UK stockbroker Cavendish has reacted with continuing bullishness in the direction of 88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ) after the Alaska-focused explorer releases a new resource upgrade, which analysts see as sharpening the investment case for the South Prudhoe project.
Cavendish repeated its ‘Buy’ rating, which comes with a 19.8p target price (compared with a current share price of 1.4p), whilst pointing to a “material update” to the prospective resources at South Prudhoe, where gross unrisked 2U prospective resources have increased by 35% to 768.9mln barrels, or 640.7mln barrels net to 88 Energy.
Ariana Resources PLC (AIM:AAU, ASX:AA2, FRA:4A6) shares were on the front foot, up 4.5% at 1.93p, after it completed the sale of a 13.6% interest in Turkish gold producer Zenit for US$19.5 million in cash, giving the company fresh non-dilutive funding for its flagship Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe.
The AIM- and ASX-listed explorer noted the stake was sold to existing Zenit shareholder Özaltin Holding, with net proceeds estimated at around US$17.2 million after local taxes.
88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ) told investors that it has lifted the scale of its South Prudhoe project in Alaska, upgrading total gross unrisked 2U prospective resources by around 35% to 768.9 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids.
The company said the estimate equates to 640.7 million barrels net to 88E and confirms a multi-reservoir opportunity immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay Unit and Kuparuk River Unit on Alaska’s North Slope.
KTEK AEROSYSTEMS LTD (ASX:KTK) has made a strong debut on the ASX after completing a heavily oversubscribed $10 million initial public offering, with shares more than doubling on opening trade as investors backed the company’s defence UAV growth strategy.
The defence technology company listed at $0.20 per share and opened at $0.41, representing a 105% premium to the IPO price, before reaching an intraday high of $0.465. More than 7.79 million shares had changed hands by midday, generating turnover exceeding $3.3 million.
Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX:EOS) is returning to the market for up to $175 million, using a fresh capital raising to back its expanding counter-drone ambitions as global conflicts reshape defence spending priorities and push anti-drone systems higher up military procurement lists.
The raise follows a rapid escalation in activity around EOS’ planned acquisition of European defence technology business MARSS, whose NiDAR command-and-control platform has become central to the company’s broader pitch as a fully integrated counter-drone provider.
Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX:ALC) is acquiring Telstra Health’s Kyra patient flow products business in a deal that materially expands the healthcare software-as-a-service (SaaS) group’s footprint across Australian hospitals and deepens its exposure to one of the sector’s most persistent operational problems — managing patient movement through overcrowded health systems.
The ASX-listed company has agreed to pay an up-front $3 million for the Kyra Patient Flow Manager, Kyra Queue Manager and Kyra IQ products, with a further earn-out of up to $1 million tied to future recurring revenue targets.
Prairie Lithium Ltd (ASX:PL9, OTC:PLIXF, FRA:PLIX) has started Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of its commercial-scale Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) unit ahead of planned deployment to the company’s Phase 1 production facility in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The unit, comprising four commercial-scale DLE columns, is the largest of its type built in North America.
Algorae Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:1AI, OTC:LVCLF, FRA:LHI0) has completed the prediction-generation phase of a multi-anchor drug combination program using its AlgoraeOS v2 (AOS2) artificial intelligence platform.
The program expands AOS2 from a single-anchor approach, previously centred on cannabidiol, to 18 anchor drugs, materially broadening the company’s pipeline of AI-predicted drug combination opportunities.
Scorpion Minerals Ltd (ASX:SCN) has secured $2 million in funding through a binding option agreement with Andel Resources Pty Ltd to support development of the Old Prospect gold tenements within its Pharos Gold Project in Western Australia’s Murchison region.
Under the agreement, Andel will pay Scorpion a non-refundable $2 million option fee within 21 business days for a 12-month exclusive option to enter into a Right-to-Mine agreement over Old Prospect.
Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF, FRA:M6N) has approved a sweeping new expansion strategy aimed at doubling gold production over the next three years, unveiling plans for a new 3.0-million-tonnes-per-annum (Mtpa) processing plant at Davyhurst, development of the Waihi underground mine and a major increase in available funding capacity.
The company on Monday introduced its new “DRIVE to 300” aspiration, targeting a longer-term production profile of around 300,000 ounces per annum as it seeks to build on its earlier “DRIVE to 100” and “DRIVE to 150” growth phases.
Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF, FRA:M6N) has more than doubled its gold Ore Reserve base and lifted total mineral resources to 3.57 million ounces following major updates at the Waihi and Round Dam deposits within its Davyhurst Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company’s total Mineral Resource Estimate now stands at 54.8 million tonnes at 2.0 g/t gold for 3.57 million ounces, representing an increase of 1.46 million ounces since July 2025. Total Ore Reserves climbed 136% to 7.8 million tonnes at 2.2 g/t for 555,000 ounces.
Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX:EXR, OTC:ELXPF) has confirmed Diona-1 as an official gas discovery in Queensland’s emerging Taroom Trough play, with the well meeting its key exploration objectives and paving the way for a new independently certified Contingent Resource estimate.
The ASX-listed company said the Diona-1 vertical exploration well had confirmed the presence of a recoverable overpressured Permian gas and condensate resource with low hydrocarbon impurities, extending the recognised western boundary of the Taroom Trough basin-centred gas play.
Noble Helium Ltd (ASX:NHE, OTC:NBHEF, FRA:GN1) has outlined plans for its upcoming North Rukwa drilling program in Tanzania while highlighting growing disruption across the global helium market that could strengthen future demand for new supply sources.
Executive chairman Dennis Donald told Proactive that Russia’s decision to halt helium exports, combined with prolonged production issues affecting Qatar, had potentially placed up to 40% of global helium supply into question.
Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd (ASX:LDX, OTC:LDXHF) has reported encouraging early progress in the US commercial rollout of its FebriDx® rapid respiratory infection test following recent FDA CLIA waiver clearance, with reimbursement performance and customer adoption tracking positively ahead of the 2026/27 flu season.
The company said more than 90% of submitted reimbursement claims had been paid to date, with average payments exceeding the Medicare fee schedule benchmark of US$41.38 per test.