Proactive Investors Mid & Sml Cap Weekly Roundup - Investor keep a degree of positivity

Small cap investors continued to trade with a degree of positivity this week, and while the main benchmarks have moved sideways volumes have steadily increased.

ReNeuron (LON:RENE), a developer of stem cell treatments, has been among the top performing AIM shares, gaining as much as 30% over the past two days, though there has not been any discernable news or comment from the company.

The group is currently advancing the first ever human trials for a stem cell treatment for patients that have suffered from strokes.

In the oil sector, investors have apparently warmed quickly to new AIM firm Northcote (LON:NCT) which is set to end its debut week at a premium to its pre-listing share placing - £1mln was raised at 1p a share.

The North America-focused junior is the latest in a number of oil and gas firms with development projects in the Mississippi Lime formation, in Oklahoma. Fellow Mississippi Lime firm Magnolia Petroleum was a hit with AIM investors in 2012, marking a five-fold increase in value at its peak in November.

Another new energy company emerged this week as Cluff Natural Resources (LON:CLNR) - which actually listed on AIM in May - landed its first projects on Tuesday, when it was awarded two underground coal gasification (UCG) licences in the UK.

Natural resources veteran, and CNR chief, Algy Cluff says it is a low cost entry into a significant business opportunity.

The company will now work to get planning permission to advance the two projects - one is in Carmarthenshire, Wales while the other is located in the Dee Estuary, Merseyside.

In other unconventional hydrocarbon news this week, IGas Energy (LON:IGAS) raised £23mln for a two well shale gas exploration programme.

It added a number of institutional investors to the register via the cash call, the company said on Wednesday.

Chinese coal bed methane firm Green Dragon (LON:GDG) said on Wednesday that it has beaten its production targets for 2012, producing 2.6 billion cubic feet per year - this represents a 56% rise compared with the prior year.

Fox Marble (LON:FOX) acquired the rights to extract marble from a quarry in west Kosovo, close to its Cervenilla marble quarry.

Yesterday gold mine developer Chaarat (LON:CGH), which is up around 20% so far this month, welcomed the confirmation of new tax laws in the Kyrgyz Republic which it believes will provide more clarity.

Investors had previously feared the worst, as the government mulled ways to cash in on a perceived gold rush.

Chaarat chief Dekel Golan says the changes, which have established revenue based tariffs linked to the prevailing gold price, are balanced and the confirmation of the new regime is a positive for the company.

Afferro (LON:AFF) has confirmed that Indian giant Jindal Steel and Power is one of a number of the junior miner's potential suitors.

The African iron mine developer's shares advanced over 30% in recent weeks after it confirmed in December that it had received bid approaches.

Atlantic Coal (LON:ATC) shares crackled into life on Tuesday as the miner's clean coal output hit a yearly record.

The coal miner produced 161,500 tons of clean coal from its Stockton Colliery in Pennsylvania in 2012, a 61% increase, while run-of-mine (ROM) production of anthracite doubled to 417,000 tons.

Managing director Steve Best says Stockton is now one of the top five anthracite producers in Pennsylvania, and its performance should improve even more this year as the benefits of recent investment come through.

Internet video software firm Forbidden Technologies (LON:FBT) shares advanced as much as 35% in recent days. It said this week that revenues had surged in 2012 driven by the widespread use of its video editing technology during the Olympics. The company said sales growth had exceeded the 50% predicted by analysts by a "respectable margin".

On Thursday, shares in Bango (LON:BGO) soared after the mobile payments company signed a deal with Spain’s biggest company, Telefonica. It will see Bango team up with the telecoms giant to create an enhanced direct-to-bill payments experience for mobile app stores.

Smart-phone and tablet casino group Probability (LON:PBTY) remains confident of performing in line with guidance for the year to March 31 this year.

This comes after positive third quarter metrics which showed that net gaming revenue was over 20% better than last year, while deposits from players were 12% up.

Specialist drug firm Alliance Pharma (LON:APH) told investors that profits will beat market forecasts for the year just ended after very strong sales of skin and eczema emollient Hydromol. Total revenues in 2012 will be £44.9mln, compared to £46mln in the previous year, it said on Tuesday.