It has been a busy and largely productive week for small-cap miners, leaving investors slightly more satisfied with their lot. That said, after years of being starved of investment, there’s still a lot of ground to make up.
The week’s biggest winner, URU Metals Ltd (AIM:URU), floated higher on what looked like a fairly workaday announcement: the start of ground geophysics at the Zeb Nickel Project near Mokopane, Limpopo, South Africa.
The shares doubled in value, even though this exploratory work is still at a very early stage.
There was more grist in this week’s announcement from Strategic Minerals PLC (AIM:SML, OTC:SMCDF), which owns the Redmoor tungsten-tin-copper project in Cornwall.
Cornwall to Ethiopia
The latest drilling results revealed what management described as “exceptional” tungsten grades. According to managing director Dennis Rowland, the data positions Redmoor “as one of the highest-grade deposits globally”. The stock rose 90%.
From the West Country to Ethiopia and KEFI Gold and Copper PLC's (AIM:KEFI, OTC:KFFLF) attempts to create one of the country's biggest mines.
On Monday, it said it expects to finalise a £180 million debt financing package for its Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia this week. This forms part of a £340 million investment in the operation.
Investors liked what they heard, with the stock advancing 43%.
Shuka Minerals PLC (AIM:SKA) climbed 42% this week after the company said financing for its planned purchase of Zambia’s Leopard Exploration and Mining and the Kabwe Zinc Mine is close to completion.
Gathoni Muchai Investments has told Shuka that funds from its increased loan are now being processed and should clear next week.
Down week for AIM
The LEM vendors remain supportive, and completion will follow once payment, share issuance and warrant transfers are finalised under the existing non-dilutive GMI facility.
Now onto the wider market. The aftershocks of America’s regional banking wobble found their way down the pile to the AIM All-Share, which was off 1.4%. It fared slightly worse than the FTSE 100, which was down 1.2%.
The flipside of the good news in the natural resources sector came in the form of Premier African Minerals Ltd (AIM:PREM, OTC:PRMMF), which flagged the need to raise fresh cash, an event likely to be significantly dilutionary. This was spelt out in an update ahead of the company’s annual meeting. The stock was down 30% over the week and is off 66% year to date.
Similar mechanics were at play for Bezant Resources PLC (AIM:BZT), which announced the issue of new stock after a significant slug of warrants was exercised. The stock fell 27%.
Mosman Oil & Gas was on a similar trajectory after it raised almost £1.7 million, which it will use to develop its helium projects in the United States.
Bid hopes recede
Away from the diggers and drillers, it was a tough week for podcast group Audioboom Group PLC (AIM:BOOM), which was off 24%.
The reason? Despite speculation to the contrary, nobody has come forward to acquire the business. Rumoured potential buyers include Amazon and Fox Corporation.
The disappointment overshadowed what was otherwise a generally robust update on trading.
Finally, the 9% fall in the Bitcoin price pulled the rug from under London’s nascent crypto-treasury sector. So much for BTC being the new gold.
While the precious metal surged to a new record, Bitcoin was hit by overextended long positions, according to analysts.
The hammer fell on The Smarter Web Company (AQSE:SWC), which dropped 38%. It recently bought about £9 million worth of the cryptocurrency for over $120,000 a pop and is sitting on a treasury of £220 million, according to filings, though this was the value of the holding on Monday.