Announcements

One of Wall Street’s oldest investment banks has released a bullish assessment of Perth based Northern Minerals, saying Browns Range is among a rare breed of high-value rare earths projects. Hallgarten & Company concluded that Northern Minerals had a project with great metallurgy and set a 12-month price target of 38 cents, a 217% increase over the current levels.

Auroch have begun drilling ahead of schedule in Portugal, just weeks after entering the country with a bold, deep-drilling exploration project targeting high-grade copper and zinc. The first diamond drill hole is expected to take between four and six weeks to test its target, which is just 20kms along strike from the “supergiant” Neves Corvo copper zinc mine.

The marriage of ASX listed Azonto Petroleum to the unlisted Calima Energy is essentially a story of money meets management experience with the marriage consummated at one of the best addresses in town, the Montney oil and gas play in Canada. Calima is the creation of 5 Subiaco based geoscientists who previously took Ophir Energy from an idea to a 2 billion pound company.

Lithium Australia’s Sileach process has given its best indication yet of its breakthrough potential with the latest trials producing 99.8% Lithium Carbonate without the need to roast concentrate. The result was also achieved using a sub-economic grade of just 3.4% Li20 highlighting the potential of Sileach to bring low-grade Lithium deposits to market.

ASX listed medical device company Analytica has bolstered the intellectual property safeguards around its “PeriCoach” e-health system, with the innovative urinary incontinence device receiving patent protection in Australia. The Australian patent is the latest stage in the company’s IP protection strategy rollout in several key markets including China and Japan.

Pilbara Minerals have received WA Government approval for the Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum project, clearing the way for construction of the world’s next major Lithium supplier near Port Hedland. The company also hinted that news about project financing was imminent, which was widely expected after last week’s announcement of a major off-take agreement being struck.

Northern Minerals have wasted no time at the Browns Range heavy rare earths project, with grade control drilling and an expansion of the mining camp now underway. The company last month approved the $56 million pilot project, which will focus on the production of “Dysprosium”, a high-value rare earth that is a key component of permanent magnets used in electric motors.

A large-scale pilot plant for Lithium Australia’s revolutionary Sileach Lithium processing technology might have a much lower cost than anticipated thanks to savings identified by building it overseas. Lithium Australia says an engineering cost study by CPC Project Design has identified big savings at a potential overseas site, which will be examined more closely.

ASX-listed Sky and Space Global has signed a deal with a leading knowledge sharing service that connects millions of farmers globally. The MOU with WeFarm Inc will look at how Sky and Space could integrate its proposed nano-satellite communication network into WeFarm’s data sharing service that links small-scale farming operators across Latin America to East Africa.

"Internet of things” player Connected IO’s relationship with US telco giant Verizon continues to pay off, resulting in a follow-up order from the American Red Cross. Connected IO will work with Verizon to provide more dependable wireless communication solutions for the Red Cross via its innovative modem like devices that are capable of connecting almost anything to the internet.  

Legend Mining’s methodical and highly technical exploration techniques at the vast Rockford project in the Fraser Range has produced an exciting target to be followed up with diamond drilling as early as next month. Shallow aircore holes have identified mafic rocks mineralised with nickel and copper above a much larger and stronger conductor than previously modeled.

Just like they did with Lithium at Mt Marion, Neometals are again seeking to get ahead of the curve with their new battery re-cycling play in Canada that will focus heavily on reproducing Cobalt in addition to other elements such as Lithium. The company is hoping to eventually produce nearly 700 tonnes of Cobalt a year by recycling old batteries. 

Blackham Resources look like moving into the big league of Australian gold producers within just three years after a preliminary expansion study at the Wiluna Gold Project confirmed a low-cost pathway to annual production of more than 200,000 ounces of a gold. This target would see Blackham double its current production projection. 

ASX listed PharmAust has taken a major step towards safeguarding the intellectual property of its promising anti-cancer drug after being granted a key patent in China. The patent strengthens the Perth-based company’s IP protection in a critical world market and provides protection for 16 years, with PharmAust expecting further patents to be issued in coming months.

Stargroup’s remarkable transformation from small time ATM machine operator to a totally vertically integrated and ASX listed outfit with ownership up and down the value chain is now complete. The Indue acquistion came with a massive windfall for Stargroup after two large exiting clients agreed to resign and a Sydney credit provider forfeited $325k when they failed to provide financing. 

Blina Minerals have snapped up the Dingo gold project in the Eastern Goldfields for the bargain price of $20,000. The project comes with extensive historical drill data that has defined a significant zone of shallow mineralisation, with the real prize potentially being the primary source of mineralisation in an underlying intrusive body.

Medical device company Analytica has advanced its “PeriCoach” incontinence device by developing a proprietary exercise regime that can be integrated into the company’s e-health treatment system. PeriCoach is targeted at the millions of women worldwide who suffer from urinary incontinence, with the problem impacting around 1 in 3 women globally according to Analytica

Sky and Space Global have easily raised $10 million at 19c a share in a heavily oversubscribed placement that will fund the company as it forges ahead with the launch of its first three miniature telecommunications satellites within weeks. The company’s amazing share price run has seen the stock jump from a low of 1.6c in August last year to 26c last month.  

Pilbara Minerals now have offtake deals for 100% of Pilgangoora production, with a serious Chinese Lithium player committing to more than half of the project’s output for the next 10 years. Pilbara’s share price soared on news of the deal with Ganfeng Lithium, which has also promised at least $20m in funding support.

Lithium Australia’s focus on technology is paying dividends with the successful trial of a newly developed portable tool that is able to measure Lithium content from core samples in the field. The analyzer overcomes the limitations of the more traditional “XRF” tool that struggles to identify Lithium and could bring a whole new perspective to the feverish global hunt for Lithium.

MGC Pharmaceuticals has cemented its position in the Australian medical marijuana market, signing a major research agreement with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. The deal will see MGC and RMIT collaborate on medical cannabis research initiatives targeted at a range of diseases including cancer and establish an “International Library of Cannabis Medicine”.

Medicinal marijuana player MGC Pharmaceuticals are on a mission to be one of the first ASX listed companies to garner serious revenues from medicinal cannabis derived products. The company announced this week they had signed up wholesalers in Europe to market their cannabis derived skin care and cosmetics lines. 

The Browns Range heavy rare earths project is moving ahead quickly following last month’s Final Investment Decision, with developer Northern Minerals striking a $10m mining agreement with MACA. The deal comes under Northern’s innovative lead contractor agreement with Sinosteel MECC, which allows deferred payment for 20% of all works.

Auroch Minerals are racing ahead with the first drill program at their high-impact Copper-Zinc project in Portugal, locking in a contractor to start drilling mid-month. The drill results will be hotly anticipated, with the project located just 20 km along strike from the “super-giant” Neves Corvo mine and sitting on a host of ripe geophysical targets.

ASX listed medical device company Analytica has refined its innovative PeriCoach urinary incontinence device, with the Brisbane-based company unveiling the latest version of its e-health treatment system. The version 3 device includes better processing capability, wireless connectivity, power management and an enhanced user experience.

Peppermint Innovation will hand deliver its mobile bill payments technology to the front doors of up to 60,000 Filipino households in what looks to be an impressive partnership with a very large gas bottle home delivery company in the Philippines. Householders will now be able to pay their other bills at the same time that they receive their regular supply of LPG gas. 

Stargroup is on track to complete the acquisition of high margin Australian ATM machine service provider Indue after raising $3.35 million in an oversubscribed placement. The Indue aquisition completes Stargroup's strategy of total vertical intergration with the company now a major player is all aspects of the ATM business from manufacturer to service provider to operator. 

It’s not very often you get to steal a project from the Chinese but only a year after paying Chinese and other interests just $83,000 for the Millenium copper-cobalt project in Queensland, Hammer Metals have farmed it out in a deal worth up to $2.7m. Their JV partner is a serious player in the battery metals business and brings more than just exploration money to the table. 

Perth listed Connected IO continues to cement its relationship with US telco Verizon. The company announced this week the securing of new purchase orders for its “internet of things” services and products from two of the US telco giant’s enterprise customers. The repeat orders, from the State of Nebraska and a US security firm, are worth more than $AUD205,000.

Troy Resources have delivered some good news for shareholders with the company’s first ore-grade hits from exploration outside of the Karouni mine area in South America. The encouraging gold intercepts validate the targeting work by Troy’s exploration team last year and support the view that Karouni could be just the start for the Perth-based gold producer.

Lithium Australia’s high hopes for their lithium clay joint venture in Mexico have been confirmed after their first drill hole at the project hit Lithium. The company, in partnership with Alix Resources, are targeting a thick bed of sediments over a strike length of five kms, right next door to Bacanora Minerals’ La Ventanathe project, considered to be the world’s largest Lithium clay deposit.

LWP Technologies has moved to safeguard its game changing fly-ash-based proppant technology for oil and gas producers by lodging a second patent in the US. Proppants are often the single largest cost item in the fracking of an oil and gas well. They lodge in the tiny fractures created during the operation in order to keep the fracture open to facilitate the flow of oil and gas.