Orogen Gold PLC (LON:ORE) is to consider further drill targets at Galileo Resources' Silverton property in Nevada, after it completed an initial test drilling programme. Last summer, the group struck a deal with Galileo to earn-in to an initial 51% interest in the property by spending US$400,000 on exploration within 18 months.
Braveheart Investment Group PLC (LON:BRH) has taken a 47% stake in Gyrometric Systems Limited, an engineering firm using technology developed at Nottingham Trent University. Gyrometric provides monitoring technology that measures the performance of drive shafts in a wide variety of applications.
Women’s fertility specialist Concepta PLC (LON:CPT) has achieved the ISO13485 management accreditation, which it says is a key step as it seeks European regulatory approval for its myLotus product. Concepta wants to launch myLotus into the £350mln UK and Europe market in the second half of this year and the management accreditation will endorse its position as a medical device manufacturer, it said.
Stem cells services provider WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) has inked a stem cells insurance agreement with Biovault Technical, the umbilical cord blood sample storage specialist. The collaboration will essentially see Biovault, which stores umbilical cord blood samples so they can subsequently be used by the sample’s donor to combat blood-borne diseases later on in life, offer its clients CellPlan, WideCells’ insurance scheme that will cover up to €1mln or so of treatment, travel, accommodation and repatriation costs.
Cancer drug discovery and development business Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR) has picked up a second milestone payment from the recent licensing agreement for its Chk1 inhibitor technology. A US$2mln fee has become payable as a result of the transfer of the two ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials to Sierra Oncology, the new name for ProNai Therapeutics the company that agreed the licensing deal last year.
Shares in Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) rose 6% in early trade after the oil field technology group said it signed a four-year framework agreement with the utility giant Centrica (LON:CNA). The deal will see it supply surface wellhead and mudline equipment services for jack-up exploration wells in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
e-Therapeutics PLC (LON:ETX) said it has successfully concluded its search for a new chief executive. He is Dr Raymond Barlow, currently executive director of corporate development at Amgen, based in Switzerland. The 48-year-old will join the AIM-listed drug discovery group on or before May 1.
Online video and marketing firm Brave Bison Group plc (LON:BBSN) said on Monday Ashley MacKenzie had resigned as chief executive. In a brief regulatory statement, the firm also said that trading for the year to end December was in-line with management and market expectations.
Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (LON:CHAR) has confirmed that its farm-out deal with Eni, bringing the Italian major into the Rabat Deep project offshore Morocco, is now complete. Eni now becomes the operator and a 40% stakeholder in Rabat Deep where a well is planned for 2018, following an environmental impact assessment and the hiring of contractors.
StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG), the provider of cloud-based portfolio analytics and asset pricing services, has bagged a contract with a global South African asset manager. The contract, which runs for five years, is for a minimum value of around £1.5mln (ZAR 26.6mln).
Oracle Coalfields plc's (LON:ORCP) huge Thar coal and power project has been further boosted - as the site was raised to the priority list by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The latter has been established to support infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan, and importantly, should result in the fast-tracking of debt-funding for the project.
Initial results from a reverse circulation drilling programme currently being undertaken on the Silverton Gold project in Nevada have yielded promising results. Silverton is held by Galileo Resources PLC (LON:GLR) but the work is being undertaken by joint venture partner Orogen Gold PLC (LON:ORE), which is hoping to earn in to an initial 51% interest by spending US$400,000.
Aminex plc (LON:AEX) has updated investors on its ongoing drilling operation in Tanzania, where the Ntorya-2 well is almost half way to target depth. In a statement the company - which is operator and 75% stakeholder in the project – revealed that the well has now been cased and cemented at a depth of 1,326 metres and drilling is continuing down to an eventual target depth of 2,860 metres.
DekelOil Public Limited (LON:DKL) has taken full ownership of the Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d'Ivoire. The AIM-listed group acquired the outstanding 14.25% in CS DekelOil Siva Limited, the owner, from its partner Biopalm Energy through the issue of shares at 13.25p, a 19% premium to the closing price last week.
Atlantis Resources PLC (LON:ARL) and its consortium partners have been awarded a €20.3m grant from the European Commission for the next phase of the Meygen tidal power project in the Pentland Firth.
Surface sampling and geological mapping at the San Celso project in Mexico owned by Arian Silver Corporation (LON:AGQ) has delivered promising early stage results. Among the most notable numbers returned by the company was 1.05 metres at 0.059 grams per tonne gold, 393.9 grams per tonne silver, 1,140 parts per million (ppm) lead and 3,460 ppm zinc.
The assets held by Highlands Natural Resources Plc (LON:HNR) could be worth as much as US$600mln according to oil and gas experts. Independent assessments of the group’s three main assets - the East Denver oil and gas project, the DT Ultravert well technology, and the Helios Two gas (plus helium) venture - tally to give a potential net present value between US$441.8mln and US$600.1mln.
Base metals and uranium explorer and developer URU Metals Limited (LON:URU) has raised £770,000 through a share placing. The shares were placed at 0.45p a share.
Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) has spent US$9.6mln acquiring an 8.4% stake in an American business as a precursor to opening discussions over a licensing deal, R&D collaboration or “potential corporate transaction”.
Genel Energy PLC (LON:GENL) and partner DNO has unearthed a new oil discovery in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The DNO operated Peshkabir-2 well, located on the Tawke production sharing contract, discovered oil in the Cretaceous horizon though drilling continues down to test further targets.
Gama Aviation PLC (LON:GMAA) took off on an upgrade from Cantor Fitzgerald as the aircraft maintenance and management group reported good revenue growth in the year just ended. Cantor upgraded to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ as Gama said revenue growth was more than 10% higher year on year on a constant currency basis, driven by a 12% increase in aircraft under management and an improving European business.
Peel Hunt sees some 140% upside for Eland Oil & Gas PLC (LON:ELA) shares as it benefits from production from the Opuama field in Nigeria. Eland is one of Peel Hunts three ‘top picks’ in the oil and gas sector for the first quarter of 2017, alongside North Sea focused Serica Energy Plc (LON:SQZ).
Digital marketing services group Be Heard Group PLC (LON: BHRD) has announced that its chief financial officer, Robin Price has been appointed to the newly created role of chief operating officer, effective immediately. The firm said Price will undertake his new role as COO alongside his existing responsibilities as CFO.
Justin Tooth, executive chairman of AIM-quoted metals project developer Ferrum Crescent Limited (LON:FCR) has entered into a contract of employment with the company to replace the interim arrangements agreed at the time of his appointment. The contract has no fixed term and Tooth will have a base salary of £125,000. Ferrum also announced the appointment of Merlin Marr-Johnson to the position of Project Manager with the group.
Hunter Hall Investment Management Limited has notified Base Resources Limited (LON:BSE) that it’s interest in the AIM-listed group’s total shares on issue has decreased, on a net basis, to 17.60% from 18.79%.