On ‘Black Monday’ investors were sent running as China concerns caused a panic, but in the world of small caps, a few were able to buck the trend.
Starting with one of the biggest risers of the day, African Potash (LON:AFPO) announced its first supply deal following the landmark agreement struck earlier this month with Comesa - the free trade union of 20 African countries.
The company has now entered a memorandum of understanding with a Zambian fertiliser supply group for more than 50,000 million tonnes of fertiliser. The first delivery is earmarked for next month (September).
Elsewhere, Poland-focused oiler San Leon Energy (LON:SLE) confirmed a weekend report it had received a bid approach sending its shares higher.
However the AIM junior cautioned: “There can be no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms on which any offer might be made.”
In other oil news, Xcite Energy (LON:XEL, CVE:XEL) says it remains ‘flexible and innovative’ as it continues to pursue funding solutions for the development of the Bentley heavy oil field in the North Sea.
Three years on from the high profile pre-production well testing programme at Bentley the company is trying to secure funds to develop the field.
Meanwhile, 88 Energy (LON:88E) is set to start a fully funded drill programme in Alaska in around two months’ time, thanks to a major financing deal with Bank of America.
A US$50mln financing has closed, the company told investors.
An operational update from Range Resources (LON:RRL, ASX:RRS) indicates some 22 new wells will be drilled by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
The plans have been described by the company as ambitious though it added that ‘no effort will be spared’ to achieve its targets, so it can grow production and turn the company around.
There were a couple of noteable boardroom changes made today, kicking off with Gulf Keystone (LON:GKP), which hired Nadhim Zahawi, a current conservative member of parliament (MP) as the company’s new chief strategy officer.
Sustainability technology specialist APC Technology (LON:APC) is confident on future prospects as it unveiled a boardroom reshuffle.
Finance chief Richard Hodgson has been appointed as chief executive with immediate effect, while Mark Robinson has resigned, it said.
Away from the boardroom, Venn Life Sciences (LONL:VENN) announced today it signed Hybridian as a co-broker with immediate effect. Zeus Capital remains its nominated adviser and broker.
In mining news, A commercial coal mine at the Tatu project in New Zealand moved step further to fruition, as Strategic Minerals (LON:SML) entered contracts to produce a bulk sample from the site at North Island.
Once the sample, expected to cost around NZ$280,000 has been delivered, it will be tested by consultants and potential clients to ensure its suitability for their processes, the AIM firm said.
Meanwhile, recent mapping and sampling work at the Aguinaga prospect within the wider Cascabel project currently being worked up by Solgold (LON:SOLG) has given significant grounds for encouragement that the company is sitting on a cluster of copper-gold porphyrys.
Solgold has now identified a total of nine porphyry clusters on Cascabel, of which are deemed high priority.
An independent study of Stellar Diamonds’ (LON:STEL) Tongo kimberlite project in Sierra Leone support its potential to generate significant cash flow from a modest initial investment.
The eagerly-anticipated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the deposit, carried out by Paradigm Project Management (PPM), reckons there is the potential to excavate stones totalling 955,930 carats, generating US$387mln over 18 years.
Finally, Motif Bio (LON:MTFB) said a lab study revealed its drug candidate Iclaprim to be 16 times more potent than the only antibiotic of its class currently out on the market.
Iclaprim is what’s known as a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, which means it should be effective against certain resistant strains of bacteria.