Matt Birney

ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals has signed the first of three sale agreements with Korean cosmetics manufacturer Varm Cosmo as part of the Perth-listed company’s $40 million deal with the Asian skincare business. MGC says the initial $8 million order will be followed by two more orders in the coming weeks to complete the landmark cannabis supply agreement.

Lithium Australia are on track to give the green light to a large scale, US$42m pilot plant for their SiLeach Lithium processing technology technology in Malaysia thanks to significant global interest in financing and offtake deals. The Perth-based technologist said off-take proceeds would be one of three principal sources of funding for the project, along with the company’s +$10m in cash reserves and future R&D rebates.

ASX-listed DroneShield has closed a share placement after receiving bids to raise $2.32 million in order to develop its innovative anti-drone technology. The company, which already has a sales presence in 50 nations, said the monies raised would be used to further market its drone detection and disabling technologies to militaries, law enforcement and civil infrastructure clients across the globe.

Blina Minerals could be set to resurrect their fortunes with a promising Cobalt project in Chile’s long-forgotten and amply named La Cobaltera district. The company has secured an option over 29 square kms immediately adjacent to historic, high-grade Copper/Cobalt workings that historically produced around 300 tonnes of high grade Cobalt during the turn of the century but has seen little modern exploration.

ASX-listed Sky and Space Global have become the first satellite company in history to facilitate financial transactions using nano-satellites as they advance towards full commercialisation of their miniature orbital devices. The history-making transaction was made in space using the Perth-listed company’s demonstration nano-satellites known as the “3 Diamonds”.

Altech’s ambitions to become the world’s biggest producer of in-demand high purity alumina (HPA) have received a major boost with a $17.4m placement that includes a $5.1m commitment from their German EPC contractor. Long-time existing shareholder, the Melewar Group also features in the new fund raising, which comes hard on the heels of a very positive financial study on the HPA project.

Auroch Minerals’ gamble on an old Czech Copper mine as future source of Cobalt for Europe’s battery factories continues to pay off, with hits of visible Cobalt minerals in the second hole of a maiden drill program. The company hit multiple bands of Copper and Cobalt sulphides over a zone of more than 130 metres, as predicted by Auroch’s 3D model.

ASX listed CV Check has started the financial year with cash receipts for the quarter up 26 per cent to $3 million on the back of a boom in corporate demand for its resume checking and verification services. The Perth-based company expects further growth in FY18 driven by cost cutting, recent wins of high-quality corporate customers and continued user take-up.

ASX-listed Sky and Space Global have successfully space tested a unique smartphone app developed to facilitate affordable phone calls, file transfers and text messaging via its three demonstration nano-satellites. The trial of the company’s “Chatellite” app was undertaken using a smartphone that costs just $1 and could be used on the Perth-listed company’s future miniature satellite network.

ASX-listed Aquabotix continues to rapidly expand its global distribution network, announcing emergency services equipment manufacturer W.S. Darley & Co as US distributor for its innovative range of underwater drones. The addition of Darley means Aquabotix now has distributor partners in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, India, Brazil and Scandinavia.

MGC Pharmaceuticals has hit a new high with expected monthly sales soaring to $3m from a $40m deal to supply its white labelled cannabis based cosmetic products to Korean cosmetics manufacturer, Varm Cosmo. The agreement is set to transform MGC Pharmaceuticals, Australia’s leading listed medical cannabis company with its products supplied in bulk to Varm Cosmo.

Lithium Australia have successfully wrapped up due diligence on the Very Small Particle Company and see breakthrough potential in merging VSPC’s patented cathode production technology with their own SiLeach process. The merger has the potential to create a single flow sheet from low-value Lithium minerals through to next generation cathode materials, with less steps than rival producers.

Altech Chemicals have finalised design of their high purity alumina plant in Malaysia, boosting capacity by 12.5% and widening the range of finished products so it can supply Lithium Ion battery makers. The design improvements will be reflected in an updated BFS due out soon as the company enters the final stages of securing a debt guarantee from the German Government.

Reedy Lagoon Corporation have received approval to drill two exploration holes to test for Lithium brines at their Big Smoky South project in Nevada, right on the doorstep of the only producing Lithium brines mine in the US. The company have produced some compelling drill targets after geophysical surveys suggested highly conductive brines at depth, potentially rich with Lithium.

There’s no doubt about it. Western Australia is truly blessed with an endowment of exotic minerals that will keep the wheels of industry turning around the world for hundreds of years to come. Altech Chemicals are sitting on a remarkable deposit of “Kaolin” in Meckering that is expected to make AUD$100m a year for Altech shareholders for at least the next 30 years, generating an NPV of AUD$650m

ASX-listed Sky and Space Global has signed a deal with Italian space systems company D-Orbit to provide launch and deployment services for the Perth-listed company’s constellation of up to 200 nano-satellites. The deal moves Sky and Space a step closer to rolling out its disruptive telco network based on the their next-generation miniature satellites that are capable of providing telco services to remote regions.

ASX-listed Peppermint Innovation’s advance to full commercialisation of its mobile payments technology continues, with the tech company signing a deal with major Philippines healthcare provider, Cooperative Health Management Federation of the Philippines. The company is partnering with CHMF to provide its 18000 members with mobile-based access to its healthcare services.

Recently listed Calidus Resources will jump into an additional 5,000 metres of drilling immediately east of its main Klondyke target at the Warrawoona Gold project after another strong batch of intercepts. Significant new gold intercepts included 24 metres at 2.52 g/t and 7 metres at 5.29 g/t, continuing an exceptional run of discovery success for the newly listed Calidus.

ASX-listed biotech PharmAust has hit several key milestones in the development of its promising anti-cancer drug Monepantel, or MPL as it is commonly known. The company says reformulation of the potential breakthrough anti-cancer substance is progressing well, with its Canadian partner, BRI Pharmaceutical Research, achieving long awaited improvements on taste and dosage capacity.

Excitement around Nzuri Copper’s joint venture with Ivanhoe Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been validated by some very interesting hits of Cobalt and Copper from early stage exploration. Drilling has identified a high-grade Cobalt zone at Monwezi West and shown that another target has similarities with Ivanhoe’s giant Kamoa-Kakula Copper discovery nearby.

Altech Chemicals have exercised an option to buy the land underneath their Meckering kaolin deposit, smoothing the way for a development that would make the company the world’s largest supplier of high purity alumina (HPA). Demand for HPA is expected to boom because of its essential role in Lithium Ion batteries and synthetic sapphire wafers found in LEDs, semiconductors, watches and consumer electronics.

Move over Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft. There’s a new tech industry on the rise and the valuations of its players are stunning. Some have market caps worth billions, others have been trading at multiples of 30 times earnings and the smaller ones get taken out by the big players for hundreds of millions of dollars. Appetise will be the only ASX listed online food ordering business when they list next month.

Lithium Australia shares have jumped by almost 20% on a run of positive developments, including news the company had taken a majority stake in a promising Lithium clays JV in Mexico. This followed last week’s announcement of an equity deal between ASX 200 Lithium miner Galaxy Resources and a junior technology company that licenses its technology to Lithium Australia in W.A.

A newly released feasibility study for Nzuri Copper’s Kalongwe Copper-Cobalt project in the DRC shows it will generate piles of cash for the junior explorer, with revenues of US$499m, an internal rate of return of 71% and an NPV of USD$116m. The project could be generating cash just 12 months after development approval underpinning Nzuri’s big ambitions for its prime tenements in the African copper belt.

ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals have harvested over 4,000 kilograms of cannabis for use in their range of marijuana-derived products as the Perth-listed company progresses its promising growing operations in Europe. MGC’s botanical division, largely based in the EU, is also on the verge of harvesting more than 450 medicinal cannabis plants for use in their genetic research program.

The seemingly insatiable global demand for Lithium has created a modern day gold rush of sorts – and everyone is looking for an edge. Those mining entrepreneurs who made their fortunes sniffing out gold, nickel and copper are now all fired up about the prospect of starting over again with Lithium. Whilst hard rock projects are popular, Lithium brines are set to star and Reedy Lagoon look to be well placed.

Calima Energy have bulked up their land holdings in the red hot, liquids-rich, Montney oil and gas play in Canada. This is the second time Calima have successfully bid in Government auctions for additional Montney acreage in the last month. The newly listed explorer’s acreage has increased by 6% and the company has enhanced its position as a significant landowner in one of North America’s hottest energy provinces.

Blackham Resources have added 310,000 ounces of gold to their Wiluna North suite of open pits and are now looking at digging one giant, 3.5km long super pit that will join together all of the historic workings in the area. Importantly, the global resource at the Wiluna project has cracked the 3 gram per tonne mark for the first time with the project now boasting 65m tonnes grading 3.1 g/t gold for 6.5m ounces.

Stargroup says transactions from its independent ATM network remain robust despite the four major banks scrapping cash withdrawal charges from their ATMs. Stargroup chief executive Todd Zani says the company’s revenue and transaction projections remain strong and the company is unlikely to be impacted by the changes because Stargroup’s ATMs operate in the insulated "convenience" market.

ASX listed DroneShield has the tiger by the tail in the anti-drone market. The ASX junior with a market cap of just $30m has carved out a suite of products that both detect and disable unmanned drones. The company’s stationary mounted “Drone Sentry” looks like a sci-fi version of ET and the “DroneGun” looks a bit like the ultimate warrior’s hand held machine gun – albeit it doesn’t shoot bullets.

Northern Minerals have raised $3m from a placement to a local sophisticated investor to top up financing for their $56 million Browns Range heavy rare earths project in the East Kimberley. The company also reported the first modules of the processing plant being built by Sinosteel MECC were due to ship from China by the end of the week.

ASX-listed biotech PharmAust has secured a patent in the US relating to the use of its promising anti-cancer drug Monepantel, for the treatment of non-cancerous conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and age-related illnesses. The patent is another move by Perth-based PharmAust to boost its global IP protections and follows the granting of patents in Europe, US, Australia and China.