A mystery buyer has sparked some interest in AIM-listed miner Zanaga Iron Ore Ltd (LON:ZIOC).
A Mr Keith Everitt from the Isle of Man bought another slug of shares today to take his stake to 6.01% - worth around £3mln. That’s a sizeable holding for an individual investor.
News of his share purchase has got investors speculating on the bulletin boards just who he is and if he knows something they don’t. The gossip has helped to push the stock up 10.3% to 21.9p.
South African elections delay Premier investment
Among the handful of notable fallers in London today was Premier African Minerals Ltd (LON:PREM) which has agreed to let Cadence Minerals Plc (LON:KDNC) have a little more time to carry out its due diligence on the Zulu lithium and tantalum project in Zimbabwe.
Back in June, Cadence signed a conditional heads-of-terms agreement to acquire up to a 30% stake in Zulu for up to US$5.1mln.
The plan is that the investment will fund the definitive feasibility study of the project, where a scoping study revealed a lithium concentrate net present value (NPV) of US$127mln and lithium carbonate NPV of US$718mln last year.
Before finalising the deal, Cadence wanted to carry out its due diligence on Zulu but the recent elections in Zimbabwe have caused some “unexpected interruptions” so Premier has granted Cadence an extra 20 days to cast its eye over the project. Premier shares fell 8.5% to 0.17p.
Bisichi Mining on fire as interim profits jump almost 2,000%
Stronger coal prices and operational improvements at its Black Wattle project in South Africa helped Bisichi Mining PLC (LON:BISI) to grow its profits by almost 2,000% in the first half.
Bisichi made some improvements to the washing plant there last year and the benefits are now starting to be felt.
Black Wattle produced 670,000 tonnes of coal in the six months through to June 30, compared with 582,000 tonnes for the same period last year.
The company has also been helped by the rise in coal prices, which have jumped on the perfect combination of weak supply and strong demand.
As a result, pre-tax profits for the first half came in at £4.0mln. This time last year, Bisichi turned an interim profit of just £0.2mln. Shares are up 17.2% to 119.5p.
Antofagasta boosted by RBC upgrade
Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) shares shot higher after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock, saying the valuation provides a “compelling entry point” following a recent sell off.
RBC raised its rating on the FTSE 100-listed group to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ but cut its target price to 950p from 980p after poor first-half results.
Shares in Antofagasta fell following disappointing first half results and weaker copper prices but RBC said the second half suggests better prospects.
“The shares have derated significantly, a rarity for ANTO,” the broker said.
“Valuation provides a compelling entry point in our view. We expect the shares to regain a premium valuation over the coming months possibly enhanced by its copper exposure, which has significantly underperformed iron ore by 10% in the year to date.”
Antofagasta shares are up 2.7% to 826.8p, taking it towards the top of the FTSE 100.
Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC (LON:BPC) was dealt a huge blow after a “major international oil company” decided not to pursue a deal for any of the company’s assets.
The unnamed firm had been carrying out a “detailed technical evaluation” of all of BPC’s licences in the Bahamas over the past few months.
BPC had hoped it would be able to strike a deal and bring the interested party on board to help it develop its assets, but it seems the major wasn’t wowed by what it saw and has now stepped back from the table.
BPC did receive US$1mln for its troubles, but that wasn’t enough to pacify investors who had been excited at the thought of partnering up with a big player.
Shares are down 65% to 2.2p, although that’s still double where they were before the major revealed its interest at the start of May.
Kefi raises funds for Tulu Kapi construction
Kefi Minerals PLC (LON:KEFI) has gone the other way after signing a detailed heads of agreement which would see a syndicate of Ethiopian investors plough US$35mln into the Tulu Kapi gold project in the country.
Once the syndicate has carried out its due diligence – expected later this quarter – the first instalment of US$9mln will be made, with the remainder due by the end of the year.
Kefi boss Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said the way the deal has been structured will ensure that the company will retain control of Tulu Kapi. Shares rose 14.6% to 2.35p.
Versarien rises on AECOM tie-up
Advanced materials group Versarien PLC (LON:VRS) is another stock giving its shareholders a pre-bank holiday boost after it inked a deal with US Fortune 500 engineering firm AECOM.
The two will work together to find ways to incorporate Versarien’s graphene nano-platelets into large-scale polymer structures used in civil infrastructure projects.
One of the key benefits of graphene is that it is exceptionally strong despite being very thin.
“Should this collaboration progress as we hope the potential for Versarien is considerable, as the volumes of graphene that will be required are significantly larger than for many other applications given the scale of the structures being produced,” said chief executive Neill Ricketts.