Announcements

Wireless technology innovator Connected IO could be in for an unexpected bonus thanks to a surge in gold exploration activity around a project retained from its former days as a gold explorer. Connected IO’s Mission and Cables Gold project is next door to the 3Moz Darlot gold mine, now undergoing a renaissance under new ownership. The company has engaged an outside party to evaluate the project.

Auroch Minerals have hit more Cobalt with their third drill at the Tisova project in the Czech Republic, even before reaching the predicted target zone. The hole will be redrilled after hitting an historic void, with the fourth hole in the program to get underway in the meantime. The new Cobalt hits follow a big hit in the previous hole with visible Cobalt and Copper over a 130m interval.

The processing plant for the Browns Range heavy rare earths mine in the East Kimberley has begun to arrive from China, keeping Northern Minerals on track for first production by mid-2018. Northern Minerals has also drawn down the first tranche of their innovative R&D financing facility for the 100%-owned W.A project, which is set to become the world’s first significant producer of Dysprosium outside of China.

Pilbara gold explorer Calidus Resources have cemented control of the Warrawoona gold project, exercising the right to acquire some key tenements. Calidus have also finalised a JV with Canada’s Novo Resources Corp after due diligence found a number of gold anomalies on Novo’s tenements and prospective new trends that had not been previously recognised.

Legend Mining's Rockford project is gathering investor interest with the company's stock jumping by 55% in the past month. Nickel's growing recognition as a key part of the electric vehicle boom, coupled with Legend's blue chip address, just down the road from the revered Nova-Bollinger deposit, is putting legend onto the radars of investors. The company has just kicked off a 5000m drill program.

Calima Energy’s early entry into one of the largest resource plays in North America has earned it kudos from leading broker Euroz, who has initiated coverage on the oil and gas upstart with a share price target of almost double its current price . Euroz says that Calima have acquired most of their ground in the coveted Montney Basin at a fraction of the value implied by recent comparable acreage transactions.

Perth listed Connected IO has secured a purchase order from electronics giant LG for the "internet of things" tech tyro's cutting-edge wireless communications devices. The company says it received the initial order from electronics giant LG, flowing from its relationship with US telco Verizon, for 140 next-gen routers to assist LG with its North American wireless requirements.

ASX-listed Aquabotix has launched some new technology for their innovative range of underwater drones that enables its users to control the unmanned vehicles from anywhere in the world via the internet. The underwater robotics company says the game-changing tech also allows multiple users in different locations to operate the same vehicle remotely from everyday devices such as computers, phones and iPads.

Whilst most other medical marijuana companies are still trying to work out how to make money, ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals are busy collecting purchase orders for their cannabis based products. The company has signed a binding heads of agreement with local pharmaceutical distributor, HL Pharma to distribute MGC's low cost, cannabis based epilepsy drug CannEpil in Australia.

ASX listed PharmAust’s wholly owned subsidiary Epichem has been named WA exporter of the year in recognition of the Perth-based company’s ongoing excellence in the medicinal chemistry field. Epichem also received the Health and Biotechnology gong at the prestigious West Australian business event and PharmAust are predicting further rapid growth at the subsidiary, forecasting revenues of $4 million for FY18.

Lithium Australia’s plans for entering the high-value business of battery cathode materials with the acquisition of the Very Small Particle Company have been boosted by independent test results. A test lab in Germany found VSPC’s cathode material, which is used to make batteries for grid-scale electricity storage, performed even better than expected.

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.