Public Company News

In a sure fire sign that the Chinese are becoming insatiable for our Lithium and will take it any way they can get it, Pilbara Minerals have signed a deal with a Chinese Lithium Carbonate manufacturer to supply direct shipping ore straight out of their Pilgangoora mine near Port Hedland without it even being processed - and the Chinese will pre-pay $10m for the privilege.

Blackham Resources' plans to double their Matilda Gold production have been boosted by solid new drill results that pave the way for another resource upgrade. The latest round of drilling found the mineralisation at Wiluna is more extensive than previously thought and amenable to open cut mining in some areas, providing a major boost for the economics of a proposed expansion.

Hammer Metals, recently voted Queensland Explorer of the Year for its breakthrough discovery of the Overlander deposit, has set its sights on a number of big new exploration goals around its Mt Isa tenements. A deep diamond drill hole is about to target extensions of a number of extraordinary copper-gold drill intersections that remain open at depth at the Kalman South prospect.

Lithium Australia's ground-breaking, low-cost technology for Lithium processing has begun testing at WA's Murdoch University with the support of a State Government grant worth nearly $200,000. The new test program aims to further improve recoveries of Lithium and potentially valuable by-products and follows a recent successful pilot plant trial in NSW.

Perth based Weebit-Nano is on the way to commercialization after their French partner, Leti,reproduced the ASX listed company's lab scale “Siox ReRam” computer memory technology in their massive pre-industrialization facility in France. Weebit say their computer memory technology is 1000 times faster and 1000 times more energy efficient than existing flash memory.

ASX-listed MGC Pharma is a step closer to breaking into the lucrative European skincare market, with the medical cannabis company commencing official EU registration for its cannabis-based cosmetics used to treat conditions such as acne, psoriasis and seborrhoea.

ASX listed Sky and Space Global have provided their best validation yet that their innovative technology based on miniature satellites might actually work when it launches next year after the company was awarded a global technology award this week. The prestigious award was bestowed on them by global consulting and market research firm Frost & Sullivan.

ASX-listed financial payments player Stargroup is on track to deliver its 12th consecutive quarter of record revenue after posting yet another ground-breaking month in October. Stargroup, who have over 350 ATMs across Australia, said their best-ever monthly revenues were laregely driven by the ATM hardware and software sales division.

In the public company world it's often said that it's easier to get a promise of a cheque from the Chinese than the actual cheque itself, which sometimes never arrives. No such problem however for the George Bauk led Northern Minerals who now look set to create the first significant heavy rare earths mine outside of China after their Chinese shareholder showed them the colour of their money.

The Browns Range heavy rare earths project got a shot in the arm this week courtesy of a $1.76m federal Government R&D cheque with a $9m cheque from Chinese investors just days away. Investors are also starting to give the company credit for its trailblazing resources play, with the share price nearly tripling in recent months.

Rapidly expanding Stargroup continues to set a cracking pace, with the financial payments player gearing up for further acquisitions after completing due dilligence for its recent $6.5m take out of Indue. The Perth-based company announced this week it had also secured a new debt facility of up to $15m to fund the deal and other potential acquisitions.

Shark Mitigation Systems' Clever Buoy will be put to the ultimate test by the NSW Government in a move that could trigger a global sales boom for the Perth-based company. NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, announced this week that his department would team up with the University of Technology in Sydney to conduct a field trial of the Clever Buoy.