Horizonte Minerals PLC (AIM:HZM, TSX:HZM, OTC:HZMMF) said mining and commodity trading giant Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) now owns 9.8% of its shares.
In a routine statement, Horizonte said Glencore crossed the major shareholding threshold on Tuesday.
Petropavlovsk PLC (LSE:POG) has appointed a corporate finance boutique to find a buyer saying it will struggle to refinance its debts due to the sanctions imposed on Russia.
In a statement, the Russia-focused gold miner said AlixPartners would assist the board as it explores its options.
Anglo Asian Mining produced 13,720 gold equivalent ounces from its mines in western Azerbaijan in the three months to 31 March 2022.
Total gold bullion sales were 7,519 ounces at an average of $1,904 per oz (Q1 2021: 5,635 ounces at $1,697 oz) with cash at the period end of US$29.4mln (US$37.5mln).
Cloudbreak Discovery PLC (LSE:CDL) unveiled Paul Gurney as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Prior to joining the natural resource project generator, he spent over 15 years in capital markets, most recently as a managing director for the Bank of Montreal (CSE:BMO)’s (BMO) equity desk in London.
Bens Creek Group PLC (AIM:BEN, OTC:BENCF) said it entered into a coal sub-lease agreement with Star Ridge Land LLC on two parcels of land covering about 2,640 acres in Mingo County, West Virginia.
The land touches Bens Creek’s recently re-opened metallurgical coal mine.
Trident Royalties PLC (AIM:TRR) said it agreed to the sale of the Mercedes Gold-Silver Mine in Sonora, Mexico by Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX).
The group has an offtake agreement with Premier Gold, a subsidiary of Equinox, over the mine and will receive US$3.75mln in addition to royalty payments of US$307,600 already received.
Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS) has raised $35 million and is now well funded to fast track its Bananal Valley drilling program at the Salinas Lithium Project in Brazil.
The company sees the raise, which was anchored by a cornerstone investment of $15 million by Electrification and Decarbonization AIE LP Fund (E&D Fund), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Toronto based Waratah Capital Advisers, as transformational.
Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) is reviewing its Davyhurst gold operations due to production and cost performance issues.
The company recently completed stage one of the review, resulting in a 24-month plan to improve productivity, lower costs and build cash to invest back into exploration and next mine resource development.
Atalaya Mining (AIM:ATYM, TSX:AYM) PLC reported a 19.5% drop in copper production in the first quarter following a temporary plant shutdown and lower copper grades.
The mining and development company produced 11,249 tonnes of copper in the first quarter, down from 13,979 tonnes in the year-earlier period.
Polymetal International PLC (LSE:POLY) (Polymetal International PLC (LSE:POLY)) led the fallers in the FTSE 350 after the Russia-based precious metals miner shelved its dividend.
The company said its board decided to postpone the payout and a decision on making an interim dividend payment until at least August based on "significant changes in operating conditions" in the last few weeks - ie since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Amur Minerals Corp said international sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine have had a minimal impact on its operations.
The exploration and development company focused on Russia’s far east said the flow of funds supporting its flagship AO Kun-Manie operation continue.
Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP) said it "kicked off 2022 with a period of high activity" and expects the second quarter to be similarly busy.
The international natural resource and power project developer added there is a "pipeline of high impact news flow to deliver to market over the coming months".
East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST) said it identified 22 gold targets for follow up work following a drone survey of the Apmintas licence in Kazakhstan.
Most of the targets are under just 10-30 metres of cover, the Kazakhstan-focused gold and copper explorer said in a statement.
Cobra Resources PLC (LSE:COBR) said it was granted a 536 km2 exploration tenement east of its Wudinna project on the Eyre Peninsular in South Australia.
The land (Tenement EL 6718) is considered highly prospective for gold and rare earth mineralisation, London-listed Cobra said in a statement.
Bradda Head Lithium Ltd said it successfully completed and closed its UK placing, raising gross proceeds of about £1.96mln.
The North America-focused lithium development group placed 14.5mln shares at 13.5 pence each having received orders in excess of £6.6mln.
Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) is out to raise $24 million to support drilling activity across its copper-gold discoveries in Ecuador.
The precious and base metals explorer announced a $20 million placement and a share purchase plan to raise up to $4 million, which will buoy exploration at its Bramaderos project to the south and the El Palmar asset in the north.
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU, TSX:PRU, OTC:PMNXF) has intersected further high-grade gold mineralisation from its exploration drilling program at the CMA underground prospect within the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
The company’s ongoing infill and down-dip extension drilling on the CMA structure at Yaouré continues to confirm strong potential for further mineral resources beneath the CMA open pit, with results including:
Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ) has intersected highly anomalous cobalt at the Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project in New South Wales, further enhancing the potential for a large cobalt system within the defined target area.
The new assays are relatively shallow, ranging from the surface to 93 metres deep, and include several stand-out intercepts:
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) and Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) are two of the most-shorted London stocks, while the “most crowded” long bets in the FTSE 100 are BP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC).
That’s according to UBS’s measure of the most crowded "active positions" around the world, where semiconductor company Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) were top of the global list for the past week.
AEX Gold Inc (AIM:AEXG, TSX-V:AEX) said its 2021 exploration program at the Sava project in Greenland has revealed multiple targets at what could be a high-grade, multi-element property.
The Toronto-based company completed remote sensing, airborne geophysics, geological mapping, rock chip and ionic geochemistry studies and hyperspectral imagery across the 4,090-square kilometre Sava licence.
Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW) said its New Ballarat Gold joint venture has paused drilling at the O'Loughlin's and Mt Bute prospects in Victoria to allow for the receipt of outstanding assays.
David Holden, NBGC’s exploration director, said “At the O'Loughlin's prospect have already encountered high-grade gold from the initial assays we have received - with assays from an additional three holes still pending.
Tharisa has laid the foundations for a step up in production from June onwards after successfully commissioning its new Vulcan plant, according to broker Peel Hunt.
Setting up the processor had an impact on throughput in the past three months, but high grades helped platinum group metal production though chrome was a little behind expectations.
Vast Resources' acquisition of two jumbo rigs at Baita Plai in Romania should lead to increased volumes and higher-grade ore to the processing plant says house broker Shore Capital.
External technical consultants have highlighted the potential for molybdenum (Mo) production through a small flotation circuit that could allow for production between 1t and 5t of a 50% Mo concentrate per month.
Just over an hour’s drive from the construction site of what is intended to be the UK’s first electric vehicle battery ‘gigafactory’, another company is planning to build a battery-grade lithium processing site.
Tees Valley Lithium (TVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alkemy Capital Investments PLC (LSE:ALK), has an exclusivity agreement in place for a 20-acre plot at the Wilton International chemical park near Middlesbrough to construct what it says will be Europe’s first battery-grade lithium hydroxide processing facility.
Sirius Minerals may be long-gone but through Anglo American Plc's (LSE:AAL) automation and modern mining technologies the future of the Woodsmith mine, in North Yorkshire, still appears to be alive and kicking.
The Yorkshire fertiliser project - which is designed to extract huge volumes of polyhalite, a somewhat novel type of potash fertiliser, from beneath a national park - has had no shortage of challenges, not least the spiralling costs and financing problems that ultimately saw Sirius sell to Anglo at a bargain basement price back in 2020.
Vast Resources PLC (AIM:VAST) said it raised £420,000 via a subscription and will use the proceeds to buy additional mechanised equipment for its Baita Plai polymetallic mine in Romania.
Existing individual shareholders subscribed to 50mln new shares at 0.84 pence per share, a 60% premium to the closing share price yesterday.
Technology Minerals PLC (LSE:TM1) said its first battery recycling site is ready to start operating, as the company published its first set of results since floating in November.
Having announced the opening of the lead-acid battery recycling site, in Tipton, West Midlands, in January, 49%-owned associate Recyclus, which operates the plants, was said to be building inventory as it awaits final clearance from the Environmental Agency.
Metal Tiger PLC's (AIM:MTR, OTC:MRTTF, ASX:MTR) Kalahari Metal joint venture has defined more drilling targets at the Endurance prospect at Kitlanya East, one of its assets on the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana.
Kalahari Metal, jointly owned by Metal Tiger and ASX-listed Cobre, said 34 high priority drill holes had been identified with an initial 14 (approximately 4,000 metres) prioritised for the next phase of drilling.
Altus Strategies PLC (AIM:ALS, TSX-V:ALTS, OTCQX:ALTUF) said it has been issued with a 10-year mining licence for the Agdz copper and silver project in Morocco.
Agdz is located 14 kilometres southwest of the Bou Skour copper-silver mine in the eastern Anti-Atlas.
Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) has received a £403,000 rebate from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The rebate is in relation to a research and development (R&D) tax relief claim in respect of geoscientific advances sought by the company through its exploration programmes.
Tharisa PLC (LSE:THS, JSE:THA) said its platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome production fell in its second quarter from the record first quarter due to mill breakdowns, although metal prices were stronger.
It produced 44,100 ounces of PGMs in its second quarter to end-March 2022, down 7.5% from its first quarter, while the average PGM basket price jumped 17.2% to US$2,806 an ounce. Chrome output declined 6.7% to 374,900 tonnes as the average price grew 9.9% to US$177 a tonne.
Landore Resources Ltd (AIM:LND) is to recommence exploration for lithium on the northern zone of the Junior Lake property in Ontario.
In this area, Landore has already discovered two pegmatites, Swole Lake and Tape Lake pegmatites. Together with the historic Despard occurrence, these make the area highly prospective.
Panthera Resources PLC (AIM:PAT) said it plans to raise about £1.06mln before expenses from existing and institutional investors via a placing and subscription and will use the proceeds to fund a drilling programme at its Bassala gold project in Mali.
The fundraising comprises of a placing of about 9.6mln new shares and a subscription of about 4.6mln new shares at 7.5 pence per share.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) said production from its Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe hit a new record last quarter as it ramped up operations following the completion of a new central shaft.
The mine produced 18,515 ounces (oz) of gold in the three months to March 2022, a 40% increase from the first quarter a year ago,
Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) analysts responded positively to new operational numbers from Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF), which released figures from its Segilola gold project this week.
Total gold production came in at 7,220 ounces during the month of March, taking production for the first quarter of the year to 21,343 ounces. Recovery in March averaged 95.1% with average recovery for 1Q at 94.1%.
Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF) told investors its 100%-owned Segilola Gold Mine in Nigeria continued to operate at a steady state, with above design mill throughput, in March 2022.
Total gold production was 7,220 ounces during the month, taking production for the first quarter of the year to 21,343 ounces. Recovery in March averaged 95.1% with average recovery for 1Q at 94.1%.
Expecting European miners to generate record cash flows in the first half of 2022, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said it is “bullish” about the sector.
The investment bank highlighted five ‘buy’ ideas, including upgrading Rio Tinto PLC (LSE:RIO).
ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR) has appointed Andrew Haythorpe as chief executive.
Haythorpe will join ECR as a non-board CEO prior to assuming the role of executive director, subject to approval, in six months’ time.
Caracal Gold PLC (LSE:GCAT) announced the first gold production from its new heap leach plant at its Kilimapesa gold mine in Kenya.
Commissioning of its pilot heap leach plant has been completed and the first gold production has been achieved ahead of schedule, the company said, adding that it marked an important milestone in its wider expansion strategy to increase output to 24,000 ounces per year from Kilimapesa.
Blencowe Resources PLC (LSE:BRES) has boosted the resource at its Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda by 50% to 24.5mln tonnes of ore grading 6% total graphite content (TGC).
The resource is sufficient to cover the first 15 years of mine life.
Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW) said subsidiary First Development Resources (FDR) has completed a comprehensive geophysical desktop study for its flagship Wallal gold project in Australia.
The geometry and depth to the main Eastern Magnetic Bullseye anomaly has been constrained and work is progressing to facilitate the commencement of a planned Phase I diamond drilling programme, said the statement.
Bradda Head Lithium Limited (AIM:BHL, OTCQB:BHLIF) said it raised about £7.92mln before expenses from a placing and will use the proceeds to explore and advance its lithium projects in Arizona and Nevada in the US.
It placed about 58.7mln shares at 13.5 pence each with investors in North America.