A number of resource companies have successfully raised fresh capital today, while another has been on a cost-cutting drive.
Mwana Africa (LON:MWA) has instigated a round of head office cost cutting following boardroom changes last month.
The Zimbabwe -focused nickel and gold miner has made twelve positions redundant, including a senior manager and corporate office staff. Advisers and consultants have also been cut back.
Premier African Minerals (LON:PREM) has raised £450,000 to fund early work at its Zulu lithium and tantalum project in Zimbabwe.
George Roach, Premier’s chief executive, said it had carried out the funding after unsolicited investor interest. Shares will be issued at 2p each with a warrant attached.
Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA) said Metal Tiger had invested a further £300,000 in the firm, after exercising all its outstanding warrants.
As reported in December last year, the resource investor had subscribed for £150,000 worth of shares, at 0.5p each.
Now, it has exercised warrants over 30mln shares at 1p a pop.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum (LON:COPL, CVE:XOP), focused on offshore sub-Sahara, told investors it brought in around C$7.2mln from a previously announced funding.
This was around the maximum expected since last month, it said it expected to raise between C$4mln and C$7.2mln.
COPL said it issued around 80.2mln shares at C$0.09 each.
COPL’s sector peer, Nostra Terra (LON:NTOG) has agreed a deal which sees it take on the Paw Paw project in Wyoming’s Big Horn basin.
The AIM quoted company can acquire 100% of the interest in 2,440 net acres by paying for and drilling the first well. A cost of such a well is estimated at US$1.2mln.
Drilling operations are expected to get underway in the fourth quarter.
88 Energy (LON:88E) updated on the ownership transfer for its project Icewine in Alaska, saying the process from now on would be transparent and straightforward, as all executed assignment documents have now been submitted to the State for processing.
The firm first struck an agreement on the project in November last year, acquiring an initial 87.5% working interest and operatorship in 98,182 acres onshore.
Elsewhere in the energy sector, Independent Resources (LON:IRG) said it was confident it can improve the prospects of a farm-in for its Ksar Hadada permit in Tunisia with a remote survey, which it has now put in train.
Scotforth is to undertake a remote sensing hydrocarbon survey aiming to complete it within six weeks, the firm said.
If successful, IRG expects it will accelerate the timing of the first well drilled.
LGO Energy (LON:LGO) could have multiple exploration prospects to choose from on Trinidad’s Cedros peninsular as it prepares for drilling.
A drill programme is scheduled for next year, and recently completed geochemistry work and airborne surveying bode well, chief executive Neil Ritson revealed today.
Turning to the miners, Eurasia Mining’s (LON:EUA) permit for its West Kyltim project has given the company a big shot in the arm.
It was the final regulatory requirement for the Urals alluvial platinum project to move to the production stage.
Eurasia now becomes the second western junior to receive a permit in Russia in the space of a month.
Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) is selling its Botswana asset for US$8mln to focus solely on its flagship mine in Lesotho.
The deal with Tango Mining (CVE:TGV) is subject to the TSX-listed firm raising the remaining cash needed and sign-off by the national government.
Copper explorer SolGold (LON:SOLG) has started drilling its twelfth hole at Cascabel in Ecuador.
The hole will test the test the southeast strike extension of the high grades uncovered in hole number five at Alpala, one of the main targets at Cascabel.
On the technology front, there was upbeat news from Seeing Machines (LON:SEE), which expects to report record revenues, driven by its mining product, when it unveils full-year results at the end of next month.
Sales are expected to be A$18.9mln, 12% higher than last year. The figure excludes a previously reported research and development tax credit.
InternetQ (LON:INTQ) is to split its music streaming service Akazoo away from the rest of the group and into a new operation backed by private equity groups Tosca and Penta Capital.
The two funds will invest US$17mln (£12mln) in cash into Akazoo.
Forbidden Technologies’ (LON:FBT) new video social network - eva - will be launched this evening.
It is the firm's first mass market product and will sit alongside the tech group's Forscene Cloud video platform used by broadcasters and in professional web video makers.
Mirada (LON:MIRA) saw revenues and underlying profits surge as a contract with major Latin America cable TV group Televisa got underway.
Revenues at the TV and set–top software specialist jumped by 24% to £5.7mln in the year to March, with underlying profits [EBITDA] 50% higher at £1.54mln.
Haydale Graphene Industries (LON:HAYD), the developer of graphene-enabling technology, has agreed terms for a collaboration with Talga Resources (ASX:TLG).
The AIM quoted group said it will explore business co-operation opportunities with Talga, which owns graphite deposits in Sweden and has a process to extract a graphene product (called graphene nano platelets or GNPs).
Talga is currently close to beginning trial production in Germany, via its new process, and it expects to become one of the worlds' largest nominal cost GNP producers.
Lastly, in the healthcare sector, OptiBiotix Health (LON:OPTI) has inked an agreement with a renowned compound analysis centre in Madrid, which furthers its work on developing novel sugars.
The Instituto de Química Orgánica Genera (IQOG) has been contracted to, among other things, scale up the pipeline of oligosaccharides identified by the OptiBiotic technology platform and purify them to the desired level for lab testing.