Public Company News

ASX-listed Peppermint Innovation's advance to full commercialisation of its mobile payments technology continues, with the tech company signing a deal with major Philippines healthcare provider, Cooperative Health Management Federation of the Philippines. The company is partnering with CHMF to provide its 18000 members with mobile-based access to its healthcare services.

Recently listed Calidus Resources will jump into an additional 5,000 metres of drilling immediately east of its main Klondyke target at the Warrawoona Gold project after another strong batch of intercepts. Significant new gold intercepts included 24 metres at 2.52 g/t and 7 metres at 5.29 g/t, continuing an exceptional run of discovery success for the newly listed Calidus.

ASX-listed biotech PharmAust has hit several key milestones in the development of its promising anti-cancer drug Monepantel, or MPL as it is commonly known. The company says reformulation of the potential breakthrough anti-cancer substance is progressing well, with its Canadian partner, BRI Pharmaceutical Research, achieving long awaited improvements on taste and dosage capacity.

Excitement around Nzuri Copper's joint venture with Ivanhoe Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been validated by some very interesting hits of Cobalt and Copper from early stage exploration. Drilling has identified a high-grade Cobalt zone at Monwezi West and shown that another target has similarities with Ivanhoe's giant Kamoa-Kakula Copper discovery nearby.

Altech Chemicals have exercised an option to buy the land underneath their Meckering kaolin deposit, smoothing the way for a development that would make the company the world's largest supplier of high purity alumina (HPA). Demand for HPA is expected to boom because of its essential role in Lithium Ion batteries and synthetic sapphire wafers found in LEDs, semiconductors, watches and consumer electronics.

Move over Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft. There's a new tech industry on the rise and the valuations of its players are stunning. Some have market caps worth billions, others have been trading at multiples of 30 times earnings and the smaller ones get taken out by the big players for hundreds of millions of dollars. Appetise will be the only ASX listed online food ordering business when they list next month.

Lithium Australia shares have jumped by almost 20% on a run of positive developments, including news the company had taken a majority stake in a promising Lithium clays JV in Mexico. This followed last week's announcement of an equity deal between ASX 200 Lithium miner Galaxy Resources and a junior technology company that licenses its technology to Lithium Australia in W.A.

A newly released feasibility study for Nzuri Copper's Kalongwe Copper-Cobalt project in the DRC shows it will generate piles of cash for the junior explorer, with revenues of US$499m, an internal rate of return of 71% and an NPV of USD$116m. The project could be generating cash just 12 months after development approval underpinning Nzuri's big ambitions for its prime tenements in the African copper belt.

ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals have harvested over 4,000 kilograms of cannabis for use in their range of marijuana-derived products as the Perth-listed company progresses its promising growing operations in Europe. MGC's botanical division, largely based in the EU, is also on the verge of harvesting more than 450 medicinal cannabis plants for use in their genetic research program.

The seemingly insatiable global demand for Lithium has created a modern day gold rush of sorts – and everyone is looking for an edge. Those mining entrepreneurs who made their fortunes sniffing out gold, nickel and copper are now all fired up about the prospect of starting over again with Lithium. Whilst hard rock projects are popular, Lithium brines are set to star and Reedy Lagoon look to be well placed.

Calima Energy have bulked up their land holdings in the red hot, liquids-rich, Montney oil and gas play in Canada. This is the second time Calima have successfully bid in Government auctions for additional Montney acreage in the last month. The newly listed explorer's acreage has increased by 6% and the company has enhanced its position as a significant landowner in one of North America's hottest energy provinces.

Blackham Resources have added 310,000 ounces of gold to their Wiluna North suite of open pits and are now looking at digging one giant, 3.5km long super pit that will join together all of the historic workings in the area. Importantly, the global resource at the Wiluna project has cracked the 3 gram per tonne mark for the first time with the project now boasting 65m tonnes grading 3.1 g/t gold for 6.5m ounces.