to rebuild Buccaneer after years of value destruction under prior leadership. The immediate priority is straightforward: generate enough stable, profitable production at Pine Mills for the asset to wash its face and begin producing meaningful cash flow. From there, management can leverage that base to fund incremental growth. The OOR pilot is significant because it shows production can be increased cheaply, quickly, and with limited risk. These are high-margin barrels from an existing field, not expensive exploration. With a large reserve base already defined and trading at a fraction of its NPV value, the focus now is on execution. If management continues to deliver incremental gains like this, the gap between the current valuation and underlying asset value has clear scope to narrow.
United Oil & Gas Plc (UOG): United has now completed the MBES phase of its offshore Jamaica survey, successfully acquiring over 1,100 km of high-resolution seabed data to refine the final piston coring locations. Piston coring is expected to begin imminently and my sources tell me that should take approximately one week to complete. This is the key stage of the programme, designed to physically test for the presence of thermogenic hydrocarbons within the basin. Initial geochemical results are expected to begin returning around one month after completion of offshore operations. The Walton-Morant Licence is considered a highly prospective frontier basin, with multiple independent indicators of a working petroleum system already identified through seismic, satellite slick data, and historic onshore seeps.
Comment: This is the phase the market has been waiting for. For years, the Jamaica story has been supported by strong technical evidence — but piston coring now moves it from interpretation to physical proof. Even trace hydrocarbons recovered from the seabed would materially strengthen the case that a working offshore petroleum system exists. The commercial implications of that are significant. United’s strategy is not to drill this basin alone, but to farm out to a larger industry partner capable of funding and executing exploration. Positive piston core results would substantially strengthen United’s negotiating position in those discussions.
This is a classic frontier exploration pathway: progressively de-risking the basin through relatively low-cost technical work ahead of a potential partner-funded drilling campaign. With piston coring taking place now and results expected in the coming weeks, the focus shifts firmly to execution — and whether the physical data confirms what the technical evidence has been indicating all along.
Sterling Digital Plc (ASIC): Sterling is one to keep an eye on here. The Company has flagged that first production could be close, with the key remaining milestone a gas purchase contract that is expected to be sufficient to fund the business through to production. Bitcoin sentiment is obviously poor right now, but that’s exactly when the market starts to differentiate. In every cycle, the higher-cost miners get squeezed first, while the lowest-cost producers tend to emerge with more share, more leverage, and better upside when BTC stabilises and turns.
Comment: If Sterling can lock in gas on the right terms and move into production as guided, the story shifts quickly from “concept” to “cashflow”. In a weak BTC tape, that matters more, not less — because the market is looking for survivability. And if history rhymes and the cycle turns, low-cost miners are usually the first names investors go back to.
RNS Announcements Of The Day
Sovereign Metals Limited (SVM) announced the execution of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Traxys North America LLC (Traxys), a leading global physical commodity trader and merchant, for the marketing and sale of graphite products from the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project (Kasiya) in Malawi. Upon signing the MOU, Managing Director Frank Eagar commented: “We are pleased with the appointment of Traxys as a potential graphite marketing partner. Traxys is not only one of the world’s foremost physical commodity traders with annual turnover exceeding US$10 billion, but has just this month been selected as one of only three trading houses to procure critical minerals for the US Government’s landmark US$12 billion Project Vault – the newly established US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve.
Comment: Given the way that most of its peers in the critical metals and commodities space have already rocketed, it remains something of a mystery as to why SVML has so far not joined the party. One would expect this state of affairs to be rectified in the wake of today’s announcement. Chart wise we are currently in a bull flag set up, and a two month target of 55p is on tap on a sustained break of recent 40p resistance.
Metir plc (MET), the leading global provider of fast-response, mobile and point-of-use water and environmental monitoring technologies, announced the successful completion of Phase 1 of its collaboration with Aptamer Group plc (APTA), achieving the agreed technical feasibility objectives for the development of novel Optimer® binders for integration into Metir’s real-time, continuous Pathogen Detector platform. As announced on 11 September 2025, Metir entered into a contract with Aptamer to develop novel Optimer® binders targeting the rapid detection within minutes of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in water, for potential incorporation into Metir’s continuous pathogen detection system.
Comment: We remember the great collaborations of our time between the SDP and the Liberals, the Granita agreement between Blair and Brown, and in pop, Queen / David Bowie, UB 40 / Chrissie Hynde. However, Metir / Aptamer could be the won to beat them all.
Raspberry Pi (RPI): UBS raised its recommendation to ‘buy’.
Comment: One wonders if the market really cares about broker upgrades / downgrades, as they are usually more a way of the broker in question promoting itself. Nevertheless, at least for today, the “buy” recommendation (not investment advice) seems to be doing the trick for the RPI share price. For some reason the shares were also up strongly yesterday. Those Chinese walls may have Chinese whispers attached.
MTI Wireless Edge Ltd (MWE), the technology group focused on comprehensive communication and radio frequency solutions across multiple sectors, provided an unaudited trading update for the year ended 31 December 2025. MTI expects to report FY2025 revenues of approximately $51.5 million, which is at the high end of the range of current market expectations. Following very strong growth in EBIT in FY2025 (approximately 30% over 2024), the Company expects reported FY2025 earnings per share to be significantly ahead of current market expectations.
Comment: Coverage and market awareness of MWE is so sparce that I am actually covering the stock today in the hope that someone, somewhere takes notice of the company’s achievements. One wonders why there is such a chronic lack of traction in terms of MWE, perhaps now this will change in the wake of a strong RNS.
OptiBiotix Health plc (OPTI), a life sciences business developing products which reduce hunger and food cravings, enhance the gut microbiome, and sweet fibres as healthy sugar substitutes provided a statement relating to the recent announcements made by SkinBioTherapeutics. OptiBiotix recognises the uncertainty in the market from recent announcements by SBTX and its impact on the value of the Company’s 5.64% holding in SBTX. OptiBiotix confirms it has no current intention to sell its SBTX shares. The Company confirms it has not sold any ProBiotix Health (“PBX”) shares and has no current plans to sell PBX shares. The Company’s unaudited cash position as of 31st December 2025 was just over £1 million (2024: £739k) with no current requirement to raise new funds.
Comment: Thanks to the efforts of those who enjoy making a living out of throwing mud at small companies, because they are incapable of doing else with their life, we have the spectacle of OPTI having to highlight that it, PBX and SBTX are not a house of cards trio. It would appear that OPTI should have sold out when it had the chance, and now has to hope that this was not a ghastly mistake.
Applied Nutrition (APN), a leading sports nutrition, health and wellness brand, today announced an update on trading for the six months ended 31 January 2026. The Group delivered a very strong performance in the first half of the financial year, generating revenue of £74.5 million, an increase of 57% on H1 FY25 (£47.6 million). EBITDA for the period was also ahead of management expectations.
Comment: Another under the radar company with a RNS which is poetry. The shares have more than doubled since the April dip last year, and given the strength of today’s revelation appear set to do much more. Above the recent 50 day moving average support zone at 240p a target as high as 300p is possible even as soon as the end of March.
Georgina Energy Plc, (GEX) updated on the recent site visit to the Hussar drilling site EP513. The Company’s representatives and technical consultancy team travelled to the Hussar prospect re-entry site on 12th February 2026 to undertake detailed inspections and evaluate the work required for drilling and camp pads, access routes, water well drilling, airstrip remediation and to investigate a back-up or secondary reserve airstrip at Carnegie Station. The programme is intended to ensure that required work will be successfully completed to enable rapid mobilisation of the drilling rig to site to commence drilling on schedule.
Comment: Despite the constant psychotic mudslinging directed at the company it still continues to progress, something which will eventually dilute the effects of the negativity. Indeed, one could argue that this means the current share price remains undercooked.
TPXimpact Holdings PLC (TPX), a leading technology-enabled services company focused on people-powered digital transformation, confirmed an £11 million contract uplift as part of its ongoing strategic delivery partnership with His Majesty’s Land Registry (HMLR). TPXimpact continues to work in close collaboration with HMLR’s internal teams to modernise systems and further improve the speed and quality of service for customers. This partnership is a key component of HMLR’s transition toward a digital-first organisation, combining TPXimpact’s specialist technical expertise with HMLR’s deep sector knowledge.
Comment: As chronicled here several times TPX continues to deliver a strong turnaround both in the fundamental news, as well as the share price. The charting target is a 2025 triangle top target of 50p as soon as the end of March. This is especially while the shares now at 35p remain on the right side of 30p.
Sterling Digital plc (AQSE: ASIC), a company established to develop low-energy-cost Bitcoin mining operations in the United States, is pleased to announce the purchase of application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) mining servers. ASIC servers are specialised, high-performance computing devices designed to carry out the cryptographic calculations that validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. In return for contributing computing power to secure and maintain the decentralised Bitcoin blockchain, miners that successfully validate blocks may receive Bitcoin block rewards and transaction fees.
Comment: ASIC has already done enough to prove that it is not just another BTC play, and a company that can thrive even if the market is in a sulk regarding the crypto space in the wake of the post October decline. In this case it could be an example of the miners doing bettter than those selling the picks and shovels, gold rush in the space or not.
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