Significant news from Stratex International (LON:STI) today as it has become a gold producer after a first gold pour at its Altintepe mine in Turkey.
Altintepe, 45% owned by Stratex, cost US$39 mln to bring on stream which was nearly all funded by Turkish partner Bahar. Stratex has invested US$1.5 mln in Altintepe.
Bob Foster, chief executive, said: "This is a major milestone for Stratex as we move into the realms of being a gold-producer."
Away from US non-farm payroll news, but also in diggers, there was also news from Sula Iron & Gold (LON:SULA), which has started its latest gold drilling programme at Ferensola in Sierra Leone.
The target is to delineate find between five and seven million tonnes of ore with a grade range of between 4 and 8 grams per tonne (g/t), which equates to between 0.8 and 1.5mln ounces of gold.
To oil, and shares in Amerisur Resources (LON:AMER) sank almost 8% as it revealed further analysis was required on the Loto-2 well in Colombia to see if it can be an economic producer.
The well was sunk to 10,320 feet and cemented. Two zones were tested and analysis indicated 54ft of net pay, but tests also showed there may be an issue with the mobility of the oil in place, the oiler said.
The well is part of the CPO-5 block, in which Amerisur acquired a 30% interest as part of its US$6mln acquisition of Petro Dorado South America SA (PDSA). The operator is ONGC Videsh, which holds a working interest of 70%.
Elsewhere, Indonesia copper explorer Asiamet Resources (LON:ARS CVE:ARS) has closed its £1mln fundraise.
The placing, at 1.4p, was subscribed by a combination of existing shareholders and other investors.
Proceeds will help fund an in-fill and expansion drilling programme at the BKM prospect, where a preliminary economic assessment is being prepared.
Avation (LON:AVAP) is buying a Boeing 737-800NG passenger jet currently on lease to a unnamed, but ‘top tier’ Chinese carrier. Following the deal, the company’s fleet will number 34.
No financial details were given, though Avation said it paid the market price for an eight-year-old aircraft with five-and-a-half years left on the lease.
Elsewhere, inter-dealer broker ICAP (LON:ICAP) is in talks to sell its global broking business to Tullett Prebon (LON:TLPR) in return for a stake in Tullett, the pair said on Friday.
Tullett said it was in discussions to buy the business known as IGBB in return for new shares in Tullett, which would issue more than 100% of its existing share capital to fund the deal.
Investors in ICAP would own most of the new Tullett shares but would have a minority stake in the enlarged Tullett Prebon group.