Weekly Brief 22nd October
It seems that winter is finally on the horizon, with colder days and longer nights but we can at least still hold out hope to catch a bit of summer abroad now as restrictions to travel change in a few days.
The FTSE has been treading water this week, faced with the uncertainty of the rates rise and with potential indicators that inflation could rise above 5%. It’s not all doom and gloom however, as sales are 4.2% above their pre-pandemic levels in February. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) is also showing some unexpectedly good news with IHS Markit’s flash index jumping to 56.8 this month, the highest since July and well above expectations of 54. Now that restrictions have been lifted and people can no longer hide behind a blank Zoom screen (or rely on its filters), there is a higher demand for makeup and perfume, leading to L’Oreal seeing a big jump in share price with an increase of 6%’. And as offices continue to get busier, so do the City’s Pret’s – but not to worry, as Pret are set to release self-service coffee machines which should hopefully alleviate the queue on the morning commute.
Client News:
Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR) noted the announcement made on the 18 October 2021 by Apollo Consolidated Ltd.and ASX listed Ramelius Resources relating to the proposed acquisition of Apollo by Ramelius. Trident holds a 1.5% NSR gold royalty over Apollo’s flagship Lake Rebecca Gold Project in Western Australia. Ramelius views Lake Rebecca as a potential cornerstone asset and has indicated its intent to identify a pathway to a mine life of 10 years at a run rate of at least 100,000 ounces per annum, which is in excess of Trident’s original economic assessment. Apollo and Ramelius have entered into a Bid Implementation Agreement, pursuant to which Ramelius will offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of Apollo by way of an off-market takeover offer. The offer has been unanimously recommended by the Board of Directors of Apollo.
Kibo Energy PLC (AIM: KIBO), the multi-asset energy development company, noted that its 55% subsidiary, MAST Energy Developments PLC, announced that Close Leasing Ltd, a subsidiary of Close Brothers Group plc, has offered facilities to MED to fund the development and construction of the Company’s two owned Reserve Power projects currently in development, Bordesley and Rochdale.
Europa Oil & Gas (AIM:EOG) announced its final results for the 12 month period ended 31 July 2021. Full-year revenues rose with significant progress across the portfolio laying foundations for the future including doubling UK onshore oil production to over 200bopd after achieving first oil at Wressel.
Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP), has appointed Dr Naveed Akhtar as an adviser on hydrogen technology, following its recently announced non-exclusive co-operation agreement with PowerChina International Group to jointly develop a hydrogen production facility in Pakistan. Dr Akhtar will join the Company on an advisory basis as Chief of Technology – Hydrogen, a non-Board position. This marks an important step towards advancing the development of Pakistan’s first hydrogen production facility.
Cora Gold Limited (AIM:CORA) has released the thirteenth and final set of drill results from its largest ever +40,000m drill campaign at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in Southern Mali. The drill results have continued to be extremely encouraging throughout the campaign with high-grade results in generally shallow oxide ore. An updated mineral resource estimate is expected in the coming weeks after the final set of drill results have been published. The final set of samples has included some of the best drill hole results to date.
Critical Metals Plc (AIM: CRTM) has provided an update on its proposed acquisition, as announced on 20 May 2021. Critical Metals is seeking to acquire a majority stake in Mauritius-incorporated Madini Occidental Ltd, which will, on completion of the acquisition, have an indirect 70% beneficial interest in a ‘Small Scale Mining License’ PEPM 14784, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Molulu is a copper/cobalt project located on the Katangan Copperbelt, adjacent to several medium and large-scale producers.
Contango Holdings Plc (LSE:CGO), has received the results from a set of sample analyses conducted by Bureau Veritas of South Africa. The analyses assessed a variety of metrics and properties derived from 49 samples extracted from the 1A Lower and MSU metallurgical seams at the Lubu Coal Project, including ash, sulphur and phosphorous contents, as well as yield and calorific values. The results have exceeded the Company’s expectations and also confirm the viability of Lubu’s metallurgical coal in the production of coke, the key reactant and fuel in primary steelmaking.
In the news this week…
T20 Cricket World Cup: Namibia reach Super 12s as Ireland knocked out.
Domestic horses’ mysterious origins may finally be revealed.