Skip to main content

Your stock market edge

Raspberry Pi Ltd, a company involved in low-cost, high-performance computing, announced that it is considering an initial public offering and that it intends to publish today a registration document. The Company is considering applying for admission of its ordinary shares to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Comment: Given the state of the London stock market Raspberry Pi should be paid to list rather than take the approx. £500,000 cost itself. A hat tip to the company for making the move, especially given the negative commentary regarding the relative benefits of being listed or private in the press.

Vast Resources (VAST), the AIM-listed mining company, announced that it has raised £616,000 gross at a price of 0.22p. The Placing was undertaken by the Company’s joint broker, Axis Capital Markets Ltd. VAST said the net cash raised from the Placing will be used for bridging the short-term gap in operational expenses while the Company awaits the first tranche of the structural refinancing to close and to cover near-term corporate obligations, and working capital needs.

Comment: It was suggested in the latest Bulletin Board Heroes video that VAST shares could rebound, if there was no fundraise, and of course, then there was a fundraise.

MicroSalt  (SALT) a company producing low-sodium salt for food manufacturers and consumers, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted and will issue its patent number 11,992,034 entitled Low Sodium Salt Composition on 28 May 2024. This relates to Microsalt’s patent application No. 18/175,028, previously announced by the Company on 6 March 2024. SALT said it believes the grant of patent 11,992,034 is an important milestone for the Company as it further strengthens its IP position in the global low sodium market.

Comment: After a stellar start on the market earlier this year we have seen shares of SALT consolidate. But the run up to today’s news has seen a revival in the shares, something which one would now expect to continue.

Oracle Power (ORCP), an international project developer, announced that it has been awarded a “no objection certificate” from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency based on the Initial Environmental Examination report, which is a part of the ESIA report. ORCP said it was very pleased to receive SEPA’s NOC for the construction of the project, as it meets an important condition for potential financing of the project and marks another important milestone in the development of our renewable energy project in Pakistan. It also underscores its commitment to quick project advancement and adherence to sustainable development practices. It remains committed to complying with all the conditions outlined by SEPA and ensuring the successful implementation of the project.

Comment: Fresh from its latest fundraise, ORCP moves forward in Sindh. The question now is how much the shares can rebound off the back of newsflow such as today’s and hopefully soon, line of sight on a liquidity event for the company.

Critical Metals (CRTM), a mining company established to acquire mining opportunities in the critical and strategic metals sector, announced the appointment of Dr. Avinash Bisnath to the Board as Non-Executive Director, with immediate effect. CRTM said it was thrilled to welcome Avinash to the Board of Critical Metals. Avinash has visited Molulu many times over the last two years and has a solid understanding on how the Molulu copper ore seams were formed. This knowledge coupled with his extensive experience in exploration and beyond will prove invaluable to the Company as it advances the Phase 1 drilling programme to increase the input of data for the block model, mine plan, and ultimately for publishing a JORC report at Molulu.  It is also delighted to welcome a new independent QP to support it in these objectives.

Comment: Given recent newsflow it can be said that CRTM needs fresh newsflow, and in the case of the RNS today, a fresh face. Developments from Molulu will now be key, especially on the JORC front.

Sovereign Metals Limited (SVML) announced the results of downstream testwork conducted at leading, independent consultancy ProGraphite GmbH (ProGraphite) in Germany. SVML said these results clearly demonstrate that Kasiya has the potential to disrupt the China dominated graphite supply chain as a long term, secure source of high quality graphite ex-China. It believe Kasiya graphite will have industry low operating costs and is also one of the largest graphite resources globally holding a significant advantage over its graphite peers.

Comment: Those who are familiar with SVML will have known that one of the company’s big plus points is the quality of its graphite, something underlined by today’s announcement.

SYME (SYME), the fintech business which provides an innovative fintech platform for use by manufacturing and trading companies to access Inventory Monetisation© solutions enabling their businesses to generate cashflow, announced that it has secured new equity funding with gross proceeds of £1,552,500. SYME said it was excited to see such great interest on its company by Keith, Bayley, Rogers & Co. Limited and its investors. It is the first time that SYME engaged a broker to raise capital and it has demonstrated that, as recorded in 2023, London remains Europe’s most active equity market with more capital raised than the other European exchanges for high-growth businesses. It is sure that its inventory funders and partners will see this capital infusion as a positive step forward for SYME, considering its key role as inventory specialist within the current Inventory Monetisation programmes and future opportunities.

Comment: It would be interesting to survey the investors of Keith, Bayley, Rogers & Co. Limited to know what they think they are investing in, and what kind of timeframe they expect a return on their money at SYME.

i3 Energy (I3E), an independent oil and gas company, announced its operating and financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2024. I3E said Q1 2024 was a period of intense corporate activity during which it refinanced its existing debt with a non-amortising, traditional oil and gas reserves-based loan and laid the groundwork for monetising the majority of its non-core royalty production which significantly strengthened its balance sheet and increased liquidity. This financial restructuring supports the long-term sustainability of its total shareholder return model and sets the Company up for a busy operational period for the second half of the year, during which it will drill a diversified inventory of drilling locations across its Canadian portfolio, designed to grow production and advance development of some key assets.

Comment: It has certainly been the case that of late I3E has been moving to rejig the business in terms of financing and balance, something which the market has not yet credited it with. Nevertheless, further production and asset gains are likely to finally move the dial.

Golden Metal Resources (GMET), a strategic development and mineral exploration company focused on Nevada, USA, announced an exploration update at the Company’s 100% owned Garfield project located within the prolific Walker Lane Mineral Belt in Nevada, USA. GMET said the geophysical inversion results have identified two very exciting magnetic anomalies at depth within the Project. Importantly, both of these anomalies are coincident with strong copper anomalism at surface within both the High-Grade and Power-Line Zones.

Comment: Shares of GMET have been in a 14p-16p range for much of the year to date. Announcements like today’s should lead to a break to the upside sooner, rather than later.

Abingdon Health (ABDX), an international lateral flow Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation, announced the launch of Boots own-brand, saliva pregnancy self-test across the UK and online, in partnership with Salignostics and Crest Medical. ABDX said it was delighted to announce the launch of the Boots branded saliva pregnancy test in conjunction with its partners Salignostics and Crest Medical. This launch showcases its ability to deliver innovative and disruptive private label products through its CDMO/CRO lateral flow full-service proposition with one of the most trusted UK brands – Boots.

Comment: In a post pandemic world announcements like today’s which are solid probably do not get as much love in the stock market as they should. This is especially true given that ABDX only has a £12m market cap.

Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV), a gold project development company announced that the work required for the submission for the grant of a Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility for an operating gold mine at the Lobo high-grade gold mining target, within the Batangas project area in the Philippines has commenced. BMV said momentum is everything, so it is delighted to announce the next step in the advancement of the Batangas Gold Project in the Philippines. Work streams towards both the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility and the Environmental Compliance Certificate, the two key outstanding compliance permissions for the Project to advance to the production decision, are now underway.

Comment: This has been the month for the big turnaround at BMV, in the wake of the US$5 million Farm-out Agreement for its high grade Gubong Gold Project in South Korea. As the company has said today, it wishes to maintain the momentum.