On a quiet news day for the large and mid-caps it was left to the minnows to provide the excitement; step up Rare Earth Minerals and Bacanora Minerals.
Securing a supply deal with electric car firm Tesla is a massive coup for Rare Earth Minerals’ (LON:REM) Sonora lithium project in Mexico, says chairman David Lenigas.
REM, in conjunction with its joint venture partner Bacanora Minerals (LON:BCN), has signed up the electric car giant and battery behemoth as a potential customer for lithium mined from Sonora.
Of course REM and Bacanora will have to get a mine built at Sonora first before they can supply Tesla, but having said that Tesla hasn’t finished what’s become known as its lithium “Gigafactory” yet either.
Tesla also now “has the right” to participate in any financing to get the mine at Sonora built, REM added.
There was some exciting news across the pond from our Canadian cousins too, some of which came out too late yesterday to be included in Thursday’s round-up.
Lingo Media (CVE:LM; OTC:LMDCF), the technology company focused on the education sector, delivered record results in the second quarter of 2015 – good results in any language.
Revenue more than doubled to C$1.79mln from C$877,879 the year before, while net profit soared to C$979,103 from C$217,633 in the second quarter of last year.
Earnings per share this time round quadrupled to four cents.
Simba Energy (CVE:SMB) shares jumped 60% in Toronto yesterday after it confirmed the proposed tie-up with India’s Essel to explore Kenya had got the go-ahead.
The Kenyan government has given its approval for a farm-out transaction that will see Essel invest more than US$100mln into Simba’s projects over the next twelve to eighteen months.
As a result Essel acquires 60% of Simba entire African portfolio, which includes Block 2A in Kenya, as well as assets in Chad and Guinea.
Dual-listed Tethys Petroleum (TSE:TPL, LON:TPL) told investors it was mulling a possible offer proposal from Nostrum, which it has now received.
The proposal is for an offer price of C$0.147 per Tethys share, which is just above the closing market price in Toronto of shares of C$0.145 on August 27.
Nostrum’s previously announced proposed price was C$0.2185.
Elsewhere in the energy sector, Independent Oil and Gas (LON:IOG) has secured extensions to a number of key agreements that allow it to pursue a new ‘contractor led’ funding approach for its North Sea field development plans.
The company aims to drill an appraisal well on the Skipper field in late 2015, and in the meantime it is working on alternative funding arrangements.
LGO Energy (LON:LGO) revealed more positive new production stats from the Goudron field in Trinidad.
Wells GY-676 and GY-677, the second and third at the Pad 5 location, have flowed at 240 and 380 barrels of oil per day respectively, the company revealed.
Last week GY-675, the other Pad 5 well, flowed at 240 bopd during a test period and subsequently the company has calculated ‘an absolute open-hole flow rate’ of 850 bopd.
Today the company said the oil from Pad 5 is of excellent quality, with gravity ranging between 34 and 44 degree API, and it noted that all three wells were completed in the C-Sand reservoir.
Moving continents to Africa, Mwana Africa (LON:MWA) said that Mark Wellesley-Wood, non-executive director of the company, has given notice he will retire from his position on the board with effect from the conclusion of the forthcoming annual general meeting on 29 September 2015.
Meanwhile, Galileo Resources (LON:GLR) has agreed a second extension to the deal to sell its stake in the Glenover phosphate project to joint-venture partner Fer-Min-Ore.
The US$4mln deal will now be completed before February 28 next year.
In the tech sector, Motive Television (LON:MTV) made “substantial progress” in the first half of the year as it nears the launch of TabletTV, it said in its interim results.
The development of TabletTV, which allows terrestrial TV to be picked up on computer tablets, was completed for both the US and UK.
Beta testing for the products, which works on Apple and Android devices, has since been undertaken this summer with a view to launching in the autumn.
Sales rose 17% to £673,410 from £577,740 compared to a year ago; however pre-tax losses rose slightly to £1.7mln from £1.6mln.
Challenger Acquisitions’ (LON:CHAL) first set of interim results betrayed the fact the company has yet to really get started as an operating concern.
The company acquired Ferris wheel specialist Starneth during the period, and will focus in the second half of the year on integrating the business.
The company had no revenue in the first half of the year and made a loss before tax of £754,331.
Lastly, Collagen Solutions (LON:COL) has joined a landmark project that is aiming to develop novel new treatments of Parkinson’s disease.
The idea is to find a therapy that actually slows the progression of this debilitating illness rather than one that simply treats the symptoms.
The company will develop various types of medical-grade collagens for use in research.
As a key member of the team it will receive “significant funding”.