Hummingbird Resources (HUM) announced that the Kouroussa Gold Mine processing plant has reached the practical completion stage, and has entered the commissioning phase towards achieving first gold pour this quarter, Q2 2023. The company said Kouroussa is on track to pour first gold within the current quarter, and the start of commissioning of the processing plant is a significant step forward in achieving this objective. As it begins the commissioning phase to bring Kouroussa online, it remains heavily focussed on safety at this busy time. Additionally, operational readiness and the transition to daily operations is a key part of this phase as it looks not just to first gold, but to ramping up production to name plate capacity, moving the company to being a +200,000-ounce, multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction gold producer.
Comment: Thankfully, the stock market has finally woken up to the +200,000-ounce, multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction gold producer, and the way that with a single figure share price HUM was significantly undervalued. One would expect a further re-rate as the first pour at Kouroussa comes closer.
Arrow Exploration (AXL) the operator with a portfolio of assets across key Colombian hydrocarbon basins, announces the filing of its Annual Audited Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 and the filing of its 2022 year-end reserves report. The company said that currently, Arrow is ready to spud the first well at Carrizales Norte which could have a significant impact on the company in both production and reserves as well as establishing a new core area. The 3D seismic West Tapir project has now completed shooting and is currently being processed and is expected to further evaluate 2D recognized fault prospects. Looking further ahead, in 2024 the company is planning a second 3D project on the east side of the Tapir block to evaluate other 2D recognized prospects.
Comment: Investors will have to look far and wide for any company which has improved its metrics as much as AXL has over the course of last year, with the good news being that we are already well into 2023 and the company has already hit significant new milestones.
Pennpetro Energy (PPP), an independent oil and gas company focusing on production in the Gonzales Oil Field in Texas, USA, announced its corporate update and the financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2022. The company said that In line with its strategy, all its operations are in highly active plays where the economics of drilling and producing remain attractive at sub-$30 oil prices. This highlights the success it has had in taking advantage of the prior industry downturn to accelerate the positioning of our South Texas leasehold position in favour of the Austin Chalk and Eagleford Shale.
Comment: Those who follow Pennpetro closely will know that the company has been transformed in recent weeks and is set to re-rate off the back of its rebooted strategy at scale.
Vinanz Limited (AQSE: BTC), the London listed Bitcoin mining company focusing on decentralised deployment of Bitcoin mining clusters in multiple data facilities throughout the US and Canada, announces that, on the 28th of April 2023, David Lenigas (Chairman of Vinanz) has made a purchase of the following ordinary shares at a price per share of 3.148 pence. Following this purchase, David Lenigas’s shareholding has increase from 17.17% to 17.51%.
Comment: Despite some of the hysterical commentary regarding Vinanz, we see the Chairman leading from the front in terms of adding to his already large shareholding in the company, something which is always regarded as a green flag fundamentally.
Powerhouse Energy Group (PHE), a company pioneering integrated technology that converts non-recyclable waste into low carbon energy, announced that it has assumed full ownership and control of the Protos plastics to hydrogen project at the Protos site near Chester in the UK. This has been brought about by PHE completing the acquisition of the entire shareholding in Protos Plastics to Hydrogen No 1 Ltd from Peel NRE Ltd for a nominal payment of £1. PHE said having spent some time considering the best option for the Protos project, it has agreed with Peel that PHE will assume full control of the project and its further development. In this respect it has already started working with Petrofac and are reviewing the engineering of the project with the view to optimising costs and performance. The next step will be to seek commercial agreements for the offtakes, whether this be electricity, heat, hydrogen or other products, prior to seeking to raise finance for the construction.
Comment: Possibly the most intelligent and significant update from Powerhouse in years, if only on the basis that the company grabs all the work done at Protos and is now in a position to accelerate towards the building of the first plant.
Destiny Pharma (DEST), a clinical stage innovative biotechnology company, announced very encouraging results from its collaboration with SporeGen Limited. The collaboration has been partly funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) since September 2020 to co-develop SporeGen’s SPOR-COV product as a novel, preventive treatment for COVID-19, influenza and potentially other similar respiratory viral infections. The company said this Innovate UK funded research project has delivered some very exciting data and it is now discussing next steps with its partners.
Comment: A RNS of significance which not only backs the recent share price recovery at DEST, but reminds us of the company’s backing from UKRI – always key as far as the cost of development is concerned.
Longboat Energy (LBE), the emerging full-cycle E&P company, announce that it has reached agreement with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd to make a significant investment into its Norwegian subsidiary, Longboat Energy Norge AS, to form a joint venture. The joint venture will be renamed Longboat JAPEX Norge AS, with a goal of building a leading Norwegian-focussed independent. LBE said it was delighted to have found a strong and complementary strategic partner in JAPEX. JAPEX has been looking for the best way to enter Norway and identified Longboat as an excellent match to reach its strategic objective.
Comment: Perhaps in terms of timing for most holders of Longboat, the ship had already sailed before today’s announcement. It will be interesting to see how much of a re-rate here emerges on what is an excellent development.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
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