At least from an operational perspective it would appear that fast moving oil and gas play i3 Energy (I3E) continues to do what it has promised to the market. The latest here is that drilling, completion and tie-in operations on the first two wells in the company's Marten Hills Clearwater acreage have been delivered on time and on budget. I3 Energy said that the Marten Hills and Wapiti wells are expected to add incremental production and cash-flow to its portfolio, ahead of its next drilling program in Wapiti Elmworth.
Another company rarely away from the newswires is pharma services group Open Orphan (ORPH). Here it unveiled a contract to supply consultancy services regarding a Phase II trial in Onchocerciasis Disease, otherwise known as river blindness. Venn Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Open Orphan, will provide Data Management & Biostatistics services to support the trial of an antibiotic drug candidate for Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). This not-for-profit research organisation is developing new affordable and patient-friendly treatments for neglected patients around the world. DNDi was founded in 2003 by Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation, and five international research institutions.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) said that DEV Mineração has delivered positive operational progress at the Amapa Iron Ore Project. CEO Kiran Morzaria noted solid operational progress at Amapa with regard to recommissioning work at the mine, port and railway. He added that ongoing sales from iron ore stockpiles are providing sufficient funding to complete the PFS, along with some of the work required to bring the complete operation back to life.
Cyprus focused exploration and resource development company Caerus Minerals (CMRS) announced the disposal of the Black Pine nickel-cobalt project and associated licences to Aeramentum Resources, a soon to be public listed company on the ASX, for £500,000. The disposal is by way of a sale for a combination of cash and equity in Aeramentum, and at no discount to book value. Caerus shares strengthened soon after their IPO this year in the wake of a deal with metals processor Jubilee Metals regarding its assets in Cyprus.
There were more arrivals and departures than Waterloo Station in terms of board changes at crypto miner Argo Blockchain (ARB). Indeed, it could be said the sheer number of board changes and resignations at the group are only normally seen at a company when it is in a transformational phase. Given the recent rebound in Bitcoin towards $40,000 one might assume that we are looking at a good inflection point. But perhaps the best way to sum up the musical chairs at Argo is to say that its star player Peter Wall Peter Wall is now Interim Chairman and will hold the position alongside his role as Chief Executive Officer, until a suitable candidate has been identified.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR), said it had struck lucky with the discovery of a new extensive gold-in-soil anomaly on its licence area in the Longford-Down Massif in Ireland, where it has discovered a district scale gold trend. The newly discovered gold lies between the company's Derryhennet gold target, where drilling and trenching have identified significant grades and widths of gold-in-bedrock, and the site where the Clay Lake Gold nugget was discovered in the 1980s. It weighs 30.05g and has a gold content of 28g.
Oriole Resources (ORR) updated on its Senala project, reporting that IAMGOLD has completed its Phase 1 drilling programme at the Faré prospect for 689.50m diamond drilling and 4,854 m reverse circulation drilling. The Phase 2 programme has also been partially completed at the Madina Bafé prospect for a further 493 m diamond drilling and 3,111 m of a planned 5,000 m RC drilling. The programme has now been paused for the rainy season and will resume in October 2021. Initial results from the programmes are anticipated during Q3 2021.
There was an update from CBD specialist Zoetic (ZOE). Here in the key US market the company said its rollout of Chill-branded CBD tobacco alternative product continues with speed and scale. The Group has now received orders for Chill products totalling more than $2.0 million. This follows previous announcements issued in May 2021 and earlier in July 2021 of combined sales totalling $1.34 million and $0.72 million respectively. The company also said that distribution guru Eric Schrader has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director, a nationally recognised former convenience store owner and operator, as well as a partner at Ox Distributing.