Although it may not have felt like it, UK stocks managed their strongest close of the year above 7,000 for the FTSE 100. Perhaps the only dampener is that the current battle with this area has been ongoing for much of the past 20 years.
It was all change at Tanzania coal project group Edenville (EDL), or at least a breath of fresh air, as the company moved to shore up both its balance sheet and its strategy. Clearly, in a time of ESG and sustainability, coal is not exactly top of the pops with investors. However, with a fresh cash injection of £2.48m via a consortium of heavy hitting City contenders, including Tony Buckingham. It is likely the company will seek additional acquisition opportunities, fuelled by changes to the board and the latest cash injection. The shares jumped 8% to 38p.
The award for the most comprehensive update of the day had to be from i3 Energy (I3E) as it served up an operational and financial update. The bumper offering included increased cash flow estimates integrating the Company's initial hedging implementation, recent activity at Clearwater activity, the tie-in of the Noel gas well, Serenity farm-out, and a maiden dividend. Particular highlights were Q1 2021 average production of 8,856 boepd, outperforming expectations off the back of better than expected decline rates. I3 Energy also said that 2021 full-year net operating income expectations increased to CAD $38m (USD $31m). Shares of i3 Energy edged up 1.5% to 9.8p.
It is clear that currently for companies listed on the Aquis Exchange, the experience can be something of a mixed blessing. While the cost saving of listing on the alternative London stock market can be significant, liquidity issues and investor trading access can be a barrier for some. In the case of NQ Minerals (NQMI), the green mining company with significant mining operations in Tasmania Australia, it may be the case that the latest news regarding it being dual listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange helps boost trading volume in the shares. NQ is among the first companies with a primary listing on Aquis to achieve a dual listing on the FSE and is working to seek admission of its ordinary shares to the Standard List on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
As far as Okyo Pharma (OKYO) is concerned, it will be interesting to see what the effective of the publication of a new prospectus will be, as new shares will be admitted to the stock market later this week. Last week the biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and ocular pain, announced positive results of OK-201, a non-opioid analgesic drug candidate, delivered topically in a mouse neuropathic corneal pain model, demonstrating its potential to treat acute and chronic ocular pain.
Sticking with the biotech space and Tiziana Life Sciences (TILS), which is focused on innovative therapeutics for oncology, inflammation, and infectious diseases, said that it has executed an agreement with Takanawa for a strategic business development plan to Identify a clinical partner in Japan and other Asian countries for further clinical development of Milciclib for treatment in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Previously, Tiziana announced that it had successfully completed a Phase 2 clinical trial with orally administered Milciclib in sorafenib-resistant or intolerant liver cancer patients.
While recently it has been the case that the market has been focused on Xtract Resources (XTR) in terms of its star Bushranger Project in Australia, the latest from the company was with regard to its Eureka Copper Project in Zambia. Here, it was reported that the drill programme has been successful in increasing the strike of the deposit and the potential for pit extension to over 300m. Xtract said that from drilling it appears that the previously postulated bifurcation of the deposit towards the north-west does not exist and that a single continuous deposit is present. The company stated its intention to remobilise the drill rig to further test deposit extensions while planning a larger pit than had previously been envisaged.