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Metminco surges as its gets go-ahead for underground development at Miraflores

Last updated: 10:45 14 Sep 2017 EDT, First published: 04:40 14 Sep 2017 EDT

underground mine

Shares in Metminco Ltd (LON:MNC) surged on Thursday after the AIM-quoted miner received approval from Colombian authorities to start underground development at its Miraflores gold project.

The approval will allow Metminco to “expose the previously defined ore zones on multiple levels” up to 2,000 metres.

It will also allow the company to complete infill diamond drilling ahead of a final decision to build the processing facilities and infrastructure.

The project currently has a measured and indicated resource of 9.27mln tonnes, grading 2.82 g/t gold and 2.77 g/t silver, and an inferred mineral resource of 500,000 tonnes, grading 2.36 g/t gold and 3.64 g/t silver.

Metminco also confirmed that a feasibility study on Miraflores is due to be completed by the third quarter of this year, with the company hoping to produce around 50,000oz a year from the project, over an initial mine life of nine years.

City broker SP Angel said: “Approval for limited underground development at Miraflores should help to de-risk the project and provide detailed information for the future development.”

Shares gained 13.2% to 2.83p in late afternoon trading.

Newmark struggles as it falls into the red

Electronic and physical security systems provider Newmark Security PLC (LON:NWT) fell into the red in the year to 30 April and said the current year is also likely be a tough one.

The full-year results revealed a decline in revenue to £16.04mln from £21.81mln the year before, with the fall almost entirely down to a fall in product revenue in the asset protection division (Safetell) to £5.87mln from £10.72mln.

Safetell’s performance was hit by a reduced contribution from time-delay cash handling equipment sales to the Post Office, while economic uncertainty before and after the Brexit vote also had an effect on orders.

The picture was less bleak in the electronic division (Grosvenor Technology), where revenue dipped 7.2% to £7.09mln from £7.63mln. Shares fell 21.8% to 0.9p.

 

1.45pm...Anglo African Oil & Gas hit by drill rig delays at Tilapia oil field

Anglo African Oil & Gas Plc (LON:AAOG) will have to wait until at least mid-December until it can start drilling at its Tilapia oil field in the Republic of Congo – almost three months later than planned.

The company – which only has a market value of around £300,000 – had hoped to wrap up all discussions with contractors by the middle of August but it’s still ironing out a few things with its preferred drill contractor.

The original plan was for the 45-day drill programme to get underway at the end of September but rig Anglo African wants is under contract with a nearby oil major which has requested some “technical adjustments” be made to it and they won’t be completed until next month.

As a result the current user will need it until November and it will be then be moved to AAOG’s site, but not until mid-December “at the earliest”.

Executive chairman David Sefton said he was still “extremely excited” despite the delay, but investors aren’t sharing his enthusiasm; shares are down 29.2% to 17.6p.

Spire profits plunge after £27.2mln compensation payout to Ian Paterson's victims

Britain’s second largest healthcare firm Spire Healthcare Group PLC (LON:SPI) slumped today after it revealed a steep fall in first-half profits because of a recent legal settlement.

The FTSE 250 firm saw pre-tax profits for the six months ended June collapse by 74% to £12.1mln after it was forced to take an exceptional charge hit of £32.1mln.

Spire announced on Wednesday that it would be contributing £27.2mln to a fund to compensate 750 patients of Ian Paterson, a former Spire breast surgeon who is facing jail for carrying out operations on patients he had wrongly diagnosed.

If that wasn’t enough, the company also warned investors today that it had seen “significant lower anticipated revenues” in the first two months of the second half. Shares are down 17% to 259.8p.

 

9.40am ... Forbidden Technologies blames CEO shock resignation for plunge in first half sales

Forbidden Technologies PLC (LON:FBT) bemoaned the lack of a full-time boss as it saw sales plunge in the opening six months of the year.

Although it since appointed Ian MCDonough to the role, the video editing software specialist was without a permanent chief executive for most of the first half after Aziz Musa’s shock resignation in February.

It said today that although it still managed to pick new contracts in the period, it wasn’t able to achieve the level of growth it had hoped to.

Invoiced sales fell 20% to £355,000 in the six months ended 30 June from £445,000 a year earlier, although cost-cutting (and not having to pay a chief executive) meant the net loss narrowed slightly to £1.17mln (H1 2016: £1.31mln).

Next sees sales fall but “moderately” ups full-year forecasts

Next PLC (LON:NXT) reported a decline in first half profits and sales but shares jumped as it raised its full year guidance after reining in costs to offset rising inflation.

In the six months to July, profit before tax dropped 9.5% to £309.3mln from the same period a year ago and total group sales fell 2.2% to £1.9bn.

However, investors were more interested in what’s around the corner and they got a pleasant surprise.

Next said it expects full price sales in the second half to be in the range of a 2.8% fall and 3.8% rise, after seeing an uptick in trading over the last three months.

That sent the clothes retailer to the top of the FTSE 100; up 10.4% to £48.83.

Interserve pummelled after profit warning

Interserve PLC (LON:IRV) saw its shares almost halve this morning after the support services and construction group warned that it now believes “that the outturn for the year will be significantly below its previous expectations” and said the final costs of exixting its Energy from Waste business will be much higher than expected.

In a brief trading update, the small cap firm said trading in the UK in July and August was disappointing, particularly in support services, but also in its construction division, leading to its warning.

The group added that further progress continues to be made on contracts within its exited Energy from Waste business.

However, Interserve said the anticipated timing and complexities of completion mean that the Board now considers it likely that the final costs will significantly exceed the £160mln currently provided.

Proactive news headlines:

Electronic and physical security systems provider Newmark Security PLC (LON:NWT) is looking to step-up migration of customers from its legacy Janus system to Sateon, but admitted the current financial year is likely to be another tough one for the company.

Life sciences group Abzena PLC (LON:ABZA) said it expects revenue for the second half of the financial year to be “substantially stronger” than the first after getting off to a sluggish start. In a trading update the company said first-half turnover had been below expectations and only marginally ahead of the figure posted for the same period last year.

 It’s a good day – or possibly g’day – for ticketing and queue management specialist accesso Technology Group PLC (LON:ACSO), which has signed a deal down under with Australia's largest theme parks operator.

Touchstone Exploration is looking to drill a further four wells this year in Trinidad after a programme earlier this year boosted production by more than predicted. James Shipka, chief operating officer, said the four wells already drilled targeted slightly deeper horizons in established fields and the results exceeded internal expectations.

NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) said its portfolio company ProAxsis has today announced that it has appointed Diagenics Limited as the distributor for its ProteaseTag® Active Neutrophil Elastase Immunoassay in Great Britain and Ireland.  The transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group appointment is expected to accelerate the commercial uptake of ProAxsis' technology, increasing near-term sales potential for ProAxsis.

Cyber-security firm Corero Network Security PLC (LON:CNS) has won one of its largest contract wins to date with a leading digital enterprise. The initial contract is for US$0.2mln, but the company expects this to rise to US$1.5mln over the next few quarters.

Drug developer Summit Therapeutics PLC (LON:SMMT) will effectively secure its financial future with a fully underwritten issue of stock that could bring in as much as US$20mln. The AIM-listed firm, which is also quoted on the NASDAQ exchange, is issuing 1.459mln new American depositary shares at US$12 each, bringing in a minimum of US$17.5mln.

Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) said today that drill results on the Kubuk deposit in Russia’s Far East confirmed that there is potential to substantially upgrade and increase the current Mineral Resource Estimate averaging 0.77% nickel and 0.20% copper.

Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) told investors that it has taken the final investment decision for the Lancaster early production system which is now on track for ‘first oil’ in the first half of next year.

Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) chief executive James Parsons has told investors that he is “hugely excited” about the company’s prospects over the coming years. The Sound boss’s comments come in the Morocco focused gas firm’s half yearly results statement, which was released on Thursday.

Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LON:APF TSX:APY) has broadened its portfolio with the acquisition of a royalty on a nickel-cobalt mine in Brazil. Initially, the royalty specialist will pay Brazilian Nickel Limited US$2mln for a 1% gross revenue royalty (GRR) on the Piauí nickel–cobalt project in the north-east of the country.

Tethyan Resources PLC (LON:TETH) has released the results of new drill holes at the Rudnitza copper-gold prospect, in Serbia, where the explorer is unearthing what is described as “a very extensive mineralised system.”

Echo Energy PLC (LON:ECHO) has announced the appointment of Andres Brickman who will be the explorer’s new Bolivian Country Representative and Commercial Manager.

Aircraft leasing company Aviation PLC (LON:AVAP) has signed multiple long-term leases with two airlines for four aircraft.

Rambler Metals and Mining PLC (LON:RMM CVE:RAB) has seen an extension of its copper mineralisation at depth at the Ming mine in Newfoundland from the first hole in a surface drill programme. The aim of the hole was to test the depth of the Ming Massive Sulphide and Lower Footwall zones and Norman Williams, president and chief executive, said the results were very encouraging.

Wishbone Gold PLC (LON:WSBN) has told investors its joint venture in Honduras is ready to be brought on stream as soon as the weather in the Central American country picks up. Earlier this year, Wishbone inked a 30-year deal with SION Honduras, which has an agreement with the Honduran government to expand the mining industry there.

Lekoil Ltd (LON:LEK) has told investors that the Otakikpo field, in Nigeria, is now producing 7,000 barrels of oil per day and the ramp-up in volume is continuing.

Horizonte Minerals PLC (LON:HZM, CVE:HZM) has provided for the first time an estimate of the size of the nickel-cobalt limonite portion of Araguaia nickel laterite project in northern Brazil. It weighs in at a ‘measured and indicated’ 20.7mln tonnes grading 1.13% nickel and 0.12% cobalt, with the potential to produce 515mln pounds of nickel and 56mln pounds of cobalt.

Acal PLC (LON:ACL) has said it will be reclassified from the Support Services sector to the Electronic and Electrical Equipment sector, with effect from 18 September 2017, reflecting the successful transformation of the international supplier of customised electronics to industry over recent years.

Trading in shares in Range Resources Limited on AIM was cancelled with effect from today following its de-listing from the junior market.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

3 hours, 37 minutes ago