Public Company News

Lithium Australia is moving quickly to improve its newly defined maiden lithium resource in Germany with a diamond drilling program aimed at lifting confidence in the deposit and potentially expanding its size. Historical drilling has already shown potential to supply a 25,000 tonne per annum lithium carbonate plant for 10 years and the company is now keen to see what new drilling may reveal.

Perth-listed junior tech company Connected IO posted a whopping 340 per cent lift in revenue in 2017, delivering a top-line of $2.2 million this year. The “internet of things” company, which has rapidly expanded its customer base in 2017, expects further growth in 2018 given the strong pipeline of new purchase orders it secured in recent months. The order book for 2018 is already sitting at $3.3m.

ASX-listed MGC Pharma is set to rollout a marijuana-derived psoriasis treatment after clinical trials in Europe showed the product, CBD Herbal Repair Cream, was effective at relieving dermatological symptoms such as irritated and inflamed skin. The first product offering from MGC’s Derma Plus line, is scheduled for launch in January and will be sold online and through existing channels.

Neometals’ push into high-value lithium hydroxide is moving ahead at a rapid pace, with a FEED study expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2018 followed by a final investment decision as early as the end of the year. The plant is just one of three downstream projects in progress, including a cutting-edge lithium titanate research project that could replace graphite in batteries..

Nzuri Copper’s ambitions to become a big player in the African Copper-Cobalt Belt have received a massive boost with a $10 million placement to Huayou Cobalt, the world’s biggest producer of cobalt chemicals. Huayou operates a number of cobalt projects in Nzuri’s backyard and will become a vital partner for the ASX-listed junior alongside Ivanhoe Mines who are already in a JV with the company.

Plymouth Minerals has successfully raised $6.5 million in a share placement to accelerate its plans for development of the San Jose lithium project in Spain and to expedite a feasibility study that will increase its stake in the well placed project from 50% to 75%. Plymouth are planning to produce battery grade lithium carbonate on site and are blessed with a gas pipeline running past their doorstep.

Millions of cash transacting Filipinos who do not operate bank accounts are a significant step closer to making commercial money transfers on their mobile phones a reality as a result of Peppermint Innovation's pilot program in partnership with in-country, distribution network organisation SANTE Barley. The parties have launched a new mobile payment APP to be known as League Pay.

Bougainville's untapped potential for gold and copper continues to build if ASX-listed Kalia Ltd's geophysical reports are anything to go by. Kalia recently snapped up the first exploration permits released on Bougainville and have wasted no time reworking old data which has revealed anomalies similar to those associated with some of the world’s biggest copper-gold mines, according to management.

Aquabotix has launched a smarter 'hybrid' drone that can be operated directly from the surface, autonomously or remotely. Deployed for security, research, environmental assessment and defence purposes, the drone can be controlled by one person and will deliver greater flexibility, the company says. The new drone is able to be mounted with additional sensors and has an 8 hour battery life.

A new pure play graphite company, BlackEarth Minerals, is set to join the ASX just days before Christmas after reaching its minimum subscription of $4.5 million. The company is a spin-off from Lithium Australia, who received a strong response from shareholders to a priority entitlement offer. The float has been helped along by high quality projects in Madagascar and a rally in graphite prices.

St George Mining has made a strong start to drilling at their East Laverton nickel project with drill hits of prospective ultramafic rocks from the first two holes in the program. The new holes have confirmed a western extension of the Windsor ultramafic unit that produced high grade nickel intercepts for BHP back in 2012. St George rocketed up the ASX this month on the back of its Mt Alexander results.

Legend Mining’s patient and systematic exploration for a Nova-Bollinger lookalike at its vast Rockford project in the Fraser Range has delivered its best result yet. New assays from aircore drilling at Area D returned 47 metres at 0.29% nickel, 0.12% copper and 0.03% cobalt, which compares very favourably with results at a similar stage in the Nova discovery according to company management.