Significant frequent newsflow is one of the keys to success on the stock market – and indicates the health of a company. Ideally, this is delivered from the get go for a public company, and this is what Tirupati Graphite (TGR) has been serving up since it floated in December. The latest from the the fully integrated, specialist graphite producer was that it has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery grade spherical graphite in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end SPG product. Shares of Tirupati were up 15% on the news.
Shares of cash shell Ridgecrest (RDGC) came back to the market – and immediately did so with a decent amount of speculative interest, perhaps as much on the basis of why they were suspended in the first place? Nevertheless, traders seemed to be going for the idea that one and one makes three (versus 1.8p currently) as to what asset may eventually be reversed into the business? This was backed up by the appearance of multiple TR1s, the most interesting of which were Richard and Charlotte Edwards entering the fray at 7%. Barry Reynolds was on 3.77% from 10% and John “Pires” Mahtani still on 3% from 6%.
The Ascent Resources (AST) saga continued – in a good way – with direct negotiations with the Republic of Slovenia and a view to potentially settling their claim in an amicable manner in the short term. The Republic of Slovenia has said that it shall be in a position to respond formally to the Investors’ proposed settlement terms by the 19 March 2021, and has accordingly requested that the Investors do not initiate any arbitration proceedings before the 19 March 2021. The market took this well and Ascent shares rose 16%.
There were a couple of noteworthy situations to report on the Aquis Exchange. The first was NQ Minerals (AQSE:NQM), rhe base and precious metals producer from its 100% owned flagship Hellyer Mine and the 100% owner of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine, both in northern Tasmania, Australia. It announced that NQ’s 100% subsidiary, Circle Resources, has signed an agreement with ASX listed gold miner Evolution Mining for the purpose of detailed evaluation and potential processing of the lead and silver rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam Project, located on NQ’s Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia. NQ shares were up 3%.
Upper Thames Holdings (AQSE: UPPT) announced that Mr Vinay Gupta, a leading global figure in the blockchain sector, has joined the Company, as Chairman of the Advisory Committee. Vinay Gupta is a specialist in the blockchain space having co-ordinated the release of the Ethereum blockchain platform in July 2015, making him something of a rock star in the blockchain space (if not elsewhere). Shares of Upper Thames rose 13% on the news.
One of the best movers of the day was also in the blockchain area – in digital passports. Here Catenae Innovation PLC (CTEA), a provider of digital media and technology, said that it has been invited by the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to participate in the development of a Digital Identity Policy. The DCMS has issued a draft ‘UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework’ policy paper that sets out the Government’s vision for the rules concerning the future use of digital identities. Catenae shares rocketed 71%.
San Leon (SLE), the independent oil and gas company focused on Nigeria, said it noted the announcement on the funding arrangements made by Decklar Resources Limited. On 1 September 2020, San Leon announced that it had conditionally agreed to invest US$7.5 million by way of a loan to Decklar. Decklar is the holder of a Risk Service Agreement with Millenium Oil and Gas Company Limited on the Oza Oil Field in Nigeria. San Leon also announced that it was subscribing for a 15% equity interest in Decklar, and said a further announcement will be made in due course in relation to the completion of the subscription agreement.
Completing a deal was Empire Metals (EEE). The exploration and resource development company announced the receipt of Ministerial Consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse Gold Project, located 55km north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Empire shares rose 3%.
Investment company Gunsynd (GUN) saw its shares respond to news earlier this month with an 8% rise. The twin drivers here were serial entrepreneur Chris Akers raising his stake from 4% to 5%, and the update on Low6, its B2B pool betting platform for franchises around the world. The company said that the Low6 business has demonstrated strong monthly active user growth since our investment in December 2020.
Shares of Longboat Energy (LBE) were up 6%, as it started to attract speculative interest. The backdrop here is that the Ex Faroe Petroleum management team are on board having “multi bagged” that company and sold it for £700m. The assumption is that this pixie dust could have the same effect at Longboat. It has been identified as the only shell on any London market to have more cash in the bank that the market capitalisation, as well as currently standing 40% below its placing / IPO price by traders.
Finally leading spreadbetting company IG Group (IGG) backed the idea that there is both no such thing as bad publicity with its move out of a hit list of some 1,000 stocks. In a post Gamestop, Robinhood, trade from home world, traders were left wondering how the spreadbetting landscape would now change, and whether the reason for the move was simply that IG has more business than it can handle? Shares of IG fell 0.69%.
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