07/09/2023

CleanTech Lithium (CTL), a sustainable lithium explorer and developer in Chile, announced that the company’s subsidiaries in Chile, Atacama Salt Lakes SpA and Laguna Negro Francisco SpA, have submitted applications for the Special Lithium Operation Contracts for the company’s two advanced projects; Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin. The company said it was the first company in Chile to apply for the operating contracts since the National Lithium Strategy was announced in April 2023. It believes this marks a major step towards advancing lithium supply from Chile to the global battery manufacturing and EV market.

Comment: It is not surprising that CTL is the first company in Chile to apply for licenses since the NLS was announced in April. This should finally put to bed the erroneous notion it would be affected by such risk, the apparent reason for the decline in the stock from 90p. We now have a situation where anything under 90p, and indeed, under 60p currently, provides a decent opportunity.

Chaarat Gold Holdings (CGH), the AIM-quoted gold mining company with an operating mine in Armenia, and assets at various stages of development in the Kyrgyz Republic, published its unaudited results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2023. The company said the previously announced proposed sale of Kapan is progressing well. Discussions continue with Xiwang on a potential investment that will enable the further development of Tulkubash as well as for external growth options.  In the meantime, efforts continue to improve the balance sheet, with the loan from Ameriabank successfully refinanced with outstanding principal repayment extended to 2025.

Comment: 2023 has been the year that CGH has refocused and rejigged and it looks to be the case that it could do what it should always have been, become a serious mid-tier producer.

First Class Metals PLC (FCM) the UK metals exploration company, announce that Marc J Sale, Chief Executive Officer, will be co-hosting an investor event in the City of London on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 from 6.00pm UK time in conjunction with Darren Hazelwood, CEO of Panther Metals (PALM) and Ryan Mee, CEO of Fulcrum Metals (FMET). FMET also announced an update on the results of a preliminary reconnaissance mapping and prospecting programme at the company’s Charlot-Neely uranium-gold and Fontaine Lake uranium-rare earth properties in northern Saskatchewan. The company said it was extremely pleased with the preliminary results of the fieldwork which has not only produced high radioactive readings from historical trends including off-scale scintillometer readings >65,535 cps, but also identified new discovery areas with significant radioactivity.

Comment: It looks as though those turning up at the Cote Brasserie, St Paul’s, are set to enjoy a Woodstock style supergroup of mining management, the question is which one is Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, or Eric Clapton? Be there or be square.

Abingdon Health (ABDX), announced a partnership with leading designer Morrama Ltd, a UK-based certified B-Corp design agency, to accelerate the development of plastic free lateral flow housings. ABDX said it was delighted to be partnering with Morrama to support the development of innovative, environmentally friendlier components and packing solutions for the lateral flow industry. Alongside Jo and the team at Morrama, it is keen to lead this change and provide its customers with viable sustainable alternatives to the traditional materials currently used.

Comment: ABDX has been on the front foot this year, to underline that the legacy of the pandemic is well behind it. Initiatives such as announced today can only help in this refocus.

Chill Brands (CHLL), the consumer packaged-goods distribution company, provided an update on its operations. The company said the Chill Zero range of nicotine-free vape products is off to a great start. A successful entry into the UK and positive results from its US pilot stores reaffirm that this is a category with significant growth potential. Many stockists of the products have commented on strong demand for nicotine-free alternatives and often highlight a lack of existing quality options on the market. There is a clear opportunity for Chill Brands to become a market leader in this space.

Comment: Fighting talk as one would expect from Chill’s thrusting young CEO. It is all now about sales, and apparently initial indications are good. Given the shares are back at recent support we may now be due a punting trade from current levels.

Amaroq Minerals (AMRQ), an independent mine development company, provided an update on its planned listing on the Nasdaq Main Market in Iceland. The company said moving its shares to Iceland’s Main Market will place Amaroq in a very favourable position. Since listing on First North last year, it has benefitted from strong demand from the Icelandic market and believe the Main Market listing will further enhance this.

Comment: Mum may have gone to Iceland, but so has Amaroq, and interestingly enough the market has seemingly cottoned on to the significant prospects that being listed on the Main Market there. This is largely on the basis of the traction it has already received on First North. Basically, there is more liquidity on almost any market than London.

Helium One Global (HE1), the primary helium explorer in Tanzania, announced that the company has raised gross proceeds of £6.3 million (approximately US$7.9 million) at a price of 6p. The Fundraise was oversubscribed. The company said it was delighted with the response that it has received during its oversubscribed Placing and Retail Offer. The funds raised now enable it to drill a further prospect immediately after the planned drill at Tai-C.  Itumbula has always ranked highly in its portfolio and to be able to drill it this side of the wet season, offers an excellent opportunity to utilise personnel and equipment and make a significant cost saving in the long term.

Comment: In some ways it is a pity that HE1 has come up with the masterstroke of raising money before we know the spud result later this month, as we are now not looking at a  punters’ favourite scenario – the binary bet. The set up now is that the share price may just stay flat if the spud disappoints, but could jump sharply and stay up, on a good result which is now fully funded.

Pantheon Resources (PANR), the AIM-quoted oil and gas company, announced that it has agreed to a private placement at 18.78p for an aggregate subscription amount of $2.793 million, to IPGL Limited an existing supportive long term shareholder of Pantheon. The company said it was pleased to have placed these shares in the hands of an already significant, long-term shareholder that is supportive of Pantheon’s corporate strategy for delivering sustainable market recognition of $5-$10 per barrel of recoverable resources.

Comment: Presumably the recent recovery in PANR off the back of a Kodiak resource estimate focused minds in terms of raising fresh cash. Once again the company has gone direct to a leading shareholder, rather than the brokers.

ImmuPharma (IMM) announced that it has raised gross proceeds of £130,683 at a price of 2 pence to existing retail investors of the company, via the Winterflood Retail Access Platform, in addition to the £1.35 million raised in the Subscription and Direct Subscription. Lisa Baderoon, Director, subscribed for 1,000,000 Retail Offer Shares in the Retail Offer.

Comment: A decent fundraise for IMM, with some director buying boosting confidence that the cash raised will be something to deliver a decent fundamental result, especially with regard to Lupuzor.

Arrow Exploration (AXL) the high-growth operator with a portfolio of assets across key Colombian hydrocarbon basins, provided an update on operational activity at the Carrizales Norte field on the Tapir Block in the Llanos Basin of Colombia where Arrow holds a 50% beneficial interest. The company said the CN-3 well is the 8th well in a row where the Company has proven commercial production.  The thick pay zone and production from the CN-3 well provides additional evidence of the potential in the Ubaque formation.  The company expects material reserve additions and production from further development of this zone at Carrizales Norte.  Additional pay zones currently behind pipe provide further opportunities for production and reserve increases in the future.

Comment: For shares of AXL to be anywhere near where they were at the beginning of this year seems unfathomable, even in current stock market conditions. At least it can be said that the longer this state of affairs continues, the greater the value / opportunity here given the pipeline / production / reserves prospects.

Mosman Oil and Gas (MSMN) the oil exploration, development, and production company, advised the company has completed an evaluation on further workovers at Falcon-1 in the US, which has been shut in this year, and determined not to invest additional resources in this project. The company said its priority areas in Texas continue to be at the Cinnabar and Stanley projects, and this transaction enables the team to focus on building production at these higher value areas.

Comment: It would appear that a change of management is as good as a rest as far as MSMN, and the company has also stepped up the newflow this week, something which is seemingly bringing in a fresh start for the company and its shares.

Touchstone Exploration (TXP) announced that the Cascadura natural gas and liquids facility has safely delivered first production. Touchstone has an 80 percent operating working interest in the Cascadura field, which is located on the Ortoire block onshore in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The commencement of production from Cascadura marks the most significant milestone to date in the Touchstone journey, transitioning us to a majority natural gas weighted production company. Its fixed price natural gas agreement will deliver a significantly increased predictable cashflow stream to be reinvested in the future development of our extensive Trinidad asset base.

Comment: Although TXP has made loud noises regarding the merits of it being in production, it has to be said that the market is yet to reward the company’s share price accordingly. Presumably, this state of affairs will rectify itself over the course of the autumn.

Technology Minerals (TM1), the UK company focused on creating a sustainable circular economy for battery metals, announce that it has raised £700,000 from a long-term shareholder through the issue of CLNs. Costs associated with this funding are being settled by the issue of CLNs for £35,000 on the same terms. The company it was pleased to have secured further funding from a long-term shareholder, that puts us in good stead to build upon the excellent progress it has made in establishing its twin-track strategy. The funding will support the company as it continues to advance its exploration assets up the value curve and Recyclus progresses through the commissioning phase at its Li-ion battery recycling plant and moves closer to commercial production.

Comment: TM1 shares have nudged higher in recent days, and now perhaps we understand why, as the group gets a decent slug of cash from an existing shareholder. This is certainly a theme in the market given how difficult it is to raise money via our friends the brokers.

Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) announced the assay results of the samples from the Uberaba phosphogypsum stack in Brazil that is the subject of the recently announced MOU between Rainbow and The Mosaic Company. The company said these positive initial assay results confirm that Uberaba represents a major opportunity for Rainbow to be able to develop an economic project along the lines of Phalaborwa, due to the similar nature of both gypsum resources.

Comment: RBW continues to impress in terms of the pace of the newsflow, and the shares have responded in kind. One would expect further gains as RBW makes operational progress such as it has announced today.

Another day, another RNS from Tertiary Minerals (TYM) regarding the Storuman Fluorspar Project in Sweden. The company said this is a welcome decision, albeit over 4 years in the making, and it clearly provides an opportunity for the project to move forward again. The Storuman Project once underpinned a much higher market capitalisation for the company and whilst there is no immediate intention to allocate significant resources from other projects, the re-emergence of the Storuman Project as a potential value catalyst is timely as fluorine, sourced from fluorspar, is a component in the most common electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries today and the use of fluorine-ion batteries is under active development.

Comment: Shares of TYM have rallied well in the wake of yesterday’s RNS, and today the company reminds us why it has effectively had a windfall in Sweden, something which could deliver a yet more significant re-rate for the company.