ECR Minerals said made it made great operational progress in its last financial year, though this was overshadowed by the untimely death of chief executive Craig Brown.
The explorer is focused on several gold prospects in Victoria in Australia and David Tang, chairman, said it had significantly advanced the value of the assets across the group.
NetScientific PLC (AIM:NSCI) says its portfolio company, PDS Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ:PDSB) (Nasdaq: PDSB), made good progress through 2021, hitting a number of milestones.
Ilian Iliev, NetScientific chief executive, said: "PDS has continued the steady progress and build-out of the business, progressing multiple clinical applications of the Versamune platform in immuno-oncology and infectious disease vaccines.
“You know what they say, don’t ya – that data is the new oil mate. Yeah mate, that’s why they invented them Clubcard points, for your data, innit.”
And with great originality, the joke now doing the rounds on Twitter is that oil is the new data. Hilarious.
Pure Gold Mining Inc said it has generated nearly $32 million in revenue from its PureGold mine in Red Lake, Ontario since the start of commercial production in August 2021.
The Vancouver-based resources company has produced a total of 26,899 ounces since starting production at the high-grade gold mine.
Next PLC's (LSE:NXT) share price target was slashed by over 17% by Deutsche Bank Research, though they are still rated as a 'buy'.
The target price was trimmed heavily to 7,850p from the previous 9,250p, with the shares currently changing hands at just over 6,000p.
Euro Sun Mining Inc (TSX:ESM, OTC:CPNFF) said it submitted the key documents for the Rovina Valley Project in Romania.
The Canadian mining and exploration company said it submitted the strategic environmental assessment along with the zonal urban plan documents.
Brewin Dolphin Holdings Plc (LSE:BRW)’s employees are set to bank a £66mln windfall after the wealth manager agreed to be taken over by Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) (RBC).
The company’s 2,000 employees own a combined total of 4.13% shares via an employee ownership trust, meaning each employee is set to bank an average of around £33,000 once the acquisition is finalised.
Customers rushing to submit meter readings ahead of tomorrow’s new price cap sent websites of the big suppliers crashing, it was reported today.
Comparison sites and money experts were urging people to get their readings in ahead of the deadline to avoid being put on an estimated bill that reflects the new charging level.
Sporting data analytics specialist 4GLOBAL PLC (AIM:4GBL) has appointed a chief customer officer.
Kerstin Obenauer was previously UK country director at fitness technology supplier EGYM based and has over 20 years' experience in the fitness sector.
Emmerson PLC (AIM:EML, OTC:EMSNF) said discussions over a financing package for the Khemisset potash project in Morocco have been boosted by the surging price of fertiliser following the war in Ukraine.
“The importance of the Khemisset project as a new source of potash has risen significantly, and the board is more committed than ever to bring the mine into production as soon as possible," it said in a statement.
S4 Capital shares slumped further today as investors wrestled with why Martin Sorrell’s acquisitive ad company had delayed its annual results for a second time.
Having tumbled by a third on Thursday, when S4 made the surprise announcement in the afternoon, the shares were off another 13% today at 271p.
Royal Mail PLC (LSE:RMG) faces UK-wide strikes over plans to axe 1,000 managers.
The union Unite claims the postal group is planning to sack the staff and hire them back on lower salaries - a practice known as "fire and rehire".
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set in motion plans to compensate former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), who were given unsuitable advice to transfer out of their guaranteed pension by financial advisers.
The regulator expects £71.2mln of compensation to be paid to an estimated 1,400 former steelworkers who exited the benefit plan, a statement from the FCA said. This follows its announcement of plans for a redress scheme for steel pensioners in December last year.
Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTC:PTHRF) chief executive Jay Cheatham, in today’s financial results statement, celebrated what he described as “one of great achievements” for the company – which has seen its market valuation soar above £1bn on the back of new oil discoveries in Alaska.
The comments in the results statement come after Cheatham told Proactive the company is now looking ahead to the next programme of drilling, which will focus on horizontal wells and long-term production testing.
Tharisa PLC (LSE:THS, JSE:THA) said it expects its platinum group metals (PGM) output to double on completion of Phase 1 of the Karo project in Zimbabwe, after exercising its farm-in option and acquiring a controlling interest of Karo Mining Holdings for US$27mln.
The London- and Johannesburg-listed company will settle the acquisition with the issue of 13.69mln new shares to The Leto Settlement, a major shareholder in Tharisa.
Mosman Oil and Gas Ltd (AIM:MSMN) highlighted a 95% increase in revenue and a 232% jump in gross profit for 2021, boosted by higher production and increased oil prices.
Net production from Mosman’s assets in Texas amounted to 17,344 barrels oil equivalent, up 43%. Revenue totalled A$745,790, up 95% on the prior year, whilst gross profit totalled A$188,487.
Tate & Lyle PLC (LSE:TATE) said it is to buy China's Quantum Hi-Tech (Guangdong) Biological Co., a prebiotic dietary fibre business, for US$237mln in cash.
The maker of Splenda and Golden Syrup said the aquisition from ChemPartner Pharmatech Co., Ltd will expand its offering in Asia and boost revenue growth and EBITDA margin in the first year.
Vast Resources PLC (AIM:VAST) said it is still in discussions with Botswana Diamonds PLC (AIM:BOD) about the future development of the Ghaghoo diamond mine in Botswana.
Vast announced its decision last month not to buy the mine from Botswana Diamonds but said today the parties continue working together to ensure a mutually beneficial outcome.
Mila Resources PLC (LSE:MILA) reported £2.52mln cash at bank and in hand after what it called a “transformational” half-year that saw the shell company acquire its first interest in an operational mine, with an initial 30% interest in the Kathleen Valley gold project in Western Australia.
In November, a capital raise of £3.5mln was completed alongside the acquisition, with the aim of funding an 11,000m-plus drilling programme to build on the existing JORC inferred resource and unlock the full potential of the project.
Chesnara PLC (LSE:CSN) shares moved higher in early deals on Thursday as the company said 2021 was “a year of good delivery”.
The life assurance and pensions company proposed a 3% increase to the full-year dividend on the back of a year of strong cash generation.
OptiBiotix Health PLC (AIM:OPTI) said its ProBiotix Health PLC (AQSE:PBX) business has been admitted to the AQSE Growth Market valued at £25.5mln and after raising £2.5mln of additional capital.
The spin-off is being done to exploit the “multiple opportunities” identified by management.
Curtis Banks Group PLC (AIM:CBP) said it expects rising interest rates to give profits a lift over 2022.
Will Self, the SIPP administrator's chief executive, added: "Changes made to our pricing policy now mean that 88% of our core revenues recur in perpetuity, with fixed rates of increase providing higher quality revenues that protect earnings against inflation.
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) (RBC) said it is to buy Brewin Dolphin Holdings Plc (LSE:BRW) for £1.6bln in cash to bolster its wealth management operations in the UK and Ireland.
Brewin Dolphin shareholders will be offered 515p per share, a 62% premium to the closing price on Wednesday, Canada's largest lender said in a statement.
Health and beauty products specialist InnovaDerma PLC (LSE:IDP) said the "simplifying and reshaping" of the business will continue as it aims to return to profitability this year.
The group, which has focused in on a cluster of core products, including the top-selling Skinny Tan range, revealed the early impact of the strategy change.
Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF) is upgrading its view of its discovery offshore Morocco with analysis of the Anchois-2 well pointing to a 50% rise in net pay to 150 metres (m), compared to 100m in the recent initial analysis and 55m in Anchois-1.
The company, in a statement, added that its analysis has confirmed excellent quality dry gas in all seven discovered gas reservoirs, without detrimental impurities – suggesting minimal gas processing will be required in the development.
Leading crypto currencies were largely unchanged, mirroring caution in the wider markets, with Bitcoin seemingly unable to break out of range due to technical resistance.
The largest coin by market cap fell 1.01% to US$47,059, failing yet again to push on to the next key resistance level of US$50,000, as it continues to trade around three-month high.
Mirriad Advertising PLC (AIM:MIRI, OTCQX:MMDDF)’s latest research has assessed how to gain control of lost audiences.
Its whitepaper, which can be downloaded here, has noted a shift in the key 18-49 age group. Their participation in linear TV [viewing with ad breaks] has dropped 49% in the last five years and is expected to decline 22% in the next two.
Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW) said that it has identified a 12-kilometre (km) anomalous feature at its Soaring Bay uranium asset in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
As a result, Power Metal has increased its footprint at Soaring Bay by 71% to 79.07 square kilometres (sq km) through additional staking of adjacent uranium-prospective ground.
XLMedia PLC (AIM:XLM, OTC:XLMDF) unveiled Marcus Rich, currently the non-executive chair of Digitalbox PLC (AIM:DBOX), as its new chair.
The global digital performance publisher said Rich brings a wealth of experience, having held executive and non-executive roles in the media sector, such as Daily Mail & General Trust and EMAP (East Midland Allied Press, as was).
Horizonte Minerals PLC (AIM:HZM, TSX:HZM, OTC:HZMMF) has completed the issue of US$65mln convertible notes and sale of a US$25mln royalty over its Vermelho development, which, combined, are the final part of its previously announced US$633mln finance package.
Jeremy Martin, chief executive, said the funding would allow it to move forward with confidence on the construction already underway at Araguaia, its flagship project.
Polarean Imaging PLC (AIM:POLX, OTC:PLLWF) said it has resubmitted its new drug application (NDA) for a drug device that potentially offers a breakthrough in pulmonary imaging.
It has done so after discussion with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) following the receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL), which raised issues the company has now addressed.
Feedback PLC (AIM:FDBK), a specialist medical imaging technology company, said its cloud tuberculosis (TB) screening service has gone live in India’s Evangelical Hospital Khariar in Odisha, which the company describes as a significant development to help realise India’s vision of eliminating TB in three years.
The breakthrough means digital x-rays in rural areas can now be securely transmitted via mobile networks to the company’s clinical communication platform Bleepa, where images can be analysed by Feedback’s partner Qurei.ai and screening results can be available within minutes.
Mailbox REIT PLC saw a 2.6% increase in the valuation of its primary asset, the Mailbox mixed-use property in Birmingham, in 2021.
The Mailbox was valued at £185.8mln at the end of 2021, an uplift of £4.7mln on a year earlier.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings PLC (LSE:OCTP, OTCQB:OCTHF) said it was making good progress on its two lead cannabinoid medicines in pre-clinical development.
For OCT461201, which is being tested for both neuropathic and visceral pain, there has been “very encouraging” data, with successful reduction of pain in a model chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
Technology Minerals PLC (LSE:TM1) named James Hannon as its new chief financial officer (CFO), taking effect on 11 April.
Hannon “has an extensive range of financial and corporate finance advisory experience ranging from private company mandates and private equity transactions to international IPOs,” according to a statement.
Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB, OTCQB:POLBF) said work will get underway in the summer to assess its lead asset in the clinic.
Its POLB 001 treatment has been developed to tackle the severe hyperinflammatory effects of influenza.
Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM:ALL) chairman Neil Herbert said the recent resource upgrade at its Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana should "significantly improve" the overall economics of the project.
Total indicated and inferred resources have risen by 42% to 30.1 million tonnes (Mt) of lithium oxide (Li2O) with a 294% increase in the more certain indicated category at 20.5Mt.
Brickability Group PLC (AIM:BRCK) said it is paying up to £6.5mln to acquire Surrey-based Beacon Roofing, a supplier of roofing services across the South East of England, predominantly for national housebuilders and developers.
The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings accretive post-completion.
Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, AIM:SVML) has presented at a roundtable on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Critical Minerals at the UK Houses of Parliament extolling the low-carbon footprint virtues of the Kasiya Rutile Project in Malawi.
Chair Ben Stoikovich spoke to the ability of the company’s natural rutile Kasiya Project to become an important supplier of low-carbon footprint natural graphite to the UK.
Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ)’s ongoing work on the geological model has uncovered new cobalt assay results for 20 shallow drill holes within the defined target area that hosts the Tors & Reef Tank prospects at the Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project in New South Wales.
The new results will be codified and then added to the 6,380 drill holes, which are being factored into the geological model.
How to cope with the uncertainties arising from inflation, the Ukraine war, possible stagflation or even recession will have taxed many investors’ minds recently.
Credit Suisse asked its analysts just that question and the stocks that would fare best on the criteria of lower direct exposure to Eastern Europe and eurozone cyclicality, low exposure to rising input and freight costs and strong pricing power.
Albert Labs International Corp (CSE:ABRT) announced it has filed a provisional patent application in the US covering its proprietary cultivation process for the production of Psilocybe mycelia and other types of fungi.
The research and drug development company has developed a process that it says can significantly boost the production volumes of psilocybin medicine.
KR1 PLC (AQSE:KR1) has invested US$1.5mln into Subspace Labs Inc, a new eco-friendly scalable layer-one blockchain, as part of a US$32.9mln funding round.
Coinbase Ventures was among the other investors in Subspace along with Alameda Research and Hypersphere Ventures.
Barclays PLC's (LSE:BARC) surprise £450mln loss from its structured product blunder came at a bad time, said Credit Suisse, and while it still reckons the FTSE 100 lender will resume its share buyback shortly, it is likely to be cut down by a third.
With the outlook for capital markets this year already uncertain, Credit Suisse earlier this month cut its price target on the blue-eagle bank for the second time this year on the concern that Barclays equities and investment banking divisions to be weaker if lower risk sentiment was sustained.
Inspired PLC (AIM:INSE) is a buy with broker Peel Hunt after the company confirmed its strong start to the year.
The analysts also reiterated their target price of 25p.
Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) said it ended 2021 with significant increases in the reserves and net present values of its Colombian and Canadian assets.
The Canadian energy firm said its proved (1P) reserves grew by 4.1% to 3 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), driven largely by uplift at its Santa Isabel (Oso Pardo) asset in Colombia.
Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTC:PTHRF) said it is keen to start horizontal production testing of its Alaska North Slope in the summer after extreme weather had hampered operations recently.
Jay Cheatham, Pantheon’s chief executive, said the plan remains to drill a new well, Alkaid#2, from a gravel pad along the Dalton Highway, the main road in Alaska, with spudding scheduled for July.
The ‘exceptional showing’ of author Sarah j Maas latest best-seller was behind the bullish revenue and profit call from Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, according to the City broker Peel Hunt
Maas’ critically acclaimed Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath was cited in an upbeat trading statement from the group, which pushed the share price 10% as it told the market annual revenues would be comfortably ahead of expectations and profit "materially" above forecasts.
Pearson PLC (LSE:PSON) (Pearson PLC (LSE:PSON)) has rejected a third takeover offer from US investment group Apollo worth 884p per share leading the US private equity firm to admit defeat and walk away.
The new strategic vision of one of the FTSE 100’s oldest, if not necessarily largest, most renowned or even memorable companies, Electrocomponents PLC (LSE:ECM), brought Doc Brown and Marty McFly to mind for some children of the 80s.
In our office anyway.