The biggest news of the day was in the mining sector where, after years of waiting, Amur Minerals (LON:AMC) was celebrating the award of a mining licence for its Kun-Manie project in the Far East of Russia.
House broker SP Angel said Amur has done what many had thought impossible for a small western company, namely to work through the Russian licensing system to gain a production licence on a project that is considered to be of national strategic significance.
Shares in Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA), like Amur, were higher as it too has been working through the Russian mine permitting process for a number of years.
Eurasia is currently waiting for a mining licence for its West Kytlim platinum project and the news boosted sentiment that it could be next in line for a licence.
Elsewhere in the sector, Armadale Capital (LON:ACP) in today’s final results reported a year of considerable progress at both corporate and operational level with the Mpokoto gold project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo advancing closer to production.
Meanwhile, Rare Earth Minerals (LON:REM) has found more good indications of lithium in an exploratory hole drilled to the west of the La Ventana deposit at Sonora in Mexico.
StratMin’s (LON:STGR) annual results mark a period of significant progress in which the graphite miner went a long way towards cracking the ‘grade puzzle’.
Finally in mining, W Resources (LON:WRES) remains confident of production coming on stream its La Parrilla and Régua tungsten mines in the next 18 months, management confirmed today.
Speaking of Tungsten, broker Canaccord sold £17.5mln worth of shares in electronic invoice group Tungsten (LON:TUNG) through a book-build exercise at a price of 80p per share, compared to a target of £15mln when it announced the funding.
In oil-related news, Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) has sent samples away for lab analysis in an attempt to find out why the well at the Petroleum Creek project has suffered limited flows.
Meanwhile, Eland Oil & Gas (LON:ELA) has excellent assets which offer an “incredible growth opportunity” even at current oil prices, chief executive George Maxwell said.
LGO Energy’s (LON:LGO) latest well in the Goudron field development drilling programme has hit its targets as anticipated.
Elsewhere, Tethys Petroleum (LON:TPL) has agreed a further US$1.7mln funding via the issue of unsecured convertible debenture.
Speaking of funding, Israel-based closed circuit TV group SerVision (LON:SEV) has bolstered its finances through a placing at a 20% premium to the market price.
European Wealth Group (LON:EWG) saw a sharp rise in funds under management in its first year as a listed company.
In pharma news, clinical research specialist Venn Life (LON:VENN) more than doubled revenues over its past financial year and has booked significant orders for the current twelve months.
Meanwhile, American regulators have recognised the of potential ReNeuron’s (LON:RENE) stem cell treatment for a group of rare eye diseases by granting it fast-track status, according to the company’s chief executive Olav Hellebø.
Finally, CloudTag (LON:CTAG) the wearable device expert, has moved into the final stages of testing on its health monitor before it starts field trials.