RNS Hotlist: Altus, Bradda, Caspian, Cornish, Kazera, Kistos, MySale, Okyo, Orosur, Pantheon, PetroTal, San Leon, SmartSpace

OKYO Pharma (OKYO) continues to leapfrog through the development stages for its game changing dry eye disease treatment, OK-101. The biotechnology company announced the successful completion of a pre-IND (Investigational New Drug) meeting with the FDA regarding the development plans for OK-101. Both nonclinical and clinical development milestones were covered in the Pre-IND meeting facilitated by Ora Inc., with the FDA providing guidance on the proposed phase 2 trial in DED patients. FDA concurred with OKYO's decision to designate co-primary efficacy endpoints covering both a sign and a symptom of dry disease in the clinical protocol of the trial. Given how chummy Okyo clearly is with the FDA, it is interesting that the market cap remains only near the £50m mark as it heads towards being a clinical stage company.

San Leon (SLE), the independent oil and gas production, development and exploration company focused on Nigeria, said that it has provided a further loan of $2.0 million to Energy Link Infrastructure (Malta) Limited, the company which owns the Alternative Crude Oil Evacuation System project. The ACOES is being constructed to provide a dedicated oil export route from the OML 18 oil and gas block located onshore in Nigeria, comprising a new pipeline from OML 18 and a floating storage and offloading vessel. Once commissioned, the system is expected by the operator of OML 18, Eroton Exploration and Production Company Limited, to reduce the downtime and allocated pipeline losses currently associated with the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, and improve overall well uptime at OML 18.

A couple of the stock market’s favourite phrases were included in the one RNS from Caspian Sunrise (CASP), even though the name of the company may be overly poetic. The magic words are “debt free” and “dividend payments”. All of this was delivered via news regarding a proposed $6.2m debt conversion. This transformational news should back the recent rally in the shares, with some in the market targeting 10p for the company near term, in line with the technical analysis trend on the daily chart. CASP closed at 4.2p yesterday.

It would appear that although the share price is rather heavy – down nearly 50% over the past 6 months, the fundamental performance of MySale (MYSL) has been strong. This is said on the basis of the latest update from the company which reveals that gross profit was A$24.9m (A$24.1m H1 FY21), with gross margins improving to 41.8%, an increase of 370 basis points (38.1% H1 FY21). That said, supply chain volatility in Q2 impacted on broader profitability, with Underlying EBITDA of A$1.0m ($2.5m H1 FY21).

Shares of PetroTal (PTAL) have already been on fire of late. It is likely that this state of affairs will continue as the company announced the results of its 2021 year-end reserve evaluation for the Bretana oil field, operated 100% by PetroTal. This includes a 68% increase in 1P Reserves to 37 million barrels, a 53% increase in 2P Reserves to 78 million barrels, and a 39% increase in 3P Reserves to 147 million barrels. All in all rather a difficult trio of figures to beat.

Relatively under the radar SmartSpace Software (SMRT) the provider of 'Integrated Space Management Software' for smart buildings and commercial spaces, announced a trading update following the Company's year end of 31 January 2022. The Group said it has been progressing its objective to build a high growth SaaS business with strong recurring revenues. Further to the trading update issued on 14 January 2022, it confirmed that results for the full year ending 31 January 2022 are expected to be slightly ahead of market expectations.

Pantheon Resources (PANR), the AIM-quoted oil and gas company whose shares have been soaring of late, provided an update. Pantheon confirmed that Theta West #1 has reached total depth at 8,450 feet having drilled through both the Upper Basin Floor Fan  and Lower Basin Floor Fan target horizons, and having encountered approximately 1,160 gross feet of hydrocarbon bearing reservoir across both horizons combined. Data received so far indicates the reservoir quality is superior to Talitha #A, with high quality light oil encountered across the entire section. The company is now preparing to set casing prior to flow testing within both horizons over the coming weeks.

Kazera Global (KZG), the AIM quoted investment company, announced that diamond production for the current production cycle (December 2021/January 2022) has achieved a record number of over 1,000 carats, the largest of which is a high value stone of 13 ct. In addition, the Tantalite Valley mine is expected to become operational shortly, after which the company will begin exporting commercial quantities of Tantalum to its offtake partner.

After more than tripling since it came to market, it is interesting that Kistos (KIST) is to establish a new Value Creation Plan, to motivate key members of the company's executive directors to achieve exceptional levels of performance and deliver further returns for Kistos' shareholders. The VCP would give participants a right to share in a pool of Ordinary Shares that has a value equal to 15% of the value created for shareholders over a 5-year measurement period to 21 May 2026 subject to a hurdle of 100% total shareholder return over that period (equivalent to 14.9% TSR p.a.) from a reference starting price of 242p, the average closing share price in 2021.

Cornish Metals (CUSN), a mineral exploration and development company, announced that it has reached an agreement with Sir Ferrers Vyvyan of Trelowarren in Cornwall to lease certain mineral rights owned by the Vyvyan family. The mineral lease covers an area of 222 hectares and is valid for 25 years.

Bradda Head Lithium (BHL), the North America-focused lithium development group, said that it has been granted drilling permission to conduct geochemical testing of the brine at its Wilson Flat Project in Nye County, Nevada. The Wilson Flat Project consists of 13.6 km2 of federal mining claims.

Altus Strategies (ALS) announced the intersection of a significant gold zone from Reverse Circulation drilling at the Lakanfla Central prospect on the Lakanfla licence. Lakanfla forms part of the Company's 100% owned, 105 square kilometre Diba & Lakanfla gold project in western Mali. Lakanfla is located approximately 5 kilometres east of the Company's Diba licence which hosts numerous gold prospects, including a shallow-dipping, near-surface gold deposit.

Orosur Mining (OMI) announced that it has signed an Exploration & Joint Venture agreement with private Argentinean company DESEADO DORADO S.A.S and its shareholders in relation to the El Pantano Gold Project in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. This relates to over 600km2 in a key Gold province, with an option to earn 100% by investing US$3m over 5 years in exploration.