Weekly Brief 22nd May

The late Spring bank holiday is this Monday, bringing with it another weekend of beautiful weather to enjoy by going for a nice long walk in the countryside (following social distancing rules), or just relaxing and basking in the sun at home.

Today we also come to the end of the UK’s Mental Health Awareness Week, as it is particularly important currently to not just look after one’s physical health but mental health as well – the uncertainty, isolation, and changes to routine are significant weights on everyone’s mental wellbeing. This year’s theme is kindness: intrinsically connected to our mental health in creating a sense of belonging, reducing stress, and bringing a sense of optimism, and was changed to this year’s theme because these are all obstacles that we face, especially at the moment. Most importantly, kindness has the singular ability to bring out our shared humanity as none of us are alone in facing these challenges, and protecting our mental health is vital to coping with the impact of the pandemic – Rethink emphasises the message to ‘thrive, not just survive’ by utilising community support, while Mind’s campaign focuses on #SpeakYourMind. So maybe this bank holiday weekend take the time to perform an act of kindness, big or small – maybe to yourself by practising some self-care, or to others by checking in on your loved ones – but, whichever way you decide to relax this weekend, remember to be kind to your mind.

Client News

Prospex Oil and Gas’ (PXOG: AIM) FY Results highlighted just what a busy year 2019 was for the Company.  The year saw the acquisition of the El Romeral integrated gas and power project in Spain, progress made towards bringing the Selva gas field online in Italy, drilling activity in Romania and technical work at the Tesorillo gas project in Spain which has the potential to hold up to 830bcf of gas.  The final results also highlighted the significant asset backing behind the Company in the form of total assets of more than £6million and flagged a potential name change to Prospex Energy to better reflect the Company’s focus on gas.  Gas is widely regarded as a transition fuel as the world moves closer to becoming carbon neutral.

Bluejay Mining Plc (AIM: JAY) announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2019. The company is primarily focussed on advancing the flagship Dundas Ilmenite Project in Greenland into near-term production; with a JORC compliant mineral resource of 117Mt at 6.1% ilmenite in situ, a working agreement with Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Canada Inc., and an MOU signed with a multinational trading firm in the titanium feedstock market including possible project financing, this project offers significant value potential. Aside from Dundas, the company has built a strategic portfolio of assets spanning the full value chain. This includes the Disko-Nussuaq Magmatic Massive Sulphide Project, where results support the presence of a nickel-copper bearing mineralisation, and the Kangerluarsuk Sed-Ex lead-zinc-silver project, where mapping suggests known zinc, lead, silver and copper occurrences could be up to 40m thick. As a result of Bluejay’s confidence in the projects’ discovery potential, both licences were increased during the period under review and a maiden drill and exploration programme was planned for this summer. This has had to be postponed due to Covid-19, but desktop studies to refine the drill targets are progressing well. The company also holds two new exploration licences in south Greenland, known as the Thunderstone Project, which following their acquisition resulted in Bluejay becoming the largest operational landowner in Greenland. Testament to Bluejay’s strong prospects, the company raised £11.5m at 10p per share in November 2019, which included institutional support from German, Danish, UK and Irish investors and investment from the Greenlandic and Danish Government investment funds. To maximise these funds and ensure the longevity of the company given the current pandemic, a cost saving programme was implemented successfully in April 2020 to reduce corporate overheads. Lastly, the AGM will be held on 18 June 2020 at 10am. Dial-in-details to enable shareholders to attend remotely are included in the Notice of AGM, which is available on the company’s website.

Cora Gold Limited (AIM: CORA) announced their final results for the year ended 31 December 2019. It was a successful year for Sanankoro in exploring its economic potential, with the announced pit constrained Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource of 5mt at 1.6 g/t Au for 265,000 ounces of gold towards the end of the year, and the drilling campaign gave results of 2.61g/t Au over 29m from 82m. There is good potential to increase its mineral resources as under 25% of the total strike length has been drilled so far. The scoping study results demonstrated its potential to be a highly profitable oxide mine, delivering a short capex payback and an annual average free cash flow of over $19m and 84% IRR at $1,4000 gold price. Drilling started at the Madina Foulbe Permit in Senegal and promising initial results show good widths of gold mineralisation. Cora is in a strong cash position to move Sanankoro into development and plans further metallurgical test work programmes as well as drilling programmes to further increase confidence in its resources.

Armadale Capital Plc (AIM: ACP) received notice to convert a total of £210,000 convertible loan notes into Armadale shares at a price of 3p per share, being 6,999,999 ordinary shares. In addition to this, an investor exercised an option over 453,749 Ordinary Shares at a price of 2.2p per share, providing Armadale with proceeds of £9,982.48. Accordingly, Armadale made application to the London Stock Exchange to admit a total of 7,453,748 new ordinary shares to trading on AIM which occurred on 20 May 2020.

Jangada Mines Plc (AIM: JAN) announced additional drilling assay results from their diamond drilling programme at the Pitombeiras Vanadium Project in Brazil, evaluating the structural corridor associated with the known vanadium titamonagnetite mineralisation. Results included the highest-grade intercept so far at 0.75% V2O5. On average, the Pitombeiras North Target has shown grades of 0.51% over 30.46 metres thickness, mostly starting on or near surface, on a grid of 50m by 100m, bringing the level of confidence necessary in order to delineate the first initial JORC mineral resource estimate in due course.

Contango Holdings Plc (AIM: CGO) confirmed that its prospectus, relating to the proposed acquisition via a reverse takeover by the Company of the Lubu Coalfield in Zimbabwe from Consolidated Growth Holdings Limited, has been approved by the FCA on 20 May 2020.  This acquisition will be satisfied by the consideration of £6,834,829.05 by issuing 128,849,961 ordinary shares of £0.01 each. The Board expects to have sufficient funds to take the sizeable coalfield, which possesses a resource in excess of 1.3 billion tonnes, into production later this year in what will be a transformational period. A General Meeting will be held on 17 June 2020 at 10am at their London office to propose resolutions to the members to approve.

Kibo Energy Plc (AIM: KIBO) signed a binding term sheet to supply Baobab Resources Ltd with c. 200MW energy for their Tete Steel and Vanadium Project in Mozambique, representing 100% of the project’s power requirement. Located approximately 36km away from Kibo’s Benga Power Plant Project, the TSV Project is recognised as a key development project in Mozambique and this power purchase agreement will be one in a number of supply agreements targeted for Benga, which is being developed into a 150-300MW thermal power plant.

Jubilee Metals Plc (AIM: JLP) provided an update relating to its fine chrome operation currently situated at the Dilokong Chrome Mine in South Africa. Currently all of Jubilee’s processing facilities are fully operational with the exclusion of DCM and therefore, following a review to further optimise Group earnings it was concluded that the leading fine chrome facility could contribute more significantly to earnings if implemented at the Company’s much larger Inyoni or Windsor chrome operations. The relocation process is targeted to be completed towards the end of August 2020 and is expected to significantly enhance Jubilee’s chrome operational outputs. The remarkable success of the fine chrome facility has proven itself as a leading solution for the recovery of chrome previously regarded as unrecoverable and the company hopes to see this success replicated at other its operations in due course.

FastForward Innovations Ltd (AIM: FFWD) noted an update from IMG Arena that it is to begin offering bookmakers a virtual sports betting product for the NASCAR US stock car racing series and distributing its international betting streaming rights for the first time. The game was developed in partnership with FastForward’s investee company, Leap Gaming, in which it has a 43.3% interest, and will replicate famous NASCAR tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, TTalladega Superspeedway and Watkins Glen International. The agreement with NASCAR represents yet another high-profile client that has recognised the capabilities and track record of Leap Gaming and its ability to develop cutting edge immersive games that appeal to a global audience.

You may have missed…

Share Talk highlighted some of the most followed small cap stocks on the London market – amongst these were Cora Gold (AIM: CORA) and Empire Metals Ltd (AIM: EEE).

In the news this week…

Sir Captain Tom Moore has been awarded a knighthood for his fundraising efforts

Nasa astronauts prepare for the historic SpaceX launch to the International Space Station next week.

Dogs have been trained to protect South Africa’s wildlife and have already saved 45 rhinos.

The largest ozone hole over the Arctic has finally healed and closed.

Koalas that had been injured in the Australian bushfires are being re-released into the wild.

Japan’s central bank has appointed its first female executive director, Tokiko Shimizu, in its 138 year history.

Researchers are using antibodies in llamas to find a solution to coronavirus.

In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, here are some helpful resources:

Rethink
Mind
Young Minds
Mental Health Awareness Week
Online Therapy
Dealing with Anxiety