RNS Hotlist: Altus, Arrow Exploration, Chill, Conroy, Cornerstone, Emmerson, 4D, Haydale, Okyo, Prospex, United Oil and Gas.

After yesterday’s RNS from OKYO Pharma (OKYO), a biotechnology company, there was some leading from the front by Gabriele Cerrone, the Executive Chairman. He purchased 200,000 ordinary shares 5p and 5.5p per share. This example of the cavalry coming in takes Mr Cerrone's beneficial interests in the capital of the Company from 52.64% to 52.66%.

Something to please HNW investor John Story: Chill Brands Group (CHLL), the international consumer packaged goods company, announced the appointment of Mr. Scott E. Thompson to its Board of Directors, as an Independent Non-Executive Director.    Mr. Thompson has almost forty years of intellectual property law experience and is recognized by the World Trademark Reporter as one of the top 300 trademark attorneys in the world. The company has been beefing up its operatives in a material way of late.

United Oil & Gas (UOG), the oil and gas company, announced the spudding of the ASD-2 development well in the Abu Sennan licence, onshore Egypt. United holds a 22% working interest in the licence, which is operated by Kuwait Energy Egypt. This well is a follow-up to the successful ASD-1X exploration well drilled in 2021 which was a commercial discovery and   tested the Lower Bahariya and  ARC reservoirs. The well can be quickly tied into existing facilities, adding additional production and revenue for the company. UOG has also said that with its JV partners there have had a 100% success rate for the five exploration and development wells in the 2021 drilling campaign in Egypt. All of the wells encountered oil and were quickly brought into production generating revenue for the company, with the exploration successes de-risking further upside on the license.

Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR), the gold exploration and development company,  announced that the necessary regulatory consents have been granted, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, for the transfer of licences to the respective Joint Venture Companies, established under the Joint Venture Agreement , with Demir Export A.

Haydale, (HAYD), the global advanced materials group, said that it has signed an Exclusive Supply Agreement to produce a thermal fluid for High Tech Systems Ltd over an initial three-year period. Haydale will use its patented plasma functionalisation technology to enhance the thermal conductivity and dispersion of boron nitride in thermal fluid applications. By enhancing the thermodynamic properties of water, Hi-Therm™ can significantly reduce the energy required to heat buildings, both domestic and commercial.

Emmerson (EML), the Moroccan focused potash development company, announced the award of the balance of the Basic Engineering scope of the Khemisset Potash Project outside of the Mineral Processing Facility to Reminex S.A., the engineering arm of the Moroccan mining company Managem Group. The company said the award of the balance of the Basic Engineering comes as a result of a thorough competitive tender process executed by the Project team and enables it to continue towards full EPCM commencement during the year of 2022.

Trident Royalties (TRR), the growth-focused mining royalty and streaming company, has entered into an agreement to acquire an indirect 1.5% Gross Royalty, and purchase over the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico from the Estate of Colin Orr-Ewing. The Sonora Lithium Project is an advanced, development stage asset jointly owned by Bacanora Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium, with Ganfeng acting as the project operator. Bacanora has recently become a subsidiary of Ganfeng as a result of an approx. £285 million cash deal – something of a bargain.

Altus Strategies (ALS) announced the intersection of high gold grades from Reverse Circulation drilling at the Diba NW prospect, which forms part of the Company's 100% owned, 105 square kilometres combined Diba & Lakanfla gold project in western Mali. The Project hosts numerous gold prospects including a shallow-dipping, near-surface gold deposit and the Diba NW prospect located on the Diba licence, as well as the Lakanfla Central and Lakanfla West prospects, located on the Lakanfla licence, approximately 5km east of the Diba licence.

Arrow Exploration Corp. (AXL) served up an operational update, as well as near-term plans for its Colombian and Canadian assets. Production as of January 21st, 2022 was approximately 1,320 boe/d (net to Arrow), benefiting from rising Brent Crude oil prices and strong natural gas prices in Canada The company revealed 453 bbl/s oil production from Colombian portfolio and 868 boe/d gas production from Canadian portfolio. AXL said its organic growth opportunities are advancing, with the RCE-2 well on the Tapir Block, Colombia expected to commence drilling in early March and the Company considering tie-in opportunities in Canada, given the success of the West Pepper well. AXL shares currently have an Arden Research price target of 12.5p versus a current 8.2p share price.

4D pharma (DDDD), a pharmaceutical company, announced additional clinical data from Part A of its Phase I/II trial of MRx-4DP0004, an orally-delivered single strain Live Biotherapeutic being developed for the treatment of asthma. The company previously reported topline safety and efficacy data from Part A, and today announces additional details of these results.

Cornerstone FS (CSFS), the cloud-based provider of international payment, announced the conditional acquisition of Capital Currencies Limited, a profitable foreign exchange broker, for a consideration of up to £3 million.  The acquisition is anticipated to be earnings accretive from the current financial year. Capital Currencies is a strong strategic fit for Cornerstone as its client base is primarily UK corporates, with a particular focus on larger SMEs, and over 90% of its revenue is generated by clients that it services directly. 

Prospex Energy (PXEN), the AIM quoted investment company, updated on the Selva field development project in Italy, in which the company currently holds a 17% working interest. The company said it is working with Po Valley to achieve first gas from Selva as soon as possible. However recent events are positive, and we are now seeing the final steps towards the granting of the Production Concession. PXEN is making encouraging progress towards gas production at Selva which will be a transformational asset for Prospex.