RNS Hotlist: Ariana, BATM, Cora, Greatland, Nostra, Oncimmune, Novacyt, Panthera, Zenova, Zephyr

Oncimmune Holdings (ONC), the leading global immunodiagnostics group, notes the Regional Ministry of Health for Aragon, Spain has announced that the company's Early CDT® Lung blood test is to be adopted by the Thoracic Surgery Unit of the University Hospital Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, for use on solitary pulmonary nodules. This approval follows the issuing of a favourable assessment and report by the Evaluation Committee of the Aragonese Health System having met the necessary criteria with regards to efficacy and safety.

Zephyr Energy (ZPHR), the Rocky Mountain oil and gas company, announced the completion of its $36 million acquisition of non-operated working interests in currently producing and near-term production wells in the Williston Basin, North Dakota, U.S.

Panthera Resources (PAT), the diversified gold exploration and development company, announced that 5m composite assays have now been received and compiled from all of Stage 2 Aircore drilling programme at the Bassala Project in Mali. The company said the current drilling is essentially "geochemical drilling" and has only targeted the upper weathered zone and at a very broad line spacing of minimum 200m with holes generally 50m apart.  In this respect, the numerous significant intercepts are considered to be highly encouraging. The next step will be to test the known mineralisation with deeper and closer spaced drilling, aimed at identifying zones of coherent mineralisation that may represent resource definition targets.

Although every new announcement from pandemic stocks now feels like too much, too little, too late, perhaps this is not the case for Novacyt (NCYT), an international specialist in clinical diagnostics. It announced that PROmate® COVID-19 2G Real-Time PCR test has been approved in the UK. The PROmate® COVID-19 2G test is the first direct-to-PCR product to be added to the CTDA register of approved products and is designed to detect two SARS-CoV-2 targets within ORF1ab in response to an increasing shift from single-gene to multi-gene testing solutions.

BATM (BVC), a provider of real-time technologies for networking solutions and medical laboratory systems, said it will be announcing its results for the year ended 31 December 2021 on Monday 28 February 2022. BATM expects to report full year revenue and EBITDA for 2021 slightly ahead of market expectations reflecting strong growth from ongoing operations* with increased revenue in both divisions. In particular, this has been driven by significant growth in the Group's Diagnostics unit of the Bio-Medical division.

Cora Gold (CORA), the West African focused gold company, announced that it is due to commence a new 2022 drill programme at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in Southern Mali. Following the 2021 drill programme, delivering a +200% MRE increase, CORA is recommencing resource drilling at Sanankoro.  The Project's potential as an open-pittable, free-digging oxide mine has been established and through this drill programme and the Definitive Feasibility Study, which remains on track to be delivered in H1 2022.

Ariana Resources (AAU), the AIM-listed mineral exploration and development company with gold mining interests in Europe, announced recent drilling results obtained from the Klirou Sector of the Magellan Project which is 100% owned by Venus Minerals Ltd.  Venus is focused on the exploration and development of copper and gold assets in Cyprus and is 50% owned by Ariana. These initial drilling results at the Klirou Sector have confirmed the presence of significant gold within the deposit. The results further suggest that future exploration needs to focus on the gold-rich zones, which have also been identified recently in several surface outcrops.

Making it big in the US is always pivotal for UK companies such as Zenova Group (ZED), a provider of innovative fire safety and heat management technology and products. It has entered a distribution agreement with Omnis Panels LLC to distribute its thermal insulation and fire protection products throughout the construction sector in the United States of America.

Nostra Terra (NTOG), the oil & gas exploration and production company with a portfolio of production and development assets in Texas, USA, announced that a second well in the Cypress farm-out area at the Company's Pine Mills oil field has now spudded. Drilling is permitted to a total depth of 6,000 feet and is estimated to take approximately 10 days. The primary target is the prolific Woodbine Sand, but the well will also evaluate several other up hole formations prior to reaching total depth. Nostra Terra owns a 32.5% working interest in the well. Drilling will be followed promptly by logging and then completion operations.

Greatland Gold (GGP) a mining development and exploration company notes the release by Newcrest Mining Ltd. Greatland notes that this statement, so far as it relates to Havieron, only restates the previously released statement contained within the Stage 1 South East Crescent Pre-Feasibility Study, announced on 12 October 2021. The company reiterates this Stage 1 study was at a 'point in time' using a 5 February 2021 cut-off for drilling information.