RNS Hotlist: Agronomics, Arrow, Castillo, Kavango, Pensana, SYME, Trident, Vela

Pensana (PRE)  announced that it has broken ground at its Saltend rare earth processing hub, a key development in its plans to create the world’s first independent and sustainable rare earth supply chain. Located in the Humber Freeport in Hull, Saltend is set to become the world's first rare earth processing facility. The company said Pensana breaking ground today has been made possible in part through government support and shows how its plans to secure an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK continues to gain momentum.

SYME (SYME), known to its friends as Supply@ME, the fintech business with a charismatic CEO,  announced a capital raise of up to £320,855 through an open offer. “Successful” applicants in the Open Offer will also receive Open Offer Warrants on the basis of one Open Offer Warrant for every two Open Share subscribed, which may be exercised at any time on or before 31 December 2025 at a price of 0.065p. The company said it has continued to focus on completing the first warehoused goods Inventory Monetisation transaction, through its strategic alliance with VeChain Foundation as announced on 28 June 2022, and the execution of the “Capital Enhancement Plan” as announced on 27 April 2022. It has also continued to focus on its internal performance and risk assessment of its business lines and is reviewing the relationship with TradeFlow, its wholly-owned subsidiary.

Trident Royalties (TRR), the diversified mining royalty company, noted a recent update on the Thacker Pass lithium project, in Nevada, by the project operator, Lithium Americas Corp. Trident holds a 60% interest in a gross revenue royalty over the entirety of the Project. The company said it was delighted to see that Thacker Pass remains on track for construction to commence in 2022 and to note the success that Lithium Americas has had in achieving battery-quality samples in trial processing at the new Lithium Technical Development Center. It awaits the decision of the court regarding the final appeal, expected shortly following final briefings on August 11th.

Arrow Exploration (AXL), the operator with a portfolio of assets across key Colombian hydrocarbon basins, said that further to the announcement of Canaccord Genuity Limited as its Nominated Adviser on 28 April 2022, Canaccord has confirmed that it has completed satisfactorily its due diligence.

Agronomics (ANIC), the company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, announced that its unaudited NAV calculation as at closing on 30 June 2022 was 15.27p, including uninvested cash of £51.5 million. Net Assets stand at £148 million, including investments of £98 million. The share price of 16p at the 30 June 2022 close represents a premium of 5.75% to the NAV per share.

Vela (VELA), an AIM-quoted investing company, reported an update for the quarter ended 30 June 2022. The company said it was pleased to report a moderate increase in the portfolio valuation for the quarter, despite a challenging macro backdrop.  Notwithstanding the uncertain economic outlook generally, including in the sectors represented by the company's portfolio, it remains positive about the prospects for the companies in which it is invested.

Castillo Copper (CCZ), a base metal explorer, presented its latest quarterly report for the period 1 April to 30 June 2022. During the period it said most of the focus remained on developing the cobalt potential at the East Zone, BHA Project in Broken Hill and successfully negotiating an option to sell the Zambia Projects.

Kavango Resources (KAV), released an Independent Conceptual Economic Viability Report  for the Iron Oxide Copper-Gold target at the Great Red Spot  within Target Area B in the northern (Hukuntsi) section of the Kalahari Suture Zone. The company said the IOCG Target at the Great Red Spot is highly attractive because it is so large, and the geophysical indicators so compelling. Results from three separate surveying techniques appear to correlate with one another, while the established presence of magnetite from Hole KSZDD001 provides a further physical exploration lead.