Uranium continues to rally, this week peaking higher than US$60 a pound. That’s well above levels it’s traded at for many years.

The founder of Paladin Energy and now MD and CEO of Deep Yellow, John Borshoff, is here to discuss.

Welcome, John.

John Borshoff:

Very, very pleased to be here.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, John, you’ve just got back from London, from the annual meeting of the WorldNuclear Association.

You were among explorers, miners, through to producers of nuclear energy. What was your key takeaway?

John Borshoff:

The industry was bullish before the conference started, and by the time we’d finished, itwas even more.

It was in overheat mode, both at the market side in terms of what the suppliers neededto produce, yellowcake; conversion material enrichment, which [is] way beyond currentcapacities.

And on the other side, the demand, which is now there’s an initiative out there, the Net Zero Nuclear, which wants to triple the nuclear fleets by 2050 to meet the objectives of zero emissions by 2050.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, John, you founded Paladin Energy. Briefly, what did you learn about the industryfrom that, that you’ll bring to Deep Yellow?

John Borshoff:

I’ve had three episodes of learning and still learning. I firstly was with a big German group where I got blunted with uranium and the whole fascinating sector.

When I finished with that I, as you say, I founded Paladin and on that one was a fairly dismal time after Chernobyl, [we] invested in a contrarian way thinking that demand will come in and we positioned ourselves beautifully for when the Chinese came in and what did I learn?

We learned that you’ve got to take some risk, learnt that you’ve got to have great teams,and learnt that whatever you say, you do. So your vision must become the reality.

Yes, Fukushima disrupted that, but we were on song on every parameter during that episode.

In Deep Yellow, it’s a different sort of dynamic where supply, for me, was the issue after the supply industry has been fragmented, largely been sedentary and people haven’t been putting enough expertise into it and I felt sure the supply would need to increase, and, we were equipped with my old team from Paladin.

What we discovered with Deep Yellow with our two flagship projects and it was all for me about positioning ready for what is now currently happening [with commodity prices.]

Sonia Madigan:

So what projects do you have and why are you confident they’ll succeed?

John Borshoff:

Well, essentially they are driven from both the zero-emission issue that didn’t exist really to such sort of formality four years ago, and the Ukraine-Russia war, which security and supply then came into it.

So our strategy, at Deep Yellow, was to end up with diversity, having projects in two different jurisdictions, one in West Australia, and one in Namibia. Really important now in this new sort of environment.

And the other one is the added emphasis needed with zero emission and how nuclear has slotted itself in beautifully because of the sort of parameters of this technology, which is high-density energy, small space, and delivery 24-7, not only for electricity but for desalination, process heat, hydrogen, whatever you want.

Sonia Madigan:

So how do you see nuclear’s role in the green energy transition?

John Borshoff:

I see nuclear as a fundamental prerequisite to the whole change that is happening.

Everybody forgets that nuclear reactors, if it’s a thousand megawatt, it produces a thousand megawatt of electricity, but it produces almost double that in thermal capacity, which can be used in process heat, etc.

It’s a beautifully adaptive technology that people are unnecessarily fearful of.

Sonia Madigan:

Well, if we can just talk about one thing that worries me, is nuclear waste worth worryingabout?

John Borshoff:

Not really. Let’s give it a sort of a size parameter first.

In the 75 years that nuclear has been producing electricity with the 436 reactors, the total high-level waste, it can be put on a soccer pitch about 10 metres high.

That’s it. The whole lot. Now, When you think of other technologies, the amount of coal ash or emissions, it just can’t be compared.

So firstly, we’re not dealing with a large amount.

Secondly, engineering-wise, there are solutions there that are profoundly safe in rocks that will not change for millions and millions of years.

In that time frame, the decays that take will take two, three hundred thousand years.

It just doesn’t matter. It’s not just waste or ash. These are metals down there and they have future use.

So it’s just the perception of the public that have, you know, these issues, but not the reality is not there in terms of, you know, we can put it away safely.

Sonia Madigan:

So before we go, John, do you think that uranium’s rally is going to continue?

John Borshoff:

I think there’s nothing ever confronted this planet during this whole 350-year industrial revolution like what is confronting it now.

We have developed on fossil fuel. Energy is the heart of our civilisation and if we can’t replicate long-term cheap electricity it will affect our whole civilisation and economic well-being.

Nuclear is there absolutely to do that, both in terms of the resources because essentially a nuclear reactor is concrete and steel.

Whereas these big farms, be it wind and solar, they are hungry for resources, hungry for the amount of land that people aren’t prepared to give up and sacrifice.

And, reticulating all that into one system with a volatile grid is an enormous job andI don’t believe it can be done effectively.

Sonia Madigan:

John Borshoff from Deep Yellow, great to see you here in the studio.

John Borshoff:

Thank you.

Caprice Resources (CRS) has had a bullish run on the market after finding rare earths in rock chip samples from its Mukinbudin project in Western Australia. The company has also increased its exploration acreage at that project by more than 50 per cent. So it’s been a busy month for Managing Director Andrew Muir. He joins me now. 

Welcome, Andrew. 

Andrew Muir:

Thank you, Sonia. 

Sonia Madigan:

So Andrew, what are the key takeaways from your news? 

Andrew Muir:

We discovered a new prospect at Colosseum where we had half a per cent in rare earth at surface, which is a fantastic outcome. We also extended our Hadrian’s prospect to about over three kilometres, and we also expanded our QC three prospect to over one kilometre. And on top of that, we also expanded our ground pretty substantially. So look, we’re pretty happy with how things are progressing. 

Sonia Madigan:

So you found rare earths in rock chip samples at surface. What does that suggest for beneath the surface? 

Andrew Muir:

The fact that we’ve got half a per cent rare earth sitting on surface. We took 20 samples in the Colosseum prospect, 60 per cent of those are all elevated. They’re all over a thousand ppm. So very, very good indication how it look. Proof will be in the pudding when we put drilling into this, which we’re looking to do in the next sort of six to eight weeks. 

Sonia Madigan:

Now, you mentioned that Caprice has also increased the landholding there by some 52 per cent. Can you tell us about that? 

Andrew Muir:

We acquired 100 per cent of the project in December last year. However, we noticed that there was some ground that came available that were previous applications that got withdrawn. We’re also notified by some of our shareholders, and we’re really happy to have such passionate and engaged shareholders in what we’re doing. We now have almost 600 square Ks. The focus really to date, has been on the bottom third of the tenement that’s been granted. So it’s still got a large area to test. We’ve already identified five good-quality anomalies that we need to follow up on, and that’s just on that small portion that we’ve tested to date. So look, we’re pretty happy with how things are going so far. 

Sonia Madigan:

So what happens next? 

Andrew Muir:

The next cab off the rank will be looking to do our very first drill program. So we’ll be testing both Gadolin and Colosseum. It will be a modest-sized program, but this will be the very first time that we’ve drilled into the GNE material where we’ve been getting these elevated rare earth. So we’re really, really excited to do that. We’ve also got about a thousand reconnaissance soil and rock chip samples still waiting in the lab. So they’ll be coming through over the next sort of four to six weeks as well. So look, all and all, we’re really happy with how it’s progressing. 

Sonia Madigan:

Now. Before we go, it was great to see you at Kalgoorlie for Diggers & Dealers. What was the feedback like from investors there? 

Andrew Muir:

So we had a booth there in the small tent, which we’re actually really, really happy with. It was basically non-stop talking and presenting to investors from Monday morning through to about Wednesday afternoon. So, a very busy time. We got a lot of really good, positive feedback out of it, so it was a great conference for us. 

Sonia Madigan:

Thanks so much for the update. Andrew Muir from Caprice Resources. 

The initial one-year contract, valued at US$111,000 (A$164,000), offers the possibility of a five-year extension.

Unith is set to launch its digital social workers in June 2024 across the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

“Our AI-Powered digital humans will provide the same response as healthcare workers, and they will be available around the clock, this is a terrific opportunity to maximise the accessibility of healthcare information while relieving pressure and expenses on the health system using AI,” UNT CEO Idan Schmorak said.

“We believe there is great potential in the use of AI-enabled health advice across the public and private healthcare around the world, our digital humans can provide consistent and reliable advice without a delay.”

These AI-driven bots will be accessible 24/7, enabling people from remote areas with limited internet access to receive real-time responses based on the most up-to-date evidence-based information.

UNT shares were up four per cent, trading at 2.6 cents at 3:24 pm AEST.

The company’s Apui REE project encompasses an area exceeding 50,000 hectares (500 square kilometres), which shows promise for REEs. These areas have been thoroughly mapped from the surface down to the end of the drill holes.

Significant results included 12 metres of 606 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from surface, 12 metres at 714 ppm TREO from the surface and nine metres at 815 ppm TREO from surface, including four metres at 930 ppm TREO from five metres.

BBX reported these findings to illustrate the consistent presence of REEs in the regolith, notably with enrichment in heavy rare earth oxides (HREO), aligning with the characteristics of typical ionic REE (iREE) deposits.

The auger holes were spread more than one kilometre apart to accurately test the full potential of the new acreage, with radiometric targets covering an area of 92.39 square kilometres, accounting for 39 per cent of the total radiometric signature discovered.

BBX believes that the wider separation of these initial exploration holes indicates the possibility of yet unattained higher TREO grades.

Furthermore, the company announced that when combining the auger results with soil sampling outcomes from the start of August and the identification of a distinct radiometric ternary signature, there exists the potential for the identification of a world-class REE deposit in Brazil.

BBX CEO Andre J Douchane highlighted that these new discoveries are significant for the company. However, he emphasized that the geological team’s primary focus remains on BBX’s Ema discovery, where higher-grade intercepts have been observed.

“BBX has allocated nearly 90 per cent of its assets toward developing a JORC resource at Ema – hopefully by the first quarter 2024,” he said.

“Work also continues on the PGM bioleaching process where pilot plant testing has progressed much faster than we thought, we expect to publish a full report in the next several weeks.”

BBX shares were up 2.86 per cent, trading at 3.6 cents at 11:41 am AEST.

With a flagship lithium project in the James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, Lithium Universe is now listed on the ASX. To discuss the Apollo project and the IPO, I’m joined in the studio by Lithium Universe’s, CEO, Alex Hanly. Welcome Alex.

Alex Hanly:

Thanks, Mitchell. Exciting times.

Mitchell Tinley:

What’s special about Lithium Universe and what’s its investor proposition?

Alex Hanly:

We’ve just completed the IPO raised four and a half million dollars. As part of the acquisition of these projects, the company Mogul Games Group has just gone through a re-compliance after acquiring a portfolio of lithium and rare earth projects in Canada and Australia, the company itself will come back onto the boards, an A$12 million market cap and a 2 cents per share valuation. We’ve raised about four and a half million dollars during the IPO, and we’ll be looking to put that into the ground as soon as we can.

Mitchell Tinley:

You have over a decade of experience in capital delivery and operational management. What made you decide to take up the position of CEO at LU7?

Alex Hanly:

I’ve worked for the majors Mitchell. I’ve worked with all the big companies. I understand the processes and what needs to be done. I’ve got a background in mechanical engineering and then obviously now an MBA and global project management degree.

So I’ve worked across Africa, and Australia, and I know how to manage projects both here at home and abroad. So this is a perfect fit for me and obviously working with the team led by Iggy puts us in good stead moving forward.

Mitchell Tinley:

And what do you like about the James Bay region and the Apollo Bay project?

Alex Hanly:

The James Bay region is, let’s say, one of the new frontiers of lithium globally. The James Bay region is home to Sayona, to Critical Elements, and now Patriot Battery Metals in the Greenstone belt that the Apollo project is currently within. We’re about 30 kilometres away from Patriot’s Corvette project and about 30 kilometres away from Edina run by Winsome Resources.

Now, these are both high-grade, broad-width resources and having great intercepts since they started drilling. So we’re in a great jurisdiction. We’ve got the same host geology and similar sort of geological hosts as both of those projects. We’re looking to explore them as quickly as we can and really accelerate our development.

Mitchell Tinley:

Can you tell me more about the team?

Alex Hanly:

The dream team, Mitchell, the dream team comprises and is led by Iggy Tan, former managing director of Galaxy Resources.

He built that company from about a $10 million market cap, and when he left and then when it was sold to Aura Cobra, it was about 2.5 billion of valuation at merger. So Iggy brings obviously a lot of production, project development experience to the group, but also Iggy is a visionary. He understands the foresight and what needs to happen, not only in the lithium industry but in the James Bay region particularly.

Also, the advisors of the company. Patrick Scallan ran Greenbushes for 25 years. Greenbushes, as you know, is the highest grade and biggest deposit in the world. He brings a vast skillset of project expansion, but also operational experience to the group.

Thirdly, Dr Jingyuan Liu, he’s currently the international lithium carbon expert and provides a very imperative process, technology skillset to the group. So these three main components of the dream team are sort of supported by process, engineering, design, and lithium carbon expertise. We’ve got a great group, a strong team, which can rival any within the junior space.

Magnum’s C-Suiters will also meet with Mitsubishi representatives regarding a potential offtake deal, representatives of steel mills who may process Magnum’s Buena Vista ore, and also to meet with banks and other financing entities.

Both Magnum CEO Neil Goodman and Executive Director Messrs Athan Lekkas are on the road in the US. Both will also swing past Japan on the way home to engage with steel mill operators in that jurisdiction.

The company is also crystallising its agreements which are in place with port, rail, and road services providers that will underpin the logistical operations of the project, allowing the ore to be shipped to key markets.

Bulk ore sample testwork is on its way back to the company as Magnum seeks to confirm at what premium it can sell its product down the track. Simultaneously, historical data is being assessed to boost access to ore on-site at the brownfield project.

Magnum’s optimised mine plan upgrade remains ongoing.

“Our activities are focussed on rapid development and end-user consultation. The roadshow to the USA will further those efforts by engaging this market and tapping into the financing opportunities it represents,” MGU CEO Neil Goodman said.

“The Buena Vista iron mine is being progressed rapidly to take advantage of the steel industry’s insatiable appetite for low emissions feed.”

MGU shares last traded at 5.1 cents.

Triton Minerals (TON) has just released its June quarterly report revealing more than $6 million of cash is available to fund future operating activities.

Here to tell us more is COO, Adrian Costello.

Adrian, tell us about the findings.

Adrian Costello:

Yeah, was another positive quarter. Obviously, we updated the DFS with interim results. In terms of updating our capital, we awarded a FEED contract to a Chinese engineering firm, and also there were the early works, which we wanted to do so we could get things set up to reinstate access back to the site. And we’ve been able to get our cash.

We sit at the end of the quarter at $6.2 million, so we’re in a healthy position.

Isabella Marie:

What does the report mean for the company’s future?

Adrian Costello:

It means we’re on track, we are moving ahead. We’ve built a plan and we working on the plan. So I think the key thing is, is we’re making progress.

In terms of cash, this was part of a raising that was done last year, and this is the final lot of cash that’s come through, which has improved the cash position.

Civil works for the project are at 88 per cent completion.

An offtake agreement for the copper concentrate to be produced already exists.

Meanwhile, the company holds 51 per cent of the project alongside two other entities; Oman-based mining company Al Tasnim holds 19 per cent, and Al Hadeetha Resources LLC – one of the companies building plant infrastructure – holds 30 per cent.

At the same time, Alara is also eyeing an exploration auction round being thrown by the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM), where it hopes to pick up four blocks prospective for base metal copper.

It is also eyeing off-landholding auctions in Saudi Arabia, where Alara intends to enter the expanding Saudi Arabian mining sector. A Saudi subsidiary is fully up and running with a head office in the capital Riyadh; that entity will participate in future auctions.

As for the company’s copper-gold ambitions in Oman at Al Wash-hi-Majaza, parts needed for the installation of infrastructure at Al Wash-hi-Majaza are procured with foundations completely laid and power installation on-site and ready to go live.

Mine pre-stripping is well advanced with copper ore currently oxidising and a 35 per cent Alara-owned JV company continues to prepare for two more drilling projects on-site with three already under its belt.

Access roads have also been built and sealed with crushers and crucial refining mills already installed. Additionally, the company has clocked one million injury-free labour hours.

Meanwhile, Alara’s other copper-gold projects – one called Daris, and the other called Awtad, both nearby Al Wash-hi-Majaza – remain on track to be developed alongside Al Wash-hi Majaza.

Alara holds a 50 per cent stake in the Daris project alongside Al Tasman Trading Establishment LLC which holds the other half.

The company only holds 10 per cent in Awtad but has an earn-in option for up to over 70 per cent, “with existing local shareholders holding the balance of Awtad Copper LLC.”

By the end of the September quarter, the company expects to have completed the processing plant at Al Wash-hi-Majaza, as well as plant commissioning to ensure the facility is ready to go live.

Alara Resources shares last traded at 3.6 cents.

Mantle Minerals (MTL) is fully funded to begin a 250-hole aircore drilling program at it’s Robert’s Hill gold project in the Pilbara.

To discuss this and the company’s June quarterly report, I’m joined by Nick Poll, Mantle’s Executive Chair.

So Nick, in Mantle’s quarterly report, the company states that it has the finances to fully fund a drilling program at Robert’s Hill.

Nick Poll:

Yes, we’ve raised $1.7 million this year and we’ve kept our cash burn very low, which allows us to spend more money on drilling later on this year. So we are fully funded, ready to go.

Isabella Marie:

Nick, tell us about the program.

Nick Poll:

Well, we are going to use a drilling process called aircore drilling, and basically, it’s a cheap form of drilling, which we are going to use because we’re drilling underneath five metres of sediments that cover up the geology underneath, and we need to see through these sediments, past efforts to use geochemistry and geophysics haven’t worked. So now we need to just drill, and we need to do it the most effective, cheapest way possible, and that’s aircore drilling.

Isabella Marie:

What do you hope to discover in this campaign?

Nick Poll:

The exploration history in the area shows that we don’t need to discover a lot at this point in time. We could discover, say four metres at 0.4 grams per ton of gold, and that would be a great result.

Of course, we hope to strike the big one, but just because we don’t hit the big one straight off doesn’t mean we don’t have great results.

So we are chasing similar results that De Grey Mining had in their early days of exploring for the Hemi Discovery. They’ve now got 10.6 million ounces. If we discover four metres at 0.4 grams per tonne of gold, that would already be a great result.

Isabella Marie:

As you were saying, the drilling program is fully financed. Tell us more about that.

Nick Poll:

The first thing is we’ve raised $1.7 million this quarter, so that’s a great result in this market. And the second thing is we have a really low burn rate. I’m the only employee we use a variety of consultants that I’ve worked with over the last 35 years of my mining career. We are really excited about pushing ahead, using Great Drilling company, and great people to help us run the project in a campaign way. So this has helped us to keep our cost base very low and we are able to spend a lot more money on drilling.

During the June quarter, drilling at the company’s central Mia prospect yielded promising results, with 30 per cent of the current resource program now completed.

Notably, assays revealed thick, high-grade intersections of total rare earth oxides (TREO) mineralisation, including 36 metres at 4398 parts per million (ppm) TREO, the project’s highest-grade intersection to date.

Additionally, the MRD team employed screen beneficiation techniques to achieve upgrades to its TREO grades, involving the removal of barren minerals from the mineralisation.

The company also nears completion of its hydrochloric acid leach test work conducted by ANSTO and IMO laboratories. The test was carried out using samples from Mia, Jody, Winston, and Vincent’s prospects to evaluate the applicability of the HCI acid leach method.

Resource drilling operations have covered a significant area of approximately 80 square kilometres at MRD’s Mia prospect, with drilling intersections over a 16-kilometre corridor aligned with geological structures holding potential for deeper clay development.

With the resumption of drilling scheduled for September, Mount Ridley Mines aims to increase drill hole density, which will provide valuable information about the continuity of high-grade TREO-hosting structures.

This information will be crucial for mineral resource calculations, planned for the December 2023 quarter.

The company’s estimated total available funding stands at $3.49 million as of the end of Q4.

MRD shares last traded at 0.2 cents.

That’s probably one reason why the company’s share price is up 100 per cent over the last month.

The company inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Japanese giant back in May, with the carmaker interested in taking Magnum’s ore away from the project once Buena Vista gets rolling.

High-grade iron ore was also recently confirmed at Buena Vista, sure to improve the outcomes of an ongoing update to its feasibility study.

Magnum is ultimately seeking to produce green pig iron for sale in Asian and North American markets, targeting blast furnaces.

To that end, the company has inked agreements with two Chinese players – Shandong Province Metallurgical Engineering (SDM) and Molong – to access licence rights for the HIsmelt patent application, the tech that Magnum wants to use.

HIsmelt was first figured out by Rio Tinto back in the 1980s. Rio and Molong became partners back in 2012.

Drilling results from an exploration campaign that kicked off mid-year are expected to be delivered at some point in Q1 FY24. Buena Vista has also seen US-based Chris Tanner, a renowned engineer, installed as project manager.

Magnum shares were down 2.22 per cent, trading at 4.4 cents at 12:36 pm AEST.

Spodumene pegmatite was proven at Perseverance in a 2022 drill run, and the company is now officially kicking off phase three drilling.

The dual rig use will allow for greater flexibility in the drill run, reacting to conditions as they are encountered. All in all, the run will collect an equivalent of five kilometres worth of material.

The Kings Landing drill run was flagged back in mid-late July.

Four major pegmatite targets are being hunted out: Perseverance is joined by Jeweller’s, Jeweller’s Ext, and Jenny’s. All targets are set to be drill tested.

The latter three targets have not yet been subject to drill testing.

“There is still a lot of drilling to come in our phase three exploration campaign with multiple large, drill-ready pegmatites scheduled for testing during the season,” LPM Executive Chair Dr Bin Guo said.

“There is still a lot of drilling to come in our Phase 3 exploration campaign with multiple large, drill-ready pegmatites scheduled for testing during the season.”

The company will continue drilling at Perseverance and run shallow drill tests over geochemical targets in the hopes of shoring up more promising drill prospects. The company plans to run soil sampling campaigns, with assay results to be eventually returned back to the company.

Lithium Plus Minerals had a busy Q4 FY23 with the company ending June cashed up to the tune of $8.3 million.

The company continues to plan its resource definition drill run to produce a maiden lithium resource before the start of 2024.

Lithium Plus was up 1.82 per cent, trading at 28 cents at 11:24 am AEST.

This included successful drilling results of high-grade neodymium and praseodymium discoveries and an extension of the Yin resource. Neodymium and praseodymium are two of the world’s most sought-after REEs.

Metallurgical test work from the Yin REE ironstone complex showed an increase in concentrate production that contained 31.22 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and NdPr:TREO ratio of 35 per cent, a remarkable 12 times increase from the head grade.

To date in 2023, the company has completed 359 reverse circulation drillholes for 42,328 metres and 19 diamond holes for 2444 metres. During Q4, Dreadnought 249 RC holes were drilled for 26,519 metres and 18 diamond holes for 2335 metres.

The company also reported exploration progress at its Tarraji-Yampi and Bresnahan projects.

Meanwhile, DRE announced the appointment of Debbie Fullarton as the Chief Financial Officer during the quarter.

Dreadnought secured two Exploration Incentive Scheme grants worth up to $440,000 for diamond drilling at Mangaroon.

Furthermore, DRE successfully participated in the Federal Government’s Junior Mineral Exploration Incentive (JMEI) program.

At the end of the quarter, the company held $11.7 million in cash at bank.

DRE last traded at 5.4 cents.

Its “Bedtime Stories” and “AstroVIP” apps – largely designed for children and utilising AI tech to create compelling avatars that talk to users – are among the most popular with key markets being Europe and the Middle East.

Subscription retention rates in Q4 FY23 sat at 70 per cent, reflecting an increase in engagement that resulted in more than 18,000 hours of user interaction with Unith’s “digital humans.”

The company finished the June quarter with $4.3 million in cash versus $909,000 spent over the quarter, mainly on marketing and R&D.

Net cash used in investing was $400,000 versus $171,000 netted through a share purchase plan after fees and other repayments.

During Q4, Unith continued to target the US$27 billion e-lottery industry through a collaboration with privately held AZBillions, minted in July.

Unith and AZBillions are exploring whether the latter can adopt Unith’s AI technology to boost the gambling apps used by AZBillions’ subsidiary Xite.

“Unith will develop tailored digital humans that cater specific regions with language proficiency, visual appearances, voices, and facial expressions that align with the unique characteristics of each region,” the company wrote.

Latin America will be the first market where that’s rolled out as the company continues to expand.

“The first half of FY24 is set to be a very exciting period … our mobile subscription division had a strong start to the year with the successful launch of our products in several new markets, and we look to continue to expand our reach further,” Unith CEO Idan Schmorak said.

“We will also introduce an AI-powered digital human to the platform to provide 24/7 customer support to our subscribers.”

Unith last traded at 2.9 cents.

Comlink Australia is considered a well-established provider of aged care and community services spread across Queensland. Operations span from Toowoomba right up to Cairns and the far north.

The contract is for a two-year term, and Comlink Australia has the option to extend it based on its requirements.

Orcoda anticipates revenue of $400,000 during the initial two-year term, encompassing monthly license fees, as well as implementation and training fees.

“We are delighted that Comlink has chosen Orcoda’s software platform to support the management of its community transport operations.” ODA Managing Director Geoff Jamieson said. 

“We have deep experience in supporting community transport providers and look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship with Comlink.”

With this contract, ODA aims to strengthen its status as a leading provider of innovative solutions for the transport logistics and infrastructure domain.

Orcoda shares were down 6.25 per cent, trading at 30 cents at 10:58 am AEST.

Shallow assays from 14 drill holes recently handed back to the company are from where today’s best hit has been borne – an outcrop sample grading up to 67.4 per cent iron.

Thick zones of magnetite ore have been confirmed in drilling with the first drill holes at the Iron Horse prospect returning grades of up to 52.5 per cent iron.

The company is exploring magnetite outcrops on-site so as to develop a fast-value-return pathway to shipping ore direct.

Now that it knows it’s got high-grade iron and where to find it, Magnum will move ahead with an ongoing feasibility study update building on the freshly injected confidence this data provides.

“These results tell us what we thought we knew, they confirm that we do have high-grade outcroppings near the surface and this data will be fed into the feasibility study we are upgrading at the moment,” MGU CEO Neil Goodman said.

“We are targeting a fast-tracked approach to produce 500,000 tonnes per year of high-grade and near-high-grade concentrate for sale to Asia.”

In the background, the company is also working on an infill drill run which allows the company to develop a short-term mine plan.

The Buena Vista project sits within a geological region practically littered with magnetite outcrops – giving Magnum no shortage of outcrop targets to continue investigating.

Progress has been considerable to date, as the company appointed a project manager for Buena Vista back in mid-June.

MGU shares were up 7.84 per cent, trading at 5.5 cents at 10:38 am AEST.

The long-term agreement covers the production of copper concentrate from its Wash-hi Majaza project.

The project has three explorational licenses, one mining license and a copper concentrate plant which is under construction with the capacity to process one million tonnes of copper per year once finished.

Trafigura will purchase the full output of copper concentrate from the project for eight years from the start of production with the pricing based on the official London Metal Exchange cash settlement quote for Grade A copper at the time of the delivery.

Alara has also obtained a US$3.45 million ($5.10 million) finance facility from Trafigura to fund the completion of the project.

AUQ was up 12 per cent, trading at 2.8 cents at 1:16 pm AEST.

Altech Batteries (ATC) is taking strides towards the commercialisation of its table salt-based CERENERGY grid batteries, as well as its silumina anode technology.

It’s selected suppliers to take the project to the next crucial stage and to fund ongoing work, Altech is raising $15.8 million.

CFO Martin Stein joins me now.

Martin Stein:

Thanks very much, Sonia.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, Martin, shareholders tend to squirm around the word capital raising. Why should they feel any differently about Altech’s raise now?

Martin Stein:

Well, we entered into the joint venture with Fraunhofer back in September of 2022, so not too long ago. And since that time, we’ve been able to make some key achievements. One being the design of the product for the 60-kilowatt battery and one the design and the specifications for the one-megawatt hour grid pack.

We’ve also been able to start fabrication of two 60 kilowatt-hour battery prototypes as well as move forward with the DFS on the hundred-megawatt hour plant that’s going to be built on Altech land in Germany.

So we’ve made some really good progress in that amount of time. Now this is really the first capital raising that we’ve undertaken since we’ve had the CERENERGY battery project, so it’s quite exciting.

Now, we recently raised $3 million by an issue of shares to sophisticated and professional investors, and we’re now following that up with an entitlement offer that will be for all shareholders to participate in at the same price as the placement.

So we’re doing that at 7 cents per share. What’s extremely pleasing is that our two biggest German shareholders who are very close to the action over there, they attend our workshops and they see how the projects developing and progressing. They’ve expressed a lot of interest, and in fact, they have supported the entitlement offer for $6.7 million underwriting. So that’s almost 52 per cent of the total amount proposed to be raised under the entitlement offer. It sends a fantastic signal that they’re fully supportive of the project, and we are really pleased.

Sonia, we think we really do have something special here and we hope that our shareholders do feel the same way.

Sonia Madigan:

So what will the money allow Altech to do?

Martin Stein:

Okay, so the money’s been earmarked for both of our German battery projects, so the CERENERGY project will use the funds for finalising the fabrication of the two 60-kilowatt-hour battery packs.

It will also be used to finalize the definitive feasibility study, and we’ll also be using it for the Fraunhofer joint venture commercial payments in relation to the silumina anode battery project. We’ll be using some of the funds on that as well. So the funds will be allocated towards finishing off the DFS on that project for the full scale 10,000 ton per annum plant, and we’ll also be finalising construction of our pilot plant that’s due to be commissioned in Q4 of this year.

Sonia Madigan:

I understand that Altech has selected suppliers to advance the battery project. Can you tell us about that?

Martin Stein:

Yes, so we have regular workshops in Germany and at these workshops, obviously, the Altech Senior management teams there, the Fraunhofer teams there, which includes some of the best engineers and battery specialists in the world. We invite potential suppliers to present at these workshops.

Now, out of those workshops, both Fraunhofer and Altech have handpicked a select group of German suppliers. Some of these, or most of these suppliers have worked with Fraunhofer in the past or are known to Fraunhofer, so they come very well recommended and very well credentialed. These are some of the best robotic and engineering and manufacturing suppliers in the world. So we’ve assembled the suppliers. We think we’ve assembled a very good team that’s going to take the CERENERGY project to the next level of production, so we’re really happy with how that’s coming along.

Sonia Madigan:

I also understand that Altech has enlisted the services of an independent environmental research centre in Oslo. What’s that about?

Martin Stein:

Yes, so we’ve engaged CICERO. Now CICERO are based out of Norway. They provide independent accreditation for projects looking at the environmental and social aspects of the projects, and then they weigh up all of the requirements and the inputs for the projects and determine whether it’s actually a green environmentally friendly project.

So we did the same thing with our silumina anodes and we were able to achieve a medium green rating. Now with CERENERGY project, as you know, we don’t use any lithium, copper, cobalt, or graphite. We use common table salt, sodium chloride technology. These batteries are also fire and explosion-proof, and we recently achieved a study, an independent study that said that these CERENERGY batteries produce 50 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions in a comparable lithium-ion battery.

So we think we’ve got a very green product here, a very green project. We’re going to get CICERO to accredit it, and then that will enable us to send to our shareholders and stakeholders the message that yes, we are doing the right thing environmentally, we are responsible, and that also helps in attracting future finance to construct the plant.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, just before we go, there’s certainly a race towards sustainable energy for the future. How is Altech placed in this race?

Martin Stein:

Well, as you know, Altech CERENERGY batteries targeting the industrial grid storage solution. Now, what’s happening around the world as we’re trying to electrify and meet the decarbonisation targets is that the ramp-up of the renewable energy, solar and wind and the like, has grown exponentially, but it’s grown so quick that the grids don’t have the ability to manage and use all of that power.

So much so that in the state of California, they actually return US$3 billion per year in renewable energy that they can’t use at that time and the grid can’t use it. They’re putting that back into the ground. Germany is putting 2 billion euros back into the ground every year in wasted energy. So these grid energy storage batteries, they will be able to store the excess supply of energy, say for a solar plant that produces power during the day, the grid needs it at night.

The batteries will be able to take that power, store it and then return it to the grid when it’s required. So the world scaling up, its production of green energy, but it also needs to scale up its ability to store that energy in batteries. That’s the second part of the solution.

So it’s going to be a very big industry. It’s growing at 28 per cent compound annual growth rate. It’s expected to be worth US$15 billion by 2025, and it’s going to be so big that Tesla’s actually come out and said that they see the future of their business being more battery related than EV related. So it’s certainly going to be a very lucrative niche industry, and Altech is racing to get into that industry as soon as possible. The product that we’ve got with the CERENERGY battery is unique and we think we’ll be able to penetrate the market with it.

Company analysis group, RAAS Advisory has released an updated report on car subscription provider, Carly Holdings (CL8).

The research report follows a June quarter with subscription revenue up 83 per cent on the same period last year. To discuss the research findings, I’m joined by Research as a Service Director and Co-Author of the note, Finola Burke.

Finola Burke:

Thank you, Fouad.

Fouad Haidar:

So Finola, your report suggests Carly’s on track for continued fleet and revenue expansion. Tell us about your findings.

Finola Burke:

Carly has demonstrated that it can secure asset finance, deploy that finance and receive delivery of cars and get them on the road. They’ve now got a proven track record and we’re of the view that the company can continue to grow, both its car fleet and revenue expansion.

The growth in the fleet, which was up 285 per cent in owned vehicles in the June quarter and the high utilisation rate, which was 84 per cent again in the June quarter, so that they can get and keep vehicles on the road.

Fouad Haidar:

Now, in terms of growth Finola, how are Carly positioned for the quarter ahead?

Finola Burke:

Well, we think with the fleet size increasing and the consistent utilisation rate that this company has delivered over a number of quarters, now this points to building revenue growth. We’re forecasting that revenue will grow at a rate of 150 per cent in FY24.

And then in 2025, we’re looking for about 70 per cent growth from the company as it deploys its asset finance that it has in place now and pursues opportunities in the EV market and in the corporate space.

Fouad Haidar:

Your report has amended the base case valuation for Carly. What has driven the change in your assessment?

Finola Burke:

You are correct. Look, we did bring back our base case valuation, but this was largely due to the fact that the company had raised capital. So more shares on issue. We also have taken into account our risk-free rate. So what we apply to our valuation, the higher interest rates in the market. So we listed that from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent.

The valuation itself is now 24.4 million from a base case perspective, which is 9.1 cents a share. But even more importantly, we also do a downside case and an upside case in the range that has narrowed quite a lot, particularly from the downside case perspective. Our downside case previously was 5.6 million or 2.70 cents a share. We’ve increased that to 16.1 million or 6 cents a share.

The company conducted additional scaled-up metallurgical test work via low-cost leach tests, confirming the amenability of the resource to bulk tonnage gold for mining and mineral processing.

A strong recovery of 79 per cent was found in one column composite at the deposit’s lower grade range of 0.33 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. Meanwhile, from four Apollo Hill samples, the average recovery was an “excellent” 79.1 per cent.

The low-cost gold leaching process accounts for around 46 per cent of global gold production, with the recent results supporting Apollo joining this number.

Efficient extraction also played a role in the results, with HPGR crushing, providing strong column leach gold extraction kinetics, with around 69 per cent of ultimate extraction done in 30 days, with maximum extraction set to take around 100 days.

“The successful replication of production representative results from across the deposit’s geography and major material types is an important step for the development of Apollo Hill,” Saturn Managing Director Ian Bamborough said.

“It gives us a great deal of confidence to progress our studies towards production. The metallurgy of Apollo Hill is a great differentiator, it provides an economic head start and an opportunity to shift the magnitude of the deposit’s development.”

Saturn plans to use these results to justify the continual testing of gold at the site and results will be used to upgrade the site’s mineral resource estimate.

STN last traded at 17 cents.