Announcements

Peppermint Innovation has signed an agreement with Singaporean-based CredoLab to deliver credit scoring spinoffs to cash-payment plagued Filipinos who do not have access to banking facilities. At least 70 million Filipinos do not operate a bank account and are paid their weekly wages in cash, however a credit rating via their mobile phones will expedite future access to micro finance and micro insurance services.

Galena Mining will ask shareholders to approve a one-for-five share split to bring the company’s rampant share price down to levels more familiar to retail investors. The unusual move, just five months after the company listed, could prove to be a positive for shareholders if previous share splits are any guide. Both Fortescue Metals and Iron Bark Zinc have successfully pulled off share splits in the past.

Former market darling Aspire Mining is back on the front foot in Mongolia thanks to a big rebound in coking coal prices and its good fortune in landing in the middle of China’s ambitious plans to build railway routes into Europe. The company has seized the opportunity to recapitalise its balance sheet and is aiming to be in production by mid-2019 with its smaller satellite coal deposit.

Strike Energy has spudded the Jaws-1 exploratory oil and gas well in South Australia which may turn out to be a historic move for the John Poynton Chaired ASX-listed junior. Set to be drilled to an extraordinary target depth of 2000m, Jaws-1 may well become the deepest pure coal seam gas well ever drilled not only in Australia, but possibly in the southern hemisphere.

Newly listed BlackEarth Minerals has received a glowing report on the size and quality of graphite at its flagship Maniry project in southern Madagascar, finding plenty of high-purity, jumbo sized flakes that attract premium prices. The report highlighted the Razafy prospect, where BlackEarth is poised to launch a 10,800-metre drill program to establish a maiden JORC resource by mid-year.

Northern Minerals shareholders are eager to increase their exposure to the heavy rare earths developer as it nears first production at Browns Range, applying for $11.7m in stock under the recent share purchase plan. A further $1.3m was raised in a placement on the same terms, providing Northern with a $14m war chest to invest in exploration and further enhancements at Browns Range.

A NATO decision to catalogue ASX listed Droneshield’s anti-drone gun and issue the aerial drone-combatting device with a stock number has opened up a window of potential sales opportunities for the company. Up to 29 NATO aligned militaries and other non-aligned forces, will now be encouraged to purchase the product with increased confidence, without first having to first put it through a rigorous testing procedure.

Blackham Resources shareholders have thrown their collective weight behind a $36m entitlement issue, taking up 87% of the offer in a strong show of support after a dramatic turnaround at the Matilda-Wiluna gold project. The high take up by existing shareholders follows some stunning operational results in January, including record monthly gold production, and record-low all in sustaining costs.

Nzuri Copper has produced its best copper hits yet from a target area immediately along strike from the Kalongwe project in the DRC, opening the door for a possible significant extension of mine life. Drill hits of up to 7.7% copper were accompanied by encouraging cobalt intercepts, all at shallow depths and within 5km of the flagship project.

Middle Island Resources has entered a deal with Canadian-based Tajiri Resources to sell the last of its West African gold interests.The company announced this week it had executed a heads of agreement with Tajiri to sell its Reo project in Burkina Faso. The deal earns Middle Island up to US$355,000 in a series of cash payments and 8% of the fully diluted capital of TSX-V listed Tajiri.

Sky and Space Global will supply telco coverage and connectivity to Ghanaian telecoms service provider, Universal Cyberlinks as part of a five-year deal. The ASX-listed company opened slightly higher on the ASX as the market appeared to embrace an agreement that appears to underpin the company’s claims that it is capable of providing more economical and efficient communications to remote areas of the planet.

Listed security surveillance company Spectur is set to frighten the hell out of intruders in the dark with its new “Thermal Camera Detection System” that can see an intruder up to 1km away in complete darkness. Once activated, Spectur’s associated security system will flood the area with a massive floodlight, followed by a sci-fi style bull horn kicking into gear with a high decibel warning to the hapless trespasser.

ASX-listed Connected IO is on the brink of tying up and toasting its largest contract to date after a leading US-based cyber security firm completed prototype trials and delivered a flying pass mark for its wireless “internet of things” routers. The company said it will now enter a three-year-deal to supply the cloud-based, online card data security business with $6.9million worth of its high-tech products.

Classic Minerals has begun a drill program at the Lady Magdelene deposit in the Marvel Loch area with high hopes of finding a repeat of the high-grade gold that transformed the economics of the neighbouring Lady Ada deposit. The new program is the third phase of drill activity by Classic at its Forrestania gold project, which has already delivered multiple high-grade hits and sent the company’s share price soaring.

An offshore investment and research house has looked at ASX-listed Neometals with a fresh set of eyes and come up with huge valuation of $1.43 a share. The London firm says Neometals is wrongly perceived as just a holding company with a minority share in a lithium mine and believes a corporate split into separate mining and technology companies could trigger a re-rating of its stock.

Sky and Space Global’s successful testing of its Chatellite app has opened up a world of telecommunications options, including voice calls or text messages to any landline or mobile number on the planet. The company’s telco network has significantly expanded and will now be able to cover the four corners of the globe once its full-array of up to 200 nanosatellites have been launched into space orbit.

ASX-listed security surveillance company Spectur has posted strong sales of its cutting-edge solar powered camera systems in January after delivering record revenues in the December quarter, bolstered by a successful expansion into NSW, Queensland and Victoria. The Perth-based company expects further growth this year assisted by key appointments aimed at accelerating the development and rollout of its new surveillance technologies.

ASX-listed Volt Resources is on the threshold of a development decision at its impressive Bunyu Graphite Project in Tanzania following a mining licence application this week, the last key approval needed for the US$173m project. The company is targeting an investment decision in the next quarter, clearing the way for the commencement of Stage 1 at the lucrative looking project.

Blackham Resources’ shares have soared after the company delivered on a promised turnaround at the Matilda-Wiluna gold project in January, with record monthly gold production and record low costs taking it well into the black. The company is on track to reach its target of 80,000-90,000oz in calendar 2018 and is now in danger of spitting out nearly $40m in free cash in a year..

DroneShield has launched a miniature new drone-detection device known as RadarZero, which weighs only 1.25kg and is the size of a paperback book offering all the associated benefits of pint-sized mobility. The new device can detect unwanted UAV intrusions up to 750m away and works as a standalone product or in collaboration with other DroneShield products to safeguard critical infrastructure such as airports, prisons and resorts and for military missions.

High-grade gold intercepts by Classic Minerals at the Forrestania Gold project going over 2 ounces to the tonne, have confirmed high-grade extensions of two orezones and added to evidence of a large-scale gold system. The impressive results back up a new geological interpretation of the region by recently appointed CEO, Dean Goodwin, and pave the way for a resource upgrade.

US oilfield services giant Halliburton has been piqued by Strike Energy’s ambitious Southern Cooper Basin project and has penned a MOU with the Adelaide explorer to potentially drill dozens of wells in the area. The deal has emerged less than a week before the ground-breaking Jaws-1 appraisal well kicks off. It will be one of the deepest pure coal seam wells ever drilled, at 2000m.

Plymouth Minerals is pulling out all stops at its San Jose lithium-tin project in Spain, appointing a senior executive to negotiate off-take deals and changing its name to reflect its aspirations for a big future based on lithium. Ryan Parkin has been appointed General Manager Corporate Development, bringing in additional skills to take San Jose from an advanced exploration project to a major supplier of lithium to the European market.

Draig Resources’ punt on a high-grade parallel lode to the famed and now closed Bellevue mine in the Wiluna belt continues to pay off, with a new series of high-grade gold hits at the Tribune Lode. Latest drill results have extended the depth of Bellevue-style quartz sulphide gold and confirmed the continuity, prompting acceleration in drilling activity.

ASX-listed Connected IO has secured a letter of intent from a US-based cyber security company to provide it with customised routers ahead of a proposed deal worth $6.9 million over a three-year period. The deal, which is expected to be finalised in the next week, will see Connected IO supply the US company with its cutting-edge Category 1 internet of things wireless routers .

Calima Energy has received an all-important permit from British Columbia authorities to build the road it hopes will lead to riches by unlocking liquids-rich hydrocarbons at its Canadian Montney Formation play. The company is shifting from acquisition phase to operational mode and will construct the road to give drill rigs and personnel access into one of the most lucrative plays in North America.

Geopacific is toasting the gift that keeps on giving at its Woodlark gold project in Papua New Guinea, which has delivered more high-grade intercepts in assay results from a 22-hole drilling campaign at the Boscalo area. The Perth company is on track to develop a world-class gold mining operation at Woodlark as it targets a revised ore reserve estimate of one million ounces plus by next month.

A young geologist who made several gold discoveries in the Forrestania gold belt 20 years ago has returned to the region at the helm of Classic Minerals to complete some unfinished business. Exciting geological models that went untested years ago because of a 2001 corporate collapse are finally being put to the test and already yielding spectacular results.

Greenland Minerals and Energy is manoeuvring itself to be one of the world’s largest suppliers of rare earth minerals outside of China. The company is looking to ride the clean energy wave with its elephant sized rare earths play in Greenland and it has already managed to lasso a major Chinese rare earths investor with a balance sheet worth around $4.5b.

Sky and Space Global has hit another milestone in its foray into the South American telecommunications market, with the ASX-listed company commencing testing of its nano-satellite based narrow-band communications network with major regional telco Globalsat Group. After testing, the two companies plan to negotiate a deal that will see Sky and Space provide telco services to Globalsat’s pan-South American customer base.

Aspire Mining has welded together a powerful consortium of Chinese players to deliver on its giant coal project in Mongolia. The ASX-listed junior said last week it has now expanded its consortium to include massive Chinese Government contracting firm The Gezhouba Group. The building of the proposed 549km rail will open up a world of opportunities for Aspire to commercialise its globally significant Ovoot coking coal project.

ASX-listed DroneShield has taken another major step with its cutting-edge anti-drone military hardware, winning a Paraguay Government tender for its drone defence products. The tender is a landmark deal for DroneShield, representing its first South American order and comes amid a ramp up in demand for drone-related security products in that country.