RNS Hotlist: Altus, Atalaya, Caspian, Castillo, Chaarat, Cyanconnode, Eastinco, e-Therapeutics, Glantus, Greatland, MGC, Ondine, Osirium, Rogue, SEED, Sovereign

Sovereign Metals (SVML), whose shares have been on something of a roll of late, looks set to continue this trajectory given the latest news today. An updated mineral resource estimate confirmed Kasiya as the world's largest rutile deposit and second largest graphite deposit. Contained rutile at the Kasiya mega-deposit now stands at 18 Mt - tripling the previous MRE, and contained flake graphite by-product now stands at 23 Mt. Maybe one or two people guessed that such a positive update was on its way?

Greatland Gold (GGP), a mining development and exploration company, announced completed drilling results from the 2021 drill programme at its 100% owned Scallywag licence.  Results have been received for the seven holes completed at four prospects, along with the results of the ground Electro-Magnetic survey. Assay results show broad geochemical anomalism at Scallywag providing further evidence of mineralising systems, confirming the area's prospectivity. New conductor targets in ground electromagnetic surveys have been identified for 2022 drilling.

It may be that the latest news marks a decent turning point for Chaarat Gold (CGH), the AIM-quoted gold mining Company with an operating mine in Armenia, and assets at various stages of development in the Kyrgyz Republic. It said that the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and Centerra Gold Inc. signed an agreement regarding a resolution of the dispute on the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic on 4th April 2022.

Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P), the exploration and development company developing its portfolio of African focused critical and strategic metal assets, announces an operational update on its tantalum-tin projects in Rwanda. The company said it has geological fieldwork underway at both the Musasa Mine and the southern joint ventures. Early observations from the completed work are encouraging.

MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC), a European based bio-pharma company specialising in the production and development of phytomedicines, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Sciensus Rare, a part of UK health care group, Sciensus, for the distribution of CannEpil® and CogniCann® in key European territories and the UK.

Longboat Energy, the emerging full-cycle North Sea E&P company, announced a significant discovery in the Equinor operated Kveikje exploration well (35/10-8S) in licence PL293B (Company 10%). The preliminary estimate of recoverable resources in Kveikje Main, being the primary target of the exploration well, is 28 to 48 MMboe (gross), above the pre-drill expectation.

Castillo Copper (CCZ), a base metal explorer, said that multiple targets for drill-testing, with potential to host copper mineralisation, have been identified at its 100% owned Mkushi Project in Zambia. These are the findings of the final geophysicists report2 which interpreted the IP survey results against three areas of known copper soil anomalies with strike lengths ranging from circa 4-7km long.

CyanConnode (CYAN) has received an order for a smart metering deployment in MENA Region. This order is for CyanConnode's cellular communications product which will be deployed to connect smart electricity and smart water meters. Under the contract, CyanConnode will supply cellular hubs, with a capacity to handle up to 1 million meters.

e-therapeutics (ETX), a specialist in computational drug discovery group, has entered into a research collaboration agreement with iTeos Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Under the terms of the agreement, e-therapeutics will receive upfront and near-term material cash payments.

Rogue Baron (SHNJ), a company in the premium spirit sector, has signed a distribution agreement for Shinju, its multiple award winning Japanese whisky with Oak and Still, the marketing arm of Fine Wine Sellers Limited. Under the terms of the agreement, Oak and Still will commence distributing to the on-trade and off-trade markets from April 2022 across the UK.

Altus Strategies (ALS) announced strong copper and gold royalty revenues of $1.7 million in the first quarter since the acquisition of a portfolio of royalties from Newcrest Mining Ltd. Altus currently owns 33 royalty interests including royalties on four producing mines, namely, the Caserones copper mine in Chile, the South Kalgoorlie Operations gold mine in Australia, the Ballarat gold mine in Australia and the Bonikro gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire.

Atalaya Mining (ATYM) announced a new Mineral Resource Estimate, prepared in accordance with CIM guidelines and disclosure requirements of NI 43-101, for its 100% owned Proyecto Masa Valverde.  PMV is located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Spain approximately 28 km to the south of Atalaya's 15 Mtpa processing plant at Proyecto Riotinto. PMV consists of two deposits, Masa Valverde and Majadales, which are 1 km apart.

A company which has all of a sudden got the punters rather excited is Osirium Technologies (OSI), a leading vendor of cloud-based cybersecurity and IT automation software. They may get yet more excited as the company provided an update on the Group's trading performance for the first quarter of the year ending 31 December 2022. The Group reported a record quarter for bookings in Q1 2022 and is seeing continued growth in contract values and a return to pre-pandemic levels. Five of the contracts secured in the first three months of the 2022 financial year are each at a larger value than any individual contract signed in FY2021.

The arrival of dividends can be a positive inflection point for small cap companies, something which may be seen at Caspian Sunrise (CASP). It is seeking approval to cancel its premium account and to cancel the deferred shares, steps required to allow the future payment of dividends.

Ondine Biomedical (OBI) announced that independent research has confirmed previous results showing that Ondine Biomedical's photodisinfection technology is highly effective against human clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2. The study, published in the Journal of Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, was led by a team of researchers from the University of Coimbra, Portugal.

Glantus (GLAN), the provider of Accounts Payable automation and analytics solutions, announced a new partnership with TealBook, the supplier data foundation that autonomously enhances supplier data and powers e-procurement technology. This partnership will enable customers of both parties to access robust supplier information and insights and stronger AP intelligence.

SEED Innovations (SEED), the AIM quoted investing company, noted the recent update by the UK Food Standard Agency with a list of cannabidiol products permitted to stay on the market in England and Wales.  A number of CBD products sold by some of SEED's portfolio companies, have successfully been included on the FSA' list of CBD products linked to novel food applications, enabling them to continue in the market and progress through the validation stage.