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Steve Hughes, VP of exploration for Asiamet Resources PLC (LON:ARS), tells Proactive's Andrew Scott their drilling programme at BKZ continues to deliver high grades of a number of metals.
What began as a five-hole programme has now become 12 with Hughes saying he's just finished the tenth hole today.
''We've got two holes left .. I suspect it's about another week and then we'll move the rig. I think we'll probably go down to southern BKM where there's more massive sulphides''.
Proactive Investors' John Harrington stopped by the studio for an update on his 'bombed out but bouncing back portfolio'.
The strategy behind the fund is to choose stocks through “mechanical investment” methods.
''Every so often a stock screen throws up a stock that makes you wonder, where did I put that barge pole?'', Harrington says.
Among the recent additions to the portfolio is Watchstone Group.
''Its recent share price performance is very encouraging, with the stock up by a third over the last five days, though over the last year the shares are down by a third – making it a perfect candidate for the 'Bombed Out but Bouncing Back' portfolio'', says Harrington.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford says it's interesting to see Baker Steel Resources Trust (LON:BSRT) beginning to do a bit of a promotional push.
''They're now really focused on several core investments across quite a diverse spectrum of commodities and jurisdictions as well''.
''It seems as though their nose for value is beginning to sniff some real opportunities in this current market''.
Fabian Baker, chief operating officer for Tethyan Resources PLC (LON:TETH)(CVE:TETH) tells Proactive they're looking to release the results of substantial geophysical surveys at their Suva Ruda and Gokcanica projects in Serbia in the coming weeks.
Tethyan holds an option over the Suva Ruda project under the terms of which it can take 100% ownership via a €6 mln payment that can be made at any time with in an eight year period.
Suva Rudia covers an 87 square kilometre area and lies approximately 240 kilometres south of Belgrade.
The Gokcanica project covers 110 square kilometres in southern Serbia, five kilometres to the north of the town of Josaniska Banja.
Robert McAllister, chief executive of Enertopia Corp (CNSX:TOP), shows off the first step in their synthetic brine process and outlines why they're so excited about the opportunities with their technology partner Genesis Water Technologies.
The time-lapse video shows lithium rich rocks essentially dissolving with the lithium become liberated into solution.
Currently the tried and true method involves mining the hard rock lithium pegmatites called spodumene - these deposits are most common in Canada and Australia.
David Price, chief executive of Papua Mining PLC (LON:PML) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott he's delighted with the response from investors to their recent £1.5mln raise.
''We had good participation from our existing shareholders and also the board - the board participated which is important for investors''.
Price, who took over as CEO just last week, goes on to the say the cash puts them in a very comfortable position now to use it on the ground as part of their exploration programmes.
Joe Ross, chief executive of Kickwheel Company discusses the merger between themselves and Lingo Media Corp (TSE:LM).
The two education technology specialists are joining forces through a one-for-one all-stock transaction.
The merged company will take on a new name, yet to be announced.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC), brings Proactive up to speed on latest developments at their Kun-Manie project in Russia and answers investors questions.
This week Young announced they’re testing four drill defined deposits with new results allowing them to assess the economic potential of the open-pit only project, with subsequent analysis set to determine the potential to access deeper ores via underground mining.
Atlantis Resources Limited (LON:ARL) CEO Tim Cornelius spoke to Proactive Investors as their MeyGen tidal power project in the Pentland Firth hits a major milestone.
''The fourth turbine's installed - it obviously means we've now completed the construction phase of phase 1A, 6Mw, so now fully connected to grid, generating electricity and most importantly generating revenue'', Cornelius says.
He adds they've now asked the UK government for a separate deal to get the project included among the new roster of subsidised renewable power developments.
The independent oil and gas analyst Barney Gray discusses the decision by Surrey County Council to give the green light to the new Horse Hill programme.
''I'm quite pleased with this announcement, it covers a lot of ground''.
''They obviously have the permission to do the extended flow test at Horse Hill which I think is going to be very important because the data which came out originally was very teasing and it will now be nice to see an extended flow test and see what this well can actually flow''.
Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited's (LON:BSRT) Trevor Steel and Francis Johnstone tell Proactive the advantage of the trust is that it's a permanent capital vehicle - so they can invest in projects which may take some time to develop but will provide excellent upside potential.
''We're looking to make two to three times on a typical investment'', Trevor Steel says.
He adds: ''Overall it's a potential high return vehicle but investing in a part of the market which is difficult for most investors to access - the pre-IPO, the private space in mining''.
''What we ideally look for is a large potentially world-class project in a nice, safe jurisdiction ... we are looking for projects which could either be bought by a major company or take them through to IPO'', says Francis Johnstone
Nik Philpot, chief executive of Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) spoke to Proactive on the back of their trading update for the 6 months to the end of September 2017.
UK trading continues to be solid with a similar revenue performance to the first half of last year and a strong pipeline of deals in the second half.
On the other side of the pond, the company’s US push is going well, with seven contract wins worth US$5.1mln secured during the half year, up from three wins worth US$2.7mln the year before.
David Lenigas, executive chairman of Doriemus PLC (LON:DOR) discusses the exciting onshore UK oil projects - Horse Hill, Lidsey, Broadford Bridge and Brockham.
''I'm more pleased in fact that it'll [Lidsey] be the first well going into production in that part of the weald basin and we announced the other day we also hit good indications of hydrocarbons in the kimmeridge and the oxford ...so that should be our first production well from Doriemus' perspective with Angus hopefully over the course of the next week''.
Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC), tells Proactive they've landed a US$350,000 deal from the defence agency of an undisclosed European country.
Their Celare operation will supply monitoring and detection systems as part of a proof of concept contract.
The deal will allow it to showcase the capabilities of its T-Sense product, which detects and investigates suspicious network activity and threats.
Gert Reider, chief executive of Falcon Media House (LON:FAL) tells Proactive they've secured £3.4mln of additional funding through a convertible loan note to help them advance their new focus on Quiptel's portfolio of OTT technologies.
Falcon said the aggregate principal amount of the loan note, which carries an interest rate of 8%, is £10mln, of which £3.4mln has thus far been issued.
The funds raised will be used for general corporate purposes, including continued software development and enhancements; increased geographical footprint and reach; scaling up the sales and support organisation; content acquisition; and aggregation and general working capital.
Ferrum Crescent PLC (LON:FCR) executive directors Laurence Read and Myles Campion tell Proactive they're to changing their near-term approach to the exploration and evaluation of FCR's key asset in Spain, the Toral zinc project.
The first full-scale historical review of core samples from Toral has now been undertaken. That’s allowed all historical information to be processed into a central model with a single data format, which the company will be able to use to plan around more effectively in the future.
It will also lead to a maiden JORC resource for Toral, to be completed by the end of this year, incorporating the data from the 2017 drilling programme.
The team at Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) tell Proactive they've seen a record third quarter, with operations at the Manaila polymetallic mine in Romania and the Pickstone-Peerless gold mine in Zimbabwe outperforming the previous quarter in terms of tonnes mined, tonnes milled, copper concentrate produced and gold produced.
At Manaila there was a 31% increase in copper concentrate produced, although grade dropped marginally. Zinc production fell, but gold production rose.
At Pickstone-Peerless, in which Vast holds a 25% stake, ore mined and milled hit their highest levels since June 2016.
Gold production by 17% increased to 4,738 ounces.
James Barder, chief executive of Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) runs Proactive through some new market research on their MED2002 product.
It found the majority of physicians in the US reckon their erectile dysfunction gel is an improvement over current ED therapies.
The research, carried out by Cello Health Consulting, also revealed that at least 10% of ED patients were contra-indicated – i.e. can’t be treated with – PDE5 inhibitors such as Viagra because of their existing medication. That’s higher than the 7.5% Futura believed it to be based on past research.
Keyword Studios PLC (LON:KWS) chief executive Andrew Day discusses the AIM awards which were held in London last week and where they picked up the award for AIM growth business of the year.
''A very pleasant evening and I'm very thrilled to have won this prestigious award - it's a great achievement for us as a company and I'm thrilled for every 'Keywordian' around the world who's worked so hard to achieve this''.
Proactive Investors oil & gas correspondent Jamie Ashcroft reports on Angus Energy Plc (LON:ANGS) completing their drill program at the Lidsey field, in the southern edge of the Weald basin, near Bognor Regis.
The company now plans to produce from 443 metres of net oil pay in the Great Oolite limestone reservoir.
Ashcroft also discusses why UK Oil and Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG), a junior market favourite, dropped almost 30% earlier this week as their potentially exciting Broadford Bridge well ran into complications.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford asks whether we could be beginning to see a pattern of junior mining recovery emerging.
He says early 2017 saw a couple of new listings in London and a spate of activity in Canada as the gold price and mining in general found support in the utterings and policies of Donald Trump.
But as the year's gone on new money into the sector at the smaller end has been a trickle rather than a flow.
However with the listings in August of Altus Strategies (LON:ALS), Cora Gold on Monday and the planned IPO next year of Toro Gold, Ford reckons we could now have a clear direction of travel for the mining market.
Toby Hall, chief executive of Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX) caught up with Proactive from China where he's given a key-note speech on the domain industry at the prestigious Alibaba event in Hangzhou.
Hall also discusses their launch of four more top level domains - .law, .work, .beer and .shopping.
Another four of MMX’s TLDs are currently going through the regulatory process.
Brett Childs, chief executive of Brainworks Limited, talks to Proactive on the eve of their first day of trading on the JSE.
Childs says they're disappointed, but not surprised, by the fact they struggled to raise funds.
''We're still listing by introduction, we have the required public shares ... it's disappointing but it's due to circumstances which are really outside of our control''.
''I think 2018 will be a good year for us. We need to bear in mind that next year we have elections in Zimbabwe but historically those elections have actually proved a boom for the hospitality industry''.
Mark Heyhoe, chief operating officer for Harvest Minerals Limited (LON:HMI), tells Proactive they've recorded first sales of their fertiliser replacement KPfertil.
The sales were in response to requests from customers even though the company is waiting for formal certification for KPfertil as a remineraliser from the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture.
Steve Hughes, VP of exploration at Asiamet Resources PLC (LON:ARS), caught up with Proactive for a quick update on the back of latest exploration work at BKZ.
He says he's increasingly confident they've found a new stand-alone polymetallic deposit at the prospect in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Hughes says they've still got the drill rig in the immediate area - one hole's in progress and they're starting to head further south.
''We'll finish up two more holes and then that'll be all the scout drilling completed'', Hughes says.
''Then we'll do some evaluation and I'm pretty sure we'll upgrade the program to delineation drilling''.
Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) discusses with Proactive the launch of the electronics industry's first ARM-based universal Customer Premises Equipment (uCPE) platform.
ARM-based chips are particularly popular in mobile devices, and the Cambridge-based chip designer worked closely with BATM's wholly-owned subsidiary, Telco Systems, and Telco partner NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) on the solution.
Osirium Technologies PLC (LON:OSI) is a cyber security company focused particularly on the PAM space - privileged access management.
''It's a niche area, but still up there at $2.2bln by 2020, so it's a great opportunity for a company such as us who've had a long history and involvement in cyber security over the last nearly 30 years now'', says chief executive David Guyatt.
''We're well-placed to address that particular market that's emerging and we have the skills necessary to take on the world really''.
Will Fulton, manager of the UK Commercial Property Trust (LON:UKCM) tells Proactive they're a diversified investment trust focused on retail, industrial as well as office assets.
''The tilt of the portfolio at the moment is towards industrial which I really like, we've added to that, we've probably sold away some retail and some central London'',
''We're diversified across £1.4 bln worth of assets - spread geographically across the country and also spread by tenant - we don't like to put too much money into one tenant''.
João Andrade, chief executive of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) tells Proactive they're to launch their stem cell healthcare insurance plan in Spain following the product’s debut in the UK and alongside its imminent roll-out in Brazil.
The local agent for the CellPlan, which costs £170 a year, will be a company called Stem Cell Banco Celulas Madre, a provider of stem cell storage services.
Under the re-seller model, the tie-up should generate £50 per sale (after commissions and reinsurance costs)
Phoevos Pouroulis, chief executive of Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) tells Proactive they produced 360,500 tonnes of chrome concentrates during the fourth quarter of the financial year, up 8% quarter-on-quarter.
Full year production totalled 1.3mln tonnes of chrome concentrates, an increase of 7% on the corresponding period a year ago.
This production also included 323,000 tonnes of higher margin specialty chrome and 143,600 tonnes of platinum group metals.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP), tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've identified multiple gold targets at Ernest Giles East following a programme of mobile metal iron (MMI) surface geochemistry and ground gravity surveys.
Specifically, multiple gold anomalies were identified over 60 kilometres of strike.
Several clusters of MMI anomalies were seen, with ‘key clusters’ having shown strikes of more than 9 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide.
Joao Andrade, chief executive of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) tells Proactive they're in the process of inking a deal worth an initial £255,000 that will take the group's stem cell services into the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Andrade says they're aiming to have a formal agreement with Gulf-based White Apex General Trading in place by the end of the month.
Dusty Nicol, chief executive of Azarga Metals Corp (CVE:AZR), updates on latest developments at the Unkur Copper-Silver project in Russia.
The current inferred resource stands at 42mln tonnes at a grade of 0.9% copper equivalent.
Tom Becker, chief executive of Iofina plc (LON:IOF), tells Proactive they're on track to beat their production guidance of between 225-240 metric tonnes in the second half of 2017.
One plant, IO#3 has been taken offline and is being replaced by a much more efficient unit, IO#7, which is scheduled to come on stream in early 2018.
Haris Chaudhry, chairman of InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP) dropped by the Proactive studio to chat through their recent £4.4mln raise to accelerate the group's expansion.
Chaudhry also talked through a series of commercial deals they've made for their Skinny Tan products, including one targeting the premium health and beauty segment.
Upmarket department stores chain Fenwick will take the bronzing and sculpting range in selected outlets.
John Peters, managing director of Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott sales of US$2.036 mln from the Cobre magnetite tailings project for the three months to September 2017 marked a new record for the company.
The latest sales record is based around production of 29,539 tonnes.
The sales in dollar terms represent a 300% increase on the sales figure for the corresponding period a year ago.
Derek Hill, president of regulatory science and external relations at IXICO PLC (LON:IXI) discusses with Proactive their two-year contract worth £500,000 with a top-15 pharma company to deploy their wrist-worn sensors in a Phase II clinical trial.
It is the company’s first commercial agreement using the devices. They will be used along with artificial intelligence data analytics algorithms to monitor sleep disturbance in around 300 people.
Richard Morgan, chief executive of Amphion PLC (LON:AMP), discusses the 'very welcome' Phase III Iclaprim news from Motif Bio.
Motif's recently revealed its lead drug, a next generation antibiotic, successfully negotiated a crucial final-stage clinical study, boosting Amphion’s shares.
Amphion owns 14.1% of Motif Bio.
Morgan says he continues to believe that Motif Bio is not fully valued compared to other comparable antibiotic companies at the same stage of development.
Mark Smith, executive chairman and chief executive of NioCorp Developments Ltd (TSE:NB) updates Proactive on the latest with their financing discussions to advance their huge superalloy project in Nebraska.
Up to 1,200 workers are likely to be needed at the peak of construction.
It will cost $1bn to put together and bring the facility into operation.
The pre-tax net present value (NPV) has been put at US$2.3bn at an 8% discount rate, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 24.3%.
Harry Adams, executive chairman of KEFI Minerals plc (LON:KEFI) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're now focused on 'bolting together' project finance for the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia.
"It has been an exceptionally busy quarter,” he says.
The company implemented its preferred finance plan for Tulu Kapi in July, with the goal of closing the funding package this year.
Meanwhile, work in Saudi Arabia is also continuing.
Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA) has debuted on AIM at a price of 16.5p per share, following a £3.45mln fundraising.
Chief executive Jon Forster tells Proactive the majority of the net proceeds of the fundraising will be used for a planned exploration programme that will principally focus on the Sanankoro gold discovery in southern Mali.
The ultimate aim will be to establish a resource estimate, although some exploration on other properties will also take place.
Clifford Gross, chief executive of Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK)discusses with Proactive the news that their portfolio company Lucyd is launching a cryptocurrency token sale to fund its range of augmented reality glasses.
Lucyd was set up by TekCapital to commercialise 13 optical technology patents it acquired from the University of Central Florida.
The token sale will raise up to US$10mln to fund the development of the glasses and software apps based on the patent portfolio.
Vassilios Carellas, chief executive of Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC), talks Proactive through the “extremely encouraging” results reported from Casa Mining Ltd's first two diamond core drill hole assays at the Akyanga gold deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The AIM-listed exploration and mine development company said the initial results support the existing geological and structural understanding of the gold deposit and further confirm Akyanga as an open-pit resource of over 2mln ounces.
Carellas also discusses the company's new focus on their African assets as well as the recent additions of Chairman Nick von Schirnding and non-exec Brian McMaster.
Richard Shepherd-Cross of the Custodian REIT (LON:CREIT) introduces the trust to Proactive Investors.
''Income's always been the main focus for us'', Shepherd-Cross says.
''The portfolio is regionally based - we don't have properties within the M25, with one or two minor exceptions but principally it's a regional portfolio''.
''It's weighted towards the industrial sector - about 42% of the portfolio is industrial or logistics''.
He adds: ''The balance of the portfolio is about 15% in high street retail …. and don't believe everything you hear about high street retail - it's not dead it's just changing''.
Dr Vladislav Sandler, chief executive of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc (LON:HEMO), tells Proactive the biotech start up is focused on bringing to market products that could change the way bone marrow transplants are carried out.
''We're trying to develop new types of antibodies that will get rid of the need for chemotherapy and radiation''.
''These antibodies will prepare the patient in a much safer and targeted way ... reducing side effects and increasing the success rate of the transplantation''.
The company came about through a merger deal with Silver Falcon, a London-based shell company.
Mid Wynd International Investment Trust plc's Simon Edelsten tells Proactive the trust is a global equity investment vehicle suitable for investors with a long-term horizon.
''We try to find decent growth companies around the world on sensible valuations and we try to find stocks that other people haven't found''.
He adds: ''It's a relatively small fund … £147 mln roughly at the moment … and so it's small enough to be able to invest in a significant way even in smaller companies which the larger trusts would find quite difficult to invest in''.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the wider ripples from the vote in Catalonia for Independence.
''The implications here are quite significant - we've got a nation within a nation that's trying to declare independence inside the European Union''.
''Investors are going to watch with interest ... I think we'll see things like bitcoin and gold retaining popularity with investors''.
Ford also mentions he's been speaking to the team at Arizona Silver Exploration Inc (CVE:AZS) and updates on progress with their projects.
Plus he touches on Galantas Gold Corporation (LON:GAL) (TSXV:GAL) and Stratex International plc (LON:STI).
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the MoU they've signed with the Czech government regarding the development of the Cinovec lithium-tin project in the country.
Coughlan says the agreement shows willingness from both sides to work together to support not only this project but also the future of mining in the local area.
Graham Lumsden, chief executive of Motif Bio PLC (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ: MTFB) tells Proactive he's 'very pleased' their lead drug Iclaprim has successfully navigated its way through a crucial final-stage clinical study.
Lumsden says their big focus now is lodging a new drug application with US regulators which'll happen in the first quarter of next year.
Mark Learmonth, chief financial officer of Caledonia Mining Corporation (LON:CMCL) tells Proactive they've enjoyed record quarterly gold production from the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe for the quarter ended 30 September 2017.
Approximately 14,389 ounces of gold were produced during the quarter, 15% higher than the previous quarter and 7% higher than the corresponding quarter of 2016.
Andrew Newland, chief executive of ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) (OTCQX:ANPCY) managed to find a quiet corner at Gatwick Airport, just minutes before flying out to Europe's leading CTC conference in Rhodes, to discuss their decision to acquire some assets from a Canadian company with intellectual property that complements ANGLE’s Parsortix liquid biopsy platform.
ANGLE is paying C$6.16mln, or roughly £3.7mln, for the assets.
Eight of the Axela team will be moving on to ANGLE’s payroll.
The Axela system will complement Parsortix by providing an analysis element to ANGLE’s offering, enabling the UK company to capture a greater proportion of the liquid biopsy value chain.
Marcus Engelbrecht, chief executive of Stratex International plc (LON:STI) chats to Proactive following the release of a circular to shareholders updating them on the proposed Crusader acquisition.
Englebrecht is keen to acquire Crusader primarily because of its exciting Borborema gold asset in Brazil, which he's confident can be moved into production quickly and generate US$30mln in cash per year.
Vadim Alexandre, head of Research at Northland Capital Partners, discusses with Proactive Motif Bio PLC's (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ: MTFB) lead drug, a next generation antibiotic, successfully negotiating a crucial final-stage clinical study.
The REVIVE-2 Phase III trial pitted Motif’s iclaprim treatment against vancomycin in patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI).
Craig Lindsay, president and chief executive of Otis Gold Corp (CVE:OOO), discusses with Proactive some encouraging assays they've received from the first three holes of this year's drilling at the Kilgore project in Idaho.
The main aim of the work was to follow-up on previous open-ended drill intercepts in the prospective Aspen formation.
Martin Eales, chief executive of Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW) tells Proactive they're expecting run-of-mine (ROM) ore production at their Gasagwe asset will be in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes.
The production guidance was issued alongside the company's results for the year to the end of June.
The completion of construction and commissioning of the plant is expected in the coming weeks, which should allow Rainbow to meet its target of shipping the first concentrate before the end of the year.
Adam Bond, chief executive of AFC Energy plc (LON:AFC), caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott on the back of their recent quarterly update.
Bond says that initiatives undertaken by them and their partner De Nora have the potential to slash the cost of hydrogen power.
Electrodes with two-year operational lives, against one year now, are now in view, he said, with a line of sight to a four-year economic operational electrode life.
A newly designed fuel cell stack without solid nickel substrate frames, now demonstrated both at laboratory scale and industrial scale with improvement in stack performance has also reduced stack costs by up to 30%.
Randeep Grewal, chairman of Green Dragon Gas Ltd (LON:GDG), discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott three new supplementary agreements that have been signed between its subsidiary Greka Energy and China United Coalbed Methane Corporation (CUCBM).
The deals confirm that exploration activities can begin for three blocks in China.
The new agreements with CUCBM, a unit of state backed CNOOC, will allow the partners to advance operations across the Fengcheng (GFC), Qinyuan (GQY) and Panxie East (GPX) Blocks.
Additionally, the proposed exploration period has been extended until the second quarter of 2019.
Phil Caldwell, chief executive of Ceres Power PLC (LON:CWR) tells Proactive they've had their most successful year to date with revenues more than doubling.
He adds they're ahead of expectations financially, which has allowed them to accelerate the technical development of the SteelCell technology.
Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) tells Proactive the past year had been one of significant progress – both for the development of a potential drug based on its platform and its use by other customers in research and diagnostics.
Smith says they've made excellent progress with their potential cancer drug, a PD-L1 inhibitor that helps the body’s immune system to tackle the disease.
They're expecting first-in-man clinical trials to kick-off in 2019.
Dr Catherine O’Neill, chief executive of SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SBTX), updates Proactive on progress with their platform - saying it's passed a key safety test.
The SkinBiotix cream was assessed for cellular toxicity and specifically for adverse biological reactions from mammalian cell cultures.
No cytotoxicity was observed; in other words there was no malformation of cells, or cell degeneration.
The data backed up in-house results compiled by the company, which listed on the stock market in April.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) tells Proactive initial exploration work has kicked off at the Panorama project in the Pilbara region of Australia.
Following a comprehensive review of historic data, the group has identified around twenty gold anomalies across the project area.
Five cobalt targets are, meanwhile, seen in the southern area of the project.
All gold and cobalt targets will be subject to field reconnaissance during the coming weeks.
Thomas Wagenhofer, director at Curzon Energy PLC (LON:CZN) caught up with Proactive on the day the firm began trading in London.
Curzon currently has one asset in Coos Bay, Oregon.
The area's home to around 45,000 acres of known CBM gas accumulations.
Curzon's the sole owner and operator of the project.
Hagai Tal, chief executive of Taptica International Ltd (LON:TAP) talks Proactive through their recent acquisition of US company Tremor Video.
Tal is joined in the studio by Temor Video DSP's CEO Lauren Wiener.
Tremor sold its 'demand-side' business to the Israeli mobile ad platform in August for £36.9 mln.
Steve Hughes, VP of exploration at Asiamet Resources PLC (LON:ARS) tells Proactive they've intersected further near surface high grade base and precious metal rich mineralisation along strike of earlier hits at the BKZ prospect in Indonesia.
Further drilling is required to determine the ultimate dimensions and continuity of the mineralised body.
But the results of this scout drilling provide confidence for a potential standalone high grade polymetallic deposit.
BKZ is located approximately 800m north of Asiamet's feasibility-stage BKM copper project.
WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) chief executive Joao Andrade and chief scientific officer Dr Peter Hollands give Proactive a tour of their headquarters and laboratory at the University of Manchester Innovation Centre.
Dr Hollands also gives us an exclusive look at their Cryogenics section - where they store stem cells for future use.
Vitesse Media focuses on enterprise technology, growth business, investment and diversity across live events and digital media.
Simon Stilwell took over as chief executive in August of this year.
He tells Proactive: ''I was looking for a bigger challenge … I was still drawn to investment research having worked in the City for 20 years, that was what I knew a lot about''.
''Vitesse had some issues but with a little more investigation and alongside a colleague we went to the board and proposed a refinancing and part of those discussions really become revolved around me taking over the business, raising more money and trying to solve some of the problems they had''.
Dr Timothy Coughlin, president and chief executive of Royal Road Minerals Ltd (CVE:RYR) tells Proactive they've advanced their Colombian exploration ambitions after striking a binding framework agreement with Economias Sociales del Comun.
It's a joint social and economic organization established in May this year, in the wake of the final peace agreement, between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People's Army (FARC-EP), inked in November 2016.
Royal Road has gold and copper exploration projects in the Narino province in southern Colombia as well as two drill ready projects in Nicaragua.
Proactive Investors correspondent John Harrington reports on the collapse of Monarch Airlines.
All planes have been grounded, leaving around 110,000 holiday makers stranded abroad.
It is the biggest UK airline ever to go under, and the UK Government has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to coordinate flights back to the UK for all Monarch customers currently overseas.
David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) tells Proactive they've received a number of approvals for the first of their planned copper mine developments in Oman - Mahab 4 and Maqail South.
Regulatory approval or "No Objection" letters have been received from five Ministries (out of nine) for the Maqail South Licence, while Mahab 4 has four approvals.
Tony Smedley, manager of the Schroders European Real Estate Trust (LON:SERE) tells Proactive they pick the fastest growing European cities and buy properties in the best locations.
‘Winning Cities’ is its theme says Smedley, who explains that rather than a general country approach Schroders goes for key cities as they tend to grow faster than their domestic economy.
Schroders has 100 people on the ground in Europe. That gives it a lot of local knowledge and means it can drill down to the details.
Bruce Scully, chief executive of WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) tells Proactive they're set to provide nine care homes in Ontario with medical cannabis after striking an exclusive supply agreement.
The deal is with three providers - peopleCare Communities, Arbour Heights and the Belmont Long Term Care Facility, totalling over 1,000 beds across the state.
With a demographic growing at four times the rate of the broader population, the company views the long-term care and seniors' market as one of the most attractive medical markets.
AIM Journal's Andrew Hore looks ahead to the AIM Awards on 12 October 2017.
In the running are Boohoo.com PLC (LON:BOO), Fevertree Drinks PLC (LON:FEV), IQE plc (LON:IQE) and RWS Holdings PLC (LON:RWS).
Hore also discusses Zinc Media Group Plc's (LON:ZIN) preliminary results, plus he looks back on Fishing Republic PLC (LON:FISH) and RedstoneConnect Plc's (LON:REDS) interims.
AIM Journal's Andrew Hore looks ahead to the AIM Awards on 12 October 2017.
In the running are Boohoo.com PLC (LON:BOO), Fevertree Drinks PLC (LON:FEV), IQE plc (LON:IQE) and RWS Holdings PLC (LON:RWS).
Hore also discusses Zinc Media Group Plc's (LON:ZIN) preliminary results, plus he looks back on Fishing Republic PLC (LON:FISH) and RedstoneConnect Plc's (LON:REDS) interims.
Chris Gilbert, chief executive of Fox Marble Holdings PLC (LON:FOX), talks Proactive through the firm's interim results for the 6 months to the end of June 2017.
Among the highlights: their new Kosovo factory's now fully operational and they've continued to secure offtake, distribution and sales agreements across Europe, US and Asia.
Post period they entered in a sales contract with OM Enterprises to purchase a minimum of 5,000 tonnes of material over three years.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the positive outcome which has been achieved to a Judicial Review into the planning consent for underground development at Galantas Gold's wholly-owned Omagh Gold Mine in Northern Ireland.
The AIM-listed firm said a third party's request for quashing the planning consent decision was denied following the Judicial Review in Belfast High Court.
The consent was granted in July 2015 following an exhaustive study and examination by the Department of Environment Northern Ireland (DOENI). It permitted the underground mining of gold veins that were recently worked in upper levels within an open pit.
Ford also touches on the fascinating story which is Neo Lithium Corp.
Their project is in the Catamarca Province of Argentina and are eying production by 2021.
Destiny Pharma plc (LON:DEST), only the second biotech float this year, is bringing through a next-generation antibiotic.
Chief executive Neil Clark tells Proactive The bulk of the £15mln they raised will go towards funding a phase IIb clinical trial on XF-73 for the prevention of post-surgical staphylococcus aureus infections, including the deadly MRSA.
Paul Lock, managing director of Pan Asia Metals stopped by the Proactive Investors studio in London to chat through their exciting drill-ready projects - one Tungsten and the other Lithium - in southern Thailand.
They're working together with Medea Natural Resources in their pre-IPO capital raise.
John Peters, managing director of Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML), caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott on the back of their first half 2017 results.
Operating profit at Cobre in New Mexico rose to US$690,000 in the six months compared to US$62,000 a year ago, leading to a profit before tax for the group of US$158,000 compared to a loss last year.
Cash flow from Cobre is expected to accelerate in the second half after a substantial contract was won in June.
The period also saw an investment of £843,649 (US$1.068mln) into Cornwall Resources Limited (CRL), the owner of the Redmoor tin/tungsten project, increasing Strategic's interest to 50%.
Richard Marsden, chief executive of Synairgen plc (LON:SNG) tells Proactive they're to develop their inhaled interferon beta drug SNG001 as a potential treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after a review of data indicated it can boost the lungs’ antiviral capabilities.
A short trial is being planned this winter to test the COPD potential.
Marsden also discusses their upcoming LOXL2 trial.
PXS-5382A, an inhibitor that aids breathing in patients by targeting the LOXL2 enzyme, is being developed with Australian firm Pharmaxis.
Results from the Phase I trial are scheduled for the middle of 2018, after which the aim is to find a partner to license the drug due to size of the potential market and number of indications it could address.
Brett Childs, chief executive of Brainworks Limited, speaks to Proactive's Andrew Scott as they formally begin their listing process on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Main Board.
Open through until October 9, Childs says they're aiming to raise US$25mln with shares expected to commence trading on Friday October 13.
Andrew Mackie, chief business officer at Ergomed PLC (LON:ERGO), runs Proactive through their decision to acquire the Dutch-based PSR Group BV - a niche contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in orphan drug development.
They're undertaking a share placing to raise £2.9mln, before expenses, to part-fund the deal.
Mackie also discusses their first commercialisation deal with a Korean company for the haemostat products PeproStat and ReadyFlow.
Waldo Perez, chief executive of Neo Lithium Corp outlines to Proactive their Lithium project in the Catamarca Province of Argentina and steps towards production - which they're targeting for 2021
Perez says there are many factors which are unique in terms of the project's location - the elevation, the isolation and the scarcity of water and rain.
Segun Lawson, Chief executive of Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX.V THX) introduces the company to Proactive telling Andrew Scott they're a gold explorer with a particular focus on early stage projects in West Africa.
Lawson discusses in detail their assets in Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso and what plans they've got in store for driving them forward.
''80% of our business is tech, delivering specialists, software developers, support and maintenance engineers and programme directors for our clients'', says Albert Ellis, chief executive of Harvey Nash PLC (LON:HVN).
''We're the only business that we're aware of that does executive search ... all the way down to individuals in database management and administration areas''.
This half year, Nash reported a steady performance overall in the UK even with the unsettling effect of the election and changes to the tax treatment of freelancers working in the public sector.
Appscatter Group PLC (LON:APPS) CEO Philip Marcella and Sales Director Jason Hill tell Proactive Investors they're a B2B SaaS platform focusing on the distribution of apps across multiple stores.
''You can also manage your sales reports, you can look at your analytics ... it's really what we classify as a distribution platform''.
The group raised £9mln when it joined AIM in June to fund a commercial ramp-up of its platform following three years of research and development work.
Christiaan Jordaan, managing director of Mustang Resources (ASX:MUS) tells Proactive he's incredibly excited ahead of their maiden ruby auction in Mauritius next month.
The firm recently announced they're on track to offer more than 300,000 carats at the event after a highly successful production ramp-up at the their Montepuez Project.
Keith Bush, chief executive of Cabot Energy PLC (LON:CAB) tells Proactive they're on track for production of between 800-1,000 barrels per day from Canada by the end of 2017.
A 23 well workover programme has boosted Canadian production to 600-700 barrels gross daily while sidetrack and completions should add a further 200-250 barrels.
Civita, in Italy, meanwhile, is producing the equivalent of 130 barrels per day.
Allergy Therapeutics plc’s (LON:AGY) finance director Nick Wykeman and chief executive Manuel Llobet tell Proactive it's been another year of strong growth for the company.
Operating profits (pre-research and development expenditure) rose 72% in the 12 months to June 30 on revenues of £64.1mln, up 32%.
Allergy, which saw its market share grow by a percentage point to 13%, is in a strong financial position, with £22.1mln in the bank.
Giulio Cesareo, chief executive of Directa Plus Plc (LON:DCTA) caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott on the back of their interims.
Cesareo says he's expecting a much stronger second half following on from the commercial progress they've made in the opening six months of the year.
Revenues fell to €0.3mln (H1 2016: €0.4mln) due to a reduction in volume of sales into the bicycle tyre market, but Directa expects to double that figure in the second half.
Giulio Cesareo also discusses their new supply contract with Alfredo Grassi for G+ that is expected to net the company €0.6mln over the next 18 months.
Anthony Coombs, chairman of S & U Plc (LON:SUS) tells Proactive they've enjoyed another strong half year for their car finance arm Advantage and is expecting demand to remain strong.
Applications and transactions in the half year to July were both up around 20% on a year ago, at a record 440,000 and 12,542 respectively.
Randeep Grewal, chief executive of Greka Drilling Limited (LON:GDL) discusses what's been described as a “well-balanced” trading performance in their half yearly results.
The drill contractor reported a 38% increase in first half revenue, up to US$3.6mln in the six months to 30 June, from US$2.6mln in the same period of last year, as it completed twelve wells in the half versus ten in the comparative period.
Ahmet Dik, chief executive of Victoria Oil & Gas PLC (LON:VOG) tells Proactive it's a massive day for them with the news of ‘first gas’ from their new well at the Logbaba field.
Well LA-107 has now been classified as a production well following a successful testing programme.
Roger Murphy, chief executive of Sula Iron & Gold PLC (LON:SULA) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they hit 19.3 grams per tonne over 1.2 metres in one hole in the Southern target at Ferensola in Sierra Leone, where four holes out of six in the latest phase of drilling have hit mineralisation.
They also hit intervals of 8.6 grams over two metres and 7.5 grams over 0.7 metres at the Sanama Hill target on Ferensola.
On top of this a regional soil sampling programme designed to investigate structural targets shows anomalous gold grades to the northeast of Sanama Hill and so provides a low cost means to highlight new untested gold zones.
Ray Anderson, chief executive of Bango plc (LON:BGO), caught up with Proactive on the back of their interims for the six months to June 2017.
The mobile payments group revealed it ended the first half of 2017 with enough cash to fund it through to profitability.
The growth in end user spend (EUS) on the Bango platform continued, doubling to £92.31mln from £46.17mln in the first half of last year.
On the subject of the Internet of Things, Anderson says: ''There's a huge new area [for us] and we've been working on a few pilots ... a few trials and hopefully those pilots will see the light of day in a few months time''.
Mark Scanlon, chief executive of Personal Group Holdings PLC (LON:PGH) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their salary-sacrifice, insurance and digital software services.
''The world is changing technologically and the opportunity for us to deliver our service digitally is a new and evolving opportunity'', Scanlon says.
''With the proliferation of mobile phones we're able to deliver all of our services through an app - so we've built out our capability to be able to do that''
Scanlon adds: ''Employees of companies want to be able to make decisions like holiday booking or getting discounts perhaps at home ... so providing those services in a mobile fashion is what drove us to build this platform''.
Mark Scanlon, chief executive of Personal Group PLC (LON:PGH) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their salary-sacrifice, insurance and digital software services.
''The world is changing technologically and the opportunity for us to deliver our service digitally is a new and evolving opportunity'', Scanlon says.
''With the proliferation of mobile phones we're able to deliver all of our services through an app - so we've built out our capability to be able to do that''
Scanlon adds: ''Employees of companies want to be able to make decisions like holiday booking or getting discounts perhaps at home ... so providing those services in a mobile fashion is what drove us to build this platform''.
“Looking beyond 2017, Personal is in a strong position to make continued solid progress''.
Roger Murphy, chief executive of Sula Iron & Gold PLC (LON:SULA) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they hit 19.3 grams per tonne over 1.2 metres in one hole in the Southern target at Ferensola in Sierra Leone, where four holes out of six in the latest phase of drilling have hit mineralisation.
They also hit intervals of 8.6 grams over two metres and 7.5 grams over 0.7 metres at the Sanama Hill target on Ferensola.
On top of this a regional soil sampling programme designed to investigate structural targets shows anomalous gold grades to the northeast of Sanama Hill and so provides a low cost means to highlight new untested gold zones.
James Armstrong of Bluefield Partners - which acts as an adviser to the Bluefield Solar Income Fund - discusses with Proactive their UK assets and plans for growth.
Bluefield Solar has £600mln worth of assets under its control producing abut 440Mw of electricity or enough to power 134,000 homes.
They were one of the first of the sector’s trusts to list (in 2013) and since then has consistently paid out a dividend above its target of matching RPI inflation.
Toby Hall, chief executive of Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX), dropped into the Proactive studio to chat through the top level internet domain specialist's interim figures.
Hall says they're on course to deliver their maiden year of profitability as an operating business.
The first half of the year saw renewal billings nearly triple to US$3.1mln and renewal revenue more than double to the point where it accounted for 45% of revenue, compared to just 15% in the first half of 2016.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC), tells Proactive that drilling designed to link the Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky (IKEN) and Kubuk (KUB) deposits in Russia, has already identified a minimum 2,200 metres of new mineralisation along ISK, the three kilometre exploration anomaly.
Newly acquired drill results are expected to materially increase the current resource, which stands at 770,000 tonnes of nickel and 207,000 tonnes of copper.
Phil Reason, chief executive Instem Plc (LON:INS), caught up with Proactive to discuss their first half 2017 numbers.
Total revenues were up 13% to £10.3m (H1 2016: £9.1m) while recurring revenues saw a nice increase of 23% to £6.5m (H1 2016: £5.3m).
Mitchell Smith, president and chief executive of Global Energy Metals Corp (CVE:GEMC) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their "transformational" acquisition of an option from Hammer Metals for the Millenium cobalt-copper project in Queensland, Australia.
The property covers five separate mining leases with an existing JORC compliant mineral resource defined by drilling from a 2016 programme.
Millennium is the firm 's first acquisition to complement its wholly-owned Canadian primary cobalt project.
Tim Dyson, chief executive of Next Fifteen Communications PLC (LON:NFC) tells Proactive the performance of their recent acquisitions has seen the digital communications group notch up another period of double-digit revenue growth.
Back in July Next 15 snapped up B2B content marketing agency Velocity and B2B market research consultancy Circle, while earlier this month it acquired Elvis – an integrated digital agency.
There was also news of another acquisition today, with market research specialist Charterhouse joining the ranks.
Mark Scott, chief executive of Cello Group plc (CLL) dropped into the Proactive studio to add some extra detail to the firm's interim results for the six months to June 2017.
Scott said he's confident of meeting full-year market expectations after a solid first half.
The Cello Health unit led the way as it grew organically and via the acquisition of Defined Health for £15mln in February, which cements its focus on the US.
It also bought Advantage Health for £1.1mln after the period-end.
Tom Becker, chief executive of Iofina PLC (LON:IOF), discusses the firm's interim results for the six months to the end of June 2017.
Becker says he's confident they can improve profitability and revenue as they take advantage of an improved iodine marketplace.
Spot prices have risen 25% to US$24 per kg since the start of the year and continue to head north, and moving forward, the group will increase output but at lower unit costs.
David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources Plc (LON: SAV) tells Proactive they've begun a second round of reverse circulation drilling at the Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal.
The aim is to define a JORC resource.
Drilling will focus on the NOA deposit and targeting potential extensions to the significant zones of mineralisation identified at Grandao and Reservatorio in recent drilling.
Joao Andrade and Alan Greenberg of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) discuss with Proactive their plans to develop a software platform that both educates and keeps medical professionals and parents up to date on new treatments and developments.
A commercial launch is targeted for the first quarter of next year. Annual membership will start at £120 per doctor/medical professional, while sponsors will be able to gain access to the Premium Platform.
Nigel Redwood, chief executive of Nasstar Plc (LON:NASA) tells Proactive revenues jumped by almost 50% in the first half as they started to see the benefits of their recently-introduced strategic plan.
‘Nasstar 10-19’ is a plan to increase underlying profit [EBITDA] margins from 20% to 25% of revenue by the end of 2019 and concentrate the strategic focus.
Part of the plan is to also boost its own product range and consolidate some of its data centres to reduce costs and increase stability.
Sam Spring, president and chief executive of Kincora Copper Ltd (CVE:KCC), tells Proactive they've entered into a subscription agreement for a second tranche of units with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to raise C$1.4mln.
Following on from the first tranche which which closed on August 22nd - it takes the total gross funds raised to C$5.92mln.
Spring also updates on drilling which is ongoing at their East Tsagaan Suvarga target.
Dr Kevin Matthews, chief executive of Itaconix Plc (LON:ITX) tells Proactive they're starting to see the benefits of their March reboot to focus on polymers.
Revenues and gross profits in the first half of 2017 beat those of the same period of 2016, while the company has been successful in lowering its cost base.
The business continues to work with a number of industry players, including funded collaborations, to develop new ingredients for a range of applications in its key markets of personal and consumer health care, home care and industrial products.
Laurence Read, executive director of Bezant Resources plc (LON:BZT), discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the sale of their first kilogramme of platinum and gold which was produced from the FKJ-083 licence area on the Choco project in Colombia.
The metals were extracted from the excavation and processing of the lower-grade material, including tailings and overburden, located on top of higher-grade gravels.
Marcus Englebrecht, chief executive of Stratex International PLC (LON:STI) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott he plans to 'vigorously defend' the Crusader merger which was announced back in May.
Opposition to the deal has taken the official form of a valid requisition to hold a general meeting, the date of which will be announced shortly and the purpose of which is to vote Englebrecht off the board, stop his proposed transaction and appoint new directors.
Mick Billing, executive chairman of Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) tells Proactive they've completed drilling at the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada - adding that mineralisation has been identified extending a further 60 metres down dip at Desert Scheelite.
Detailed logging of the drill core is now complete and samples submitted for laboratory assay.
Matthew Idiens, chief executive of Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) tells Proactive they're raising £3mln of new capital through a share issue, with the cash earmarked for programmes in the Paradox basin.
The funds will be used to complete the 3D seismic survey in Utah which will set up the group for future drill programmes.
The funds raised under the SPP will be applied towards the pre-feasibility study for the Rietfontein Gold Mine located in South Africa as well as drilling across multiple projects.
Blair Way, chief executive of Leading Edge Materials Corp (CVE:LEM), discusses with Proactive the positive results they've received back from testing of material from their Norra Karr heavy REE (rare earth element) deposit.
The research was completed under the European Commission-financed EURARE project and made significant technical milestones.
Rory Nealon, chief financial officer at Amryt Pharma PLC (LON:AMYT) tells Proactive they're raising €15mln in an oversubscribed share placing – partly to fund the pre-launch costs of a drug for a rare skin condition.
Together with existing cash, the proceeds will be used to bankroll the ongoing phase III trial of AP101, a potential treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa.
Steve Hughes, VP of exploration at Asiamet Resources PLC (LON:ARS) says drilling's begun on the readily accessible BKZ prospect in Indonesia, a stand-alone high value polymetallic target, located less than 800 meters north of the feasibility-stage BKM copper deposit.
A total five holes are planned and first assays are expected by end September.
Randeep Grewal, chairman of Green Dragon Gas Ltd (LON:GDG) tells Proactive that the state-backed China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is accelerating plans for the group’s joint assets.
Green Dragon's now finalised a memorandum of understanding with CNOOC subsidiary, China United Coalbed Methane Corporation (CUCBM), over five production sharing agreements and two supplementary agreements – all of which cover the Shizhuang South (GSS) and Shizhuang North (GSN) projects.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've agreed to the disposal of their Mozambique forestry interests but will retain a stake in a limestone deposit in the country.
Roach also discusses the continued wait for assays at Zulu and the expectation of profitable, full production at RHA by the end of the year.
Tlou Energy Limited's (LON:TLOU) managing director Tony Gilby and executive director Gabaake Gabaake discuss with Proactive's Andrew Scott their submission of a response to the Botswana government’s Request for Proposal (RFP) regarding a proposed coal bed methane project.
Tlou was one of two companies to submit responses to the government’s RFP, and the submission will be assessed against eligibility, technical and funding criteria.
Jamal Rushdy, chief executive of Collagen Solutions PLC (LON:COS) tells Proactive they're now putting together the results of a retrospective, eight-year study of its ‘scaffold’ product that helps fix cartilage defects in the knee.
The 15 patients whose results are being analysed took part in a 2009/10 trial.
Jonathan Satchell, chief executive of Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG), discusses with Proactive Investors the firm's expectation-beating interim results.
Underlying profit (EBITDA) from the company, which is at the forefront of the ed-tech revolution, was £4.1mln, up 41% on the year earlier.
Revenues were up a third at £17.6mln, while LTG is paying a half-time dividend 0.09p a share, up 29%.
Cobus Loots, chief executive of Pan African Resources plc (LON:PAF) tells Proactive he's anticipating a better twelve months ahead after a number of operational challenges cut profits in the year just ended.
Shaft repairs have been completed at Evander Mines with a substantial increase in gold production expected to be the result.
The other core mine, Barberton, meanwhile is currently mining high-grade panels in its Fairview 11-block and is likely to contribute substantially to their 2018 production guidance.
BitSpread's Cedric Jeanson discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the fund's investment strategy.
''BitSpread was built four years ago with the emergence of a new asset class, Bitcoin and we thought it was a very interesting technology which not a lot of people were considering as an investment they'd go for'', Jeanson says.
''We thought, okay, what are we going to do with that.''
''It seems to be a nice investment but is the price of Bitcoin going to go up or down - we had absolutely no clue''.
''So we built a strategy which is market neutral which we've been running now for a couple of years'', he adds.
Mark Scott, chief executive of Cello Group plc (LON:CLL) tells Proactive they're confident of meeting full-year market expectations after a solid first half.
The Cello Health unit led the way as it grew organically and via the acquisition of Defined Health for £15mln in February, which cements its focus on the US.
Michael Masterman, chairman of W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) sat down with Proactive's Andrew Scott for an extended Q+A on La Parilla funding, construction plans as well as developments as to the separate listing of their gold asset in Portugal.
Masterman also added further detail to their news out this morning that they've received a two-year extension to their Tarouca tungsten project in Portugal.
The licence will now expire on 23 March 2019.
During this period, W Resources expects to complete a 15 hole/1,500m reverse circulation drilling campaign.
Carnarvon Petroleum (ASX:CVN) is focused on Australia's most prolific oil & gas region, the North West Shelf off Western Australia.
Stephen O'Hara, chief executive of OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI), tells Proactive they're to launch an improved version of their weight loss product Slimbiome at a major US trade fair at the end of the month.
Optibiotix already has US product registration for Slimbiome, which is a patented combination of natural ingredients, and will launch the new version at the Supply Side West trade show where it will be exhibited with Cereal Ingredients Inc, a potential joint development partner.
In a wide-ranging discussion O'Hara also brought Proactive up to speed on developments with LPLDL - another of their innovations that is gaining market traction.
OptiBiotix struck a profit-sharing deal with Italian firm Sacco to manufacture and supply the cholesterol-reducing compound and the first sales of the product were made to HLH BioPharma Vertriebs.
Bob Vale, chief executive of ClearStar Inc (LON:CLSU) tells Proactive they achieved record half-year revenues in the first six months of 2017.
In its interims, Clearstar highlighted sustained momentum in growing the customer base.
Sales from direct channels rose to US$2.3mln from US$1.9mln, driven by strong demand from the transportation industry as well as home healthcare.
Dr Mohamed Farouk, chief executive of ADES International PLC (LON:ADES), outlines to Proactive the Egypt-based driller's strategy and plans for growth.
“We buy unwanted or legacy oil rigs, refurbish and use them to become the lowest price drilling contractor in the Middle East market while offering operational excellence and safety,” Farouk says.
At present, ADES has fourteen rigs on its books and utilisation - which is key for drilling contractors - has always been high at about 90%.
Ross Clarkson, president and CEO of TransGlobe Energy Corporation (TSX:TGL; NASDAQ:TGA) chats with Proactive's Andrew Scott about the group's assets in Canada and Egypt.
''We've been in business 22 years, I created the company and we have been active explorers and developers for that period of time'', Clarkson says.
Kevin Nephin, president and chief executive of Kestrel Gold Inc (CVE:KGC) discusses with Proactive some of their recent and very impressive gold sampling results - upwards of 100 grams per tonne - from their Clear Creek property in the Yukon.
Clear Creek is in highly prospective country, just 60 kilometres west of Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold project and 55 kilometres south of Golden Predator’s Brewery Creek project.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford looks ahead to the 19th Chinese Party Congress and the possible effect it'll have on the markets.
Ford mentions Shore Capital analyst Yuen Low and his suspicion that certain Chinese demand figures are being massaged in the run up to it..
''We're different from estate agents - it's a crowd funding site and we're just actually launching that regulatory site later this month'', Toni Miller, chief executive of Newhomescrowd tells Proactive.
''We're very much a subsidiary of Red Ribbon Asset Management so of course a lot of our clients are coming from India - also a lot of clients are coming over from Africa as well''.
''We have pretty much a ready-made client base who are enthusiastic buyers really coming into the UK'', Miller says.
Gerard Kisbey-Green, chief executive of Goldplat PLC (LON:GDP) stopped by the Proactive Investors studio to chat through their results for the year to the end of June 2017.
The company produced 42,857 ounces of gold during the year, up 13.7% year-on-year and due in part to the successful implementation of a turnaround strategy at the Kilimapesa gold mine.
John Arnold, chief executive of Circle Property plc (LON:CRC), tells Proactive they specialise in out-of-town offices and are particularly strong in the provinces.
''We've been investing in Bristol, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Birmingham ... all the locations where there's good demand from tenants, where the location justifies the risk of doing refurbishment''.
Vincent Algar, managing director, said that the resource upgrade further strengthened Gabanintha’s position as a world-class vanadium project in the size and grade of the resource.
Nick Barker of GCP Student Living PLC (LON:DIGS) introduces the student accommodation fund to Proactive.
Focused predominantly on London they provide purpose built properties to a mix of both local and international students.
The group has eight sites in and around the capital with 3,000 rooms all of which were fully booked over the year to June.
Peter Shaw, chief executive of DP Poland Plc (LON:DPP) tells Proactive they're on track to open their fiftieth store next month as it continues its drive towards to critical mass.
The AIM-quoted company, which has the exclusive right to operate the Domino’s Pizza brand in Poland, now has 48 stores in the eastern European country after opening 13 over the past 9 months or so.
Ralph Rushton, executive vice president of exploration at Prospero Silver Corp (CVE:PSL) updates on recent drilling at their Matorral project.
They drilled just under 1,400m in 3 holes with their partner Fortuna Silver Mines.
He says the program went very smoothly with none of the technical glitches that can be encountered.
Rushton also looks ahead to their upcoming drilling at the El Petate project which is due to get underway shortly.
Philippe Odouard, managing director for XTEK, brings Proactive's Andrew Scott up to speed with the homeland security specialist's latest developments and plans for growth.
In July they formally signed a contract to supply small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Under the agreement, XTEK will be the prime contractor and will deliver a range of products worth around A$42 million to the ADF over three years, beginning next July.
The AIM Journal's Andrew Hore discusses Clinigen Group PLC's (LON:CLIN) acquisition of fellow AIM-listed speciality pharma Quantum Pharma PLC (LON:QP.) after the two agreed a £150mln cash-plus-shares deal.
Hore also talks through Pennant International Group plc (LON:PEN) and Midwich Group Plc (LON:MIDW) who've both been reporting interims this week.
Andrew rounds off on Proactis Holdings Plc (LON:PHD) and their merger with Perfect Commerce - a move which has widened their services as well as their geographical reach.
Proactive Investors' Tom Howard reports on JD Wetherspoon PLC's (LON:JDW) full year results.
The numbers were in-line with what the company had forecast earlier in the summer when it lifted expectations not once but twice.
Like-for-like sales in the 12 months ended 30 July increased by 4% which was at the top end of guidance. Total revenues came in at £1.66bn (2016: £1.60bn), with rising food sales a key driver.
Boss Tim Martin also had a message for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker telling him to take a “wise-up pill” if he wants to avoid further economic damage to some struggling countries on the continent.
Andrew Lloyd, president of Corero Network Security PLC (LON:CNS) talks Proactive through the firm's results for the six months to the end of June 2017.
Lloyd also discusses what they've described as a ''significant contract win'' with a pharmaceutical company for their flagship SmartWall Threat Defense System.
Julian Treger, chief executive of Anglo Pacific Group plc (LON:APF TSX:APY) tells Proactive they've broadened their portfolio with the acquisition of a royalty on a nickel-cobalt mine in Brazil.
Initially, the royalty specialist will pay Brazilian Nickel Limited US$2mln for a 1% gross revenue royalty (GRR) on the Piauí nickel – cobalt project in the north-east of the country.
Paul Baay, president and chief executive of Touchstone Exploration Inc. (LON:TXP TSX:TXP), tells Proactive Investors they're looking to drill a further four wells this year in Trinidad after a programme earlier this year boosted production by more than predicted.
The Aim and Canada-listed group made total sales in July and August of 1,349 and 1,591 barrels per day respectively.
Shaun Chilton, chief executive of Clinigen Group PLC (LON:CLIN) tells Proactive they're closing in on the acquisition of fellow AIM-listed specialty pharma Quantum Pharma PLC (LON:QP.) after the two agreed a £150mln cash-plus-shares deal.
The offer, which has been recommended by Quantum to its shareholders, will see Clinigen pay 37p in cash and 0.0405 new Clinigen shares for each Quantum share.
Proactive Investors chats to Pierre Fourie, the new chief executive of the alluvial diamond miner Golden Saint Resources PLC (LON:GSR).
Fourie says he's excited to be joining the team mainly because the diamond licences they have are 'quite good' licences and they deserve the right team to develop them.
Tom Becker, chief executive of Iofina plc (LON:IOF) tells Proactive their newest iodine production plant will be called IO#7 and will be built in the core area of the company’s current Oklahoma operations.
The new plant will be based around the existing IO#3 plant, which was hitherto Iofina’s highest cost per kilo plant.
As IO#7, though, the new plant will have similar production capabilities and cost structure to Iofina’s lowest per kilo production cost plant.
James Barder, chief executive of Futura Medical plc. (LON:FUM) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've had a very productive six months as their breakthrough erectile dysfunction gel moves closer to its phase III study.
A mid-stage trial last September showed that MED2002 – as the gel is formally known – gets to work quicker than its competitors and has a favourable safety profile.
Futura also has its CSD500 erectogenic condom which was launched in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year.
They were dealt a blow by one its licensing partners, Church & Dwight Co Inc (NYSE:CHD), in August after it terminated its licensing agreement for CSD500 following a strange of strategy.
Bruno Jactel, chief executive of Tyratech, Inc. (LON:TYR LON:TYRU) tells Proactive their products outperformed a recovering US head lice market in the first half of 2017.
Like-for-like sales of the Vamousse head lice product are outstripping the market in the US, contributing to a handy increase in first half revenues to US$4.3mln from US$4.1mln in the first half of last year.
The company, still in the growth stage of its development, slashed losses from operation to US$711,000 from US$1.52mln the previous year.
Haris Chaudhry, executive chairman of InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP) tells Proactive the company’s financial performance has exceeded nearly every benchmark set, propelled by its Skinny Tan bronzer and sculpting product.
Revenues more than doubled at almost £8.9mln for the period ended June 30 as pre-tax profit soared by 325% to £1.03mln.
Patrick Cheetham, executive chairman of Sunrise Resources Plc (LON:SRES), tells Proactive preliminary testing of drill samples at the CS Project in Nevada have confirmed thick intervals of pozzolan and perlite.
A number of meetings have been held with potential US customers for both perlite and pozzolan and samples are being readied to be submitted to interested parties for their internal laboratory testing.
John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited (LON:JLEN), has been a fine performer since it listed but Chris Tanner, executive director, is now looking at new areas such of the renewables sector to broaden its appeal even more.
Ben Crawford, chief executive of CentralNic Group PLC (LON:CNIC) chats through the group's first half results as well as the news they've renewed their exclusive wholesaler contract with XYZ.com - the owner of the .xyz Top-Level Domain until 2032.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford discusses the continued strength of gold and the health of the US economy.
He also touches on the wider context - using Black Iron Inc (TSE:BKI) as an example.
''Black Iron's an interesting case and point ... if you put aside the media reports and the geopolitical fears, the economic situation is relatively healthy and the Iron Ore price has been shooting back up from lows it hit last year'', Ford says.
''Black Iron has a very useful project in Ukraine that actually was only de-railed by Russian President Putin's invasion of Ukraine''.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott drilling this summer has confirmed the presence of another massive nickel deposit at their Kun-Manie licence in Far East Russia.
A 20,000m drill campaign showed that the Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky and Kubuk targets are likely to be a single deposit of more than 4km in length and possibly as much as 5km.
John Deane, chief executive of Chesnara PLC (LON:CSN) discusses with Proactive their first half performance.
Interim figures revealed the transformational impact its latest acquisition had on the firm as they unveiled a leap in profits and cash generation.
One of the main drivers behind the momentum was Legal & General Nederland, which has since been renamed Scildon and was bought earlier this year for £137.5mln.
The business generated almost £43mln, which allowed it to pay a dividend of 7 pence a share, up 2.9% on the same period 12 months ago.
Toby Hall, chief executive of Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX), tells Proactive they've received the green light in Beijing to start selling the hugely popular internet signature.
They were one of ten businesses to gain authorisation in a market of 22 mln people and thousands of small and emerging businesses.
MMX says the latest permission will further “accelerate” their progress in the People’s Republic.
Bryan Dixon, managing director for Blackham Resources, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Roy Pitchford and Andrew Prelea of Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) tell Proactive's Andrew Scott they're hopeful mining will start by the end of the year at the Baita Plai mine in Romania following the grant of a right to mine licence.
Baita, the holder of the head licence at the site, chose Vast’s subsidiary African Consolidated Resources after a competitive process.
Robert McAllister, president and chief executive of Enertopia Corporation (CSE:TOP) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their latest Lithium acquisition in Clayton Valley, Nevada as well as the results from 16 samples which were sent for assay.
McAllister adds that early indications suggest there are at least two potential types of lithium enrichment on the property.
Guido Michelotti, chief executive of Cadogan Petroleum PLC (LON:CAD), tells Proactive first-half losses narrowed even though revenue fell due to a decline in gas trading.
Revenue from production at the Ukraine-focused firm more than doubled in the period.
For the six months to June 30, the AIM-listed firm reported a pre-tax loss of US$2.0mln, down from a US$3.1mln loss a year earlier.
John Peters, managing director of Strategic Minerals PLC (LON:SML), tells Proactive their wholly-owned subsidiary, Central Australian Rare Earths, has commenced the first phase of the 2017 Hanns Camp drilling programme.
Peters also talks through his move to double his stake in the company to 20 mln shares after exercising a portion of his currently vested options.
Plus, he adds more detail to a recently announced options programme designed to incentivise the Board and Management to target, over the next five years, a market capitalisation of £100 mln.
Proactive Investors sits down with BOS GLOBAL Holdings Limited's (LON:BOS) Global PMO director Bill Brooks who explains more about his role and the growing recognition of BOS Workforce Analytics.
''What's of paramount importance to the organisation as we speak is getting the foundations in place ... although we're chasing very large deals all aspects of our business need to have a solid foundation''.
Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) says they're seeing the financial rewards following a period of investment, new product launches and bolt-on acquisitions.
Paul Atherley, managing director of Berkeley Energia Limited (LON:BKY) tells Proactive they've arranged the finance to bring their Salamanca uranium project into production through a US$120mln convertible loan and option package with Oman’s sovereign wealth fund.
The deal will see Oman become a substantial shareholder in the company and have the opportunity to become an offtake partner.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford says North Korea’s firing of a missile into Japanese airspace has caused triple digit falls on the London stock exchange and caused gold to punch a hole in the psychological US$1,300 barrier.
Ford adds that President Trump’s reaction has been surprising to say the least. Trump has had Rex Tillerson condemn a “provocative act” and referred the incident to the UN.
José Luis Vázquez, chief executive of Mirada Plc (LON:MIRA) tells Proactive they've won a significant new contract for their Iris multiscreen product.
The customer is NASDAQ-listed ATN International Inc (ATNi), which operates in the US and Caribbean under trade names such as Comnet, Choice and GT&T.
Andrew's regular chat romps through industry chatter about minimum fundraising levels for AIM companies assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments on the both sides. One size certainly does not fit all but an element of regulation is needed to make the environment 'safer'..Andrew says. We also run through Empressaria's impressive set of new results as well as Warehouse REIT's prospectus ...which is out on offer soon. In other news, talk of a possible merger of Clinigen with Quantum Pharma has both parties thinking about the pluses such a deal may bring.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford explains how the turmoil engulfing the US political agenda is having a positive effect on gold prices. From tearing down Confederate statues to building a wall on its border with Mexico, which ever way investors look at it, the US is driving investors towards the yellow metal. The US debt ceiling has to addressed by the end of September, so what's interesting is that there's a fixed date in the calendar when Trump must decide whether to collapse the US government, if he is to drive his own agenda. Alastair reckons investors will be watching gold prices rise again as Trump's unpredictable tenure on the White House gives them further chances to speculate.
Internet media group Falcon Media House Digital PLC (LON:FAL) has bought for £8, and then cancelled, the Founder Share in the business which allowed its owner the right to appoint and remove directors from the business, providing a layer of protection that is now not required. Chief Executive Gert Rieder tells us “Following on from the recent purchase of the Quiptel Group and the re-admission of the enlarged group to trading on the London Stock Exchange, the board and the founder have agreed that this protection mechanism is no longer required." The move is described by Gert as essentially, a bit of 'corporate housekeeping or cleaning up'. “As the group works hard to develop its operations it follows that the shareholder base will also develop and the board believes that the acquisition and subsequent cancellation of the Founder Share marks an important milestone in this process."
CentralNic Group PLC (LON:CNIC) headed higher on Friday morning after the internet domain names specialist announced the €26mln acquisition of Slovakian counterpart SK-NIC and confirmed it is on track to hit full-year expectations. Ben Crawford CentralNic CEO tells us why his company is paying an initial €21.27mln for SK-NIC – which manages the top-level domain name, or country code, for Slovakia, .sk – plus up to a further €4.85mln in future milestone payments. The move is part of CentralNic’s strategy to expand into new territories and build up its product offering. AIM-quoted CentralNic said the purchase, which is set to complete next month, would be double-digit earnings-enhancing in the first full year of ownership.
Pharmaxis Ltd (ASX:PXS) has received an €18 million (A$27M) milestone payment following Boehringer Ingelheim initiating a European/North American Phase IIa trial into liver disease, which currently affects about a quarter of the world's general adult population. The Pharmaxis-invented drug will start with a 12 week Phase IIa proof of clinical principle study in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with results emerging in the middle of next year. Gary Phillips, Chief Executive Office for Pharmaxis tells us how partnering with big-hitter Boehringer means blue skies are ahead for the Pharmaxis growth strategy adding "Today’s announcement of the start of this Phase IIa clinical trial for NASH is excellent news and is very significant for Pharmaxis. We have a strong cash balance and there are lots of reasons people should get into the stock."
Brand new oil and gas acquisition company Pulse Oil (CVE:PUL) has only just gone public and is already building quite a reputation while leaving lots of room to grow.
With assets in Queensland, Alberta CEO Garth Johnson tells us how he aims to grow Pulse Oil significantly from now on.
Pulse raised C$4.8mln in the first tranche of its placing. They didn't close the second tranche of financing but instead decided to work with strategic partners and larger investors.
Impressive executive and operational teams are steering Pulse now through low cost drilling, low cost production and low cost acquisitions through the rest of this year and Garth says he's determined to turn a profit by speeding up operations to increase production.
Platinum group metals and chrome producer Tharisa (LON:THS) is reflecting on it's new five year agreement to supply 240,000 tonnes of metallurgical- grade chrome concentrate to the Chinese for its huge stainless steels industry. CEO Phoevos Pouroulis told us the deal represents about 25% of Tharisa production and he said, ''Its been encouraging to note that spot chrome prices have increased on the back of stainless steel production improvements". Tharisa has been working with TISCO, an existing Chinese partner for years and this is a natural progression for them within the industry.
Max Liszkowski, CFO for iplayco Corp Ltd (CVE:IPC), discusses with Proactive the firm's Q3 numbers.
Sales in the three months to the end of June rose to C$5.51mln from C$4.61mln in the same period of last year.
Net income of C$438,936 in the quarter was also better than expected, and marked a sharp increase from C$98,610 in the same period of 2016.
Mark Morabito, chief executive of Logan Resources Ltd (CVE:LGR) tells Proactive they've now completed the initial earn-in on four gold properties in Nevada.
Logan has satisfied the conditions of an option agreement with Liberty Gold signed back in July of last year and has earned a 51% participating interest in the properties known as Brik, Viper, Antelope and Easter.
Logan now has the option to earn a participating interest of up to 80% on the four properties.
The first ever gas-to-power mining licence to be granted in Botswana has sent TLOU ENERGY (LON:TLOU) shares jumping as the Lesedi coalbed methane project moves from appraisal to development. TLOU ENERGY CEO Tony Gilby explains how the thorough appraisal process has derisked implementing the development stage of the project which can now begin. The issuing of the licence will pioneer a new and exciting natural CBM gas industry in Botswana leading to much-needed investment and local employment. It also bodes well for another proposal still in the pipeline for a CBM-fuelled pilot power project.
James Barder, chief executive of Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) tells Proactive Church & Dwight Co Inc has given formal notice that it intends to terminate its licensing agreement for the UK firm’s CSD500 erectogenic condom and is to return all commercialisation rights.
The agreement covered manufacturing, marketing and distribution rights to CSD500 in North America and certain countries in Europe.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) tells Proactive they've increased their holding in a company developing an Ethiopian potash project worth US$2.8bn.
Premier’s deal may on the face of it look modest – it is has acquired a 1% stake in Circum Minerals for US$1.36mln.
But it says it now has a “meaningful” 5.2% interest in the company.
The vendor was Sabona Investment who was paid in shares.
Neville Upton, chief executive of Gfinity PLC (LON:GFIN) discusses the detail of the deal they've just inked with Formula 1 which'll see them become the official partner to help deliver its upcoming ESports Series.
The competition – which gets underway next month – will see gamers from around the globe compete to become the number one virtual F1 driver.
Julian Treger and Kevin Flynn of Anglo Pacific Group plc (LON:APF) caught up with Proactive to discuss the firm's first half results.
The mining royalty business reported a 300% jump in free cash flow to £18.9mln in the six months ended 30 June, compared to the same period a year earlier, including an impact of the Denison financing arrangement of £3.3bn.
Royalty income shot up 295% to £16.1mln with a record performance at the Maracás Menchen project in Brazil due to strong production and a significant improvement in vanadium prices to an average of US$5.46 per pound from US$3.15 last year.
Keith Allaun, chairman of PowerHouse Energy Group PLC (LON:PHE) tells Proactive an extended trial of their waste-to-power system has returned some encouraging results.
Their G3-UHt unit used a feedstock of tyre crumb as part of the extended trial at the Energy Centre of Thornton Science Park in Cheshire.
Enrico Cesenni, chief executive of Myanmar Strategic Holdings PLC (LON:SHWE) chats with Proactive's Andrew Scott as the firm begun trading in London.
They've raised US$4.2mln to fund a chain of upmarket hostels and language schools in the former Burma.
Currently the group runs four hostels, in Bagan (2), Mandalay and Inle Lake, three of the country’s most popular tourist destinations.
Budget rooms are in limited supply in Myanmar and tourist demand is booming.
Richard Poulden, chief executive of Wishbone Gold PLC (LON:WSBN) catches up with Proactive Investors to explain some of the detail around their recently announced new funding deal with institutional investors - arranged by RiverFort Global Capital.
The arrangement comprises a £800,000 share subscription and a separate equity sharing agreement. Up to US$2mln of investment potentially comes from YA II PN Ltd, arranged by RiverFort, with an initial drawdown of US$400,000. Share warrants were also issued as part of the new arrangement.
Funding to one side Poulden also discusses the potential roll out to other countries of their Honduras mining model.
''It's a model that works really well for this sector'', he says.
Richard Poulden, chairman of PCG Entertainment PLC (LON:PCGE) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through what's been, as he describes, 'an insanely problematic' 6-12 months.
Looking to the future they've now raised £1mln from a syndicate of institutional investors as they explore a “number of possible avenues” to broaden the business.
Stephen O'Hara, chief executive of OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) tells Proactive they're extending a key manufacturing and supply agreement.
They're broadening their European tie-up with Italian food company Sacco, signed in March, to cover the US and rest of the world.
Michael Travia, managing director of BOS GLOBAL Holdings Limited (LON:BOS) tells Proactive they've landed two significant deals for their BOS Time enterprise product.
The biggest is with a Santa Clara, California, software services company, which has taken 200 licences.
A further 50 licences have been taken by an India-based software development firm.
Giulio Cesareo, chief executive of Directa Plus Plc (LON:DCTA) tells Proactive they've hired textiles industry veteran Luca Provolo as their new head of sales.
He has worked at W.L. Gore & Associates – the company behind ‘technologically-advanced’ materials such as GORE-TEX and Windstopper – for over 25 years.
Before his career in the textiles industry, Provolo worked for a ceramics company where he was responsible for developing new markets in Southeast Asia.
Roger Murphy, chief executive of Sula Iron and Gold PLC (LON:SULA) adds more detail to the news they're raising £900,000 at 0.146p per share.
The net proceeds of the subscription are expected to fund the company's exploration activities at its Ferensola gold project in Sierra Leone well into 2018.
As part of the financing and to maximise funds available for exploration, the board has agreed to a 50 per cent reduction in its salaries until December 2017.
Mick Billing, executive chairman of Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) (ASX:THR), talks through the “very positive” preliminary results from the first drill hole at Good Hope - the company's wholly-owned Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada.
Toby Pierce, chief executive of the New Zealand and Australia-focused TAG Oil Ltd (TSE:TAO) talks Proactive through their Q1 update ending June 2017.
The producer reported output for the three months of 1,169 boe/d (barrels of oil equivalent per day) (77% oil) compared to 1,218 boe/d for the preceding quarter (to end March).
This was largely down to a 10 year plant inspection and recertification that took production offline for eight days in April.
Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, tells Proactive that airlines bore the brunt of a risk-off turn on the open this morning with shares in Ryanair, IAG, Air France KLM, Lufthansa and EasyJet all slumping following the terror attacks in Spain.
Wilson adds that airlines are already dealing with a price war and several have warned about the second half.
He says the attacks in Spain will do nothing to help and will likely hit earnings.
Vincent Algar, managing director for Australian Vanadium, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the recent violence in Charlottesville in the US, the ongoing war of words between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un and the impact they've had on the gold price.
Gold aside, Ford says should there be a nuclear event people will need power and electricity storage ... which is where Lithium comes in.
He says it'll likely be used to create batteries to power homes independently and off-grid.
''Should the situation become fraught and dangerous a lot of the people who like to withdraw from the federal government ... will be buying large lithium batteries to power their homes independently of all interference and hoping to live a life of liberty and justice''.
Neville Upton, chief executive of Gfinity Plc (LON:GFIN) explains to Proactive's Andrew Scott the increasing appeal around eSports and their involvement in the space.
''It's the fastest growing form of entertainment - video games - and eSports is a part of that'', Upton says.
''It's growing very, very quickly and for many people under 30 this is a major part of their life''.
''There's also a perception that it's somehow kids in bedrooms but it's simply not that ... over half of people who compete or watch these competitions have got jobs, are married ... it's very, very mainstream''.
Neville Upton adds: ''I think the reason why people haven't cotton on to it is that a lot of the decision-makers are over 30 but people are getting more and more aware of it''.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford looks back on what's been a busy few weeks for Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON:BMN).
They've announced they're moving forward with plans for a vanadium electrolyte plant in South Africa after a study predicted battery demand is set to soar.
They've also started work on an AIM listing for its tin business, Greenhills Resources.
Kevin Foo, executive chairman of Victoria Oil & Gas plc (LON:VOG) discusses with Proactive the firm's Logbaba drilling update.
La-107, which will be flow tested soon, should be in production by the end of next month, supplying the country’s second city and industrial hub, Douala.
''Great news today ... 600 patients was the intention, we reached 500 and the statisticians have told us that's enough'', says Nick Stevens, chief executive at Stone Checker Ltd, which is part of the Flying Brands Ltd (LON:FBDU) group.
''They have it in the bag, they have enough data and we can move forward with the regulatory process''.
Stevens adds they're hoping to be selling Stone Checker in the UK by the end of the year.
Bill Morgan, chief financial officer for Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their update to the resource estimate for the Ugur gold deposit on the Gedabek licence area.
Ugur remains on track to commence production in September 2017, as mining and haulage of ore to the processing facility stockpile are planned to commence before the end of August 2017.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) tells Proactive that regional targeting across their Paterson project area in Western Australia has highlighted the potential for a new iron oxide copper gold ore (ICOG) district.
Approximately fifty IOCG targets have been identified by the company in the broader region, with around half located in ground held by Greatland.
Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) tells Proactive they've secured a new five-year contract from an existing customer.
The customer, which operates in the bone mineral densitometry sector, intends to incorporate Kromek’s cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)-based detector modules in a new medical diagnostics product.
Jamie Boyton, chairman of Capital Drilling Ltd (LON:CAPD) tells Proactive a sharp rise in revenues helped the firm return to profitability in the first half of the year.
The AIM-listed drilling solutions company saw revenues for the six months ended 30 June jump 49% to US$62.3mln (H1 2016: US$41.7mln).
That helped it swing to a post-tax profit of US$2.6mln (H1 2016: Loss of US$0.8mln).
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH, ASX:EMH) tells Proactive he's pleased with the first assay results from its infill drilling programme at the Cinovec lithium-tin project.
Infill drilling continues in the south-west section of the deposit, targeting two gaps in the resource model that could be potentially targeted for mining in the initial years.
So far, five out of six planned holes have been drilled this year, and test results (assays) have been received for the first of them, drill hole CIS-4.
Randeep Grewal, chairman of Greka Drilling Ltd (LON:GDL) talks Proactive through their two new drill contracts with PetroChina Huabei Oilfield Limited, for coal-bed methane blocks in Shanxi Province.
The China-focussed drilling and well services contractor estimates that the new contracts will be worth at least US$2mln.
Laurence Read, executive director of Bezant Resources plc (LON:BZT) tells Proactive they've achieved the first commercial gold and platinum production at their Choco project in Colombia.
The milestone's been reached within two months of plant commissioning.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Ltd (LON:PREM) updates Proactive's Andrew Scott on the wait for the Zulu assay results.
''The excitement is definitely building - the intersections we're seeing, the continuous and ongoing drilling that's happening at Zulu is all very exciting''.
Roach also discusses the latest at RHA and says the wheels are in motion towards a PEA for the project.
Cameron Parry, chief executive of Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) tells Proactive preliminary results from the feasibility study being run on the Jonnagiri gold project in India show that the project has the potential to be an economically robust mine.
Joao Andrade, chief executive of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) talks Proactive through their £750,000 fundraise as the regenerative medicines specialist looks to further its penetration of the rapidly growing stem cell market.
Elaine Darby, managing director for AusCann Group Holdings, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Akers Biosciences Inc (LON:AKR, NASDAQ:AKER) chief executive John Gormally and vice chairman and co-founder Ray Akers discuss with Proactive's Andrew Scott the firm's first half progress.
The heparin breath test is the company's lead product; however the company’s OxiChek device for oxidative stress is also gaining traction.
As well as the PIFA Heparin and OxiChek lines, the company has developed BreathScan Lync, a new blue-tooth enabled device that allows users to track results from its OxiChek product via smartphone.
They're also currently manufacturing an initial order for First Check Diagnostics, which is the sole US distributor for a rapid cholesterol self-test.
Jim Walchuk, chief executive of Zinc One Resources Inc (CVE:Z), introduces the company and outlines their upcoming drill plans for the Bongara zinc mine and the associated Charlotte Bongara zinc project in Peru.
Zinc One also has a more longer-term asset - the Scotia project located in the Scotia River area of west central British Columbia
Paul Rennie, chief executive for Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Steve Fenerty, finance director at H & T Group PLC (LON:HAT) talks Proactive through the pawnbroker's interim results.
Profit before tax in the first half of 2017 rose 62.2% to £6.0mln from £3.7mln the year before.
Gold purchasing profits increased to £1.8mln from £1.5mln the previous year, on the back of increased volumes of gold scrapped, up 47.7% to £6.5mln from £4.4mln.
Revenue rose to £49.05mln from £42.39mln in the corresponding period of 2016, with growth seen in all key segments.
Steve Curtis, chief executive of Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL) tells Proactive they produced just over 25,000 ounces of gold in the first half of 2017, at an all-in sustaining cost of US$856 per ounce.
However, on-mine costs per ounce did rise as grades fell and certain logistical constraints underground restricted output.
Bernie Stosak, chief executive of Transatlantic Mining Corp (CVE:TCO) talks Proactive through a new report they've published on the US Grant mine property they're currently leasing.
It contains an historical resource estimate for the mine from 1990, which the company's qualified person says met industry standards at the time.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) tells Proactive they've begun a surface geochemistry survey at the Ernest Giles East gold project in Australia.
In addition, a ground gravity survey across Ernest Giles East is expected to commence within the next few weeks.
Results of the exploration programme are likely to be disclosed in September 2017.
Tim Simpkin of Greenstone Resources discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott Excelsior Mining Corp (TSE: MIN, FSE: 3XS, OTCQX: EXMGF) and why they're a good opportunity for investors looking for exposure to copper.
''I don't use these words lightly .. but they have a truly world class management team that cover all aspects from the permitting, the hydrology, the production, the construction … and it really is an exciting story'', Simpkin says.
Matt Simpson, chief executive of Black Iron Inc (TSE:BKI) speaks to Proactive's Andrew Scott about restarting operations in Ukraine at their wholly owned Shymanivske iron ore project.
''Iron ore prices have rebounded quite nicely, they've held in there for over a year now and everything's looking like it'll only push up'', Simpson says.
''We've got political stability ... coupled with a very depressed exchange rate ... so this is the ideal time for investors to get in and really ride that wave''.
''We've done it once and we're going to do it again - this time we're going to build it''.
Adam Graham, chief executive of The Marketing Group (NASDAQ OMX:TMG) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the firm's interims for the six months to the end of June 2017.
Coming on board as CEO back in November 2016, Graham describes the first half of 2017 as one of 'internal focus'.
With that now out of the way he says ''we can place our full attention on accelerating sustainable growth. I am very confident about the future.”
Orosur Mining Inc (LON:OMI CVE:OMI) CEO Ignazio Salazar tells us why he's so positive about financing for a new mining exercise on their acreage in Colombia, explaining what they intend to do with the funds. The placing was oversubscribed as the grab for gold and other safe havens continues against an uncertain political backdrop ...which has in turn given the markets some volatility. News too on how that new money for Colombia opens up the potential for production growth at Orosur's other resource base in Uruguay.
Cameron Reynolds, president and chief executive of VolitionRx Limited (NYSE MKT:VNRX) discusses with Proactive the firm's second quarter update as well as recent company highlights.
MD/Chief Investment Officer Andy Ho tells us how strong mobile phone use and steady Vietnamese growth prompted Vina Capital (LON:VOF) to buy into the ever-enlarging mobile distribution market in the country. They have snapped up a sizeable chunk of FPT Digital Retail, the leading mobile phone distributor in Vietnam...as well as investing in their direct competitor. With a population of 93 million people, 57% of which are under 35...no wonder Vina Capital have made this resounding investment. Andy also updates us on what he's been doing with the rest of the fund.
Luke Leslie, chairman at Kincora Copper Ltd (CVE:KCC) tells Proactive they've brought in around C$4.5mln via a placing which is to be used for drilling at their East Tsagaan Suvarga and Bayan Tal targets.
Each unit consisted of one share and one-half a share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire a further share for 44.5 cents for a period of two years.
Robert Archer, chief executive of Great Panther Silver Ltd (TSE:GPR), tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've signed a Letter of Intent towards a deal with Pan Andean Minerals to process ore at their Coricancha mill.
The Coricancha facilities, currently on care and maintenance, are about 15km from Pan Andean's Pucacorral and Chanape assets, and have previously seen output of concentrates containing silver, gold, zinc, copper and lead.
Archer also talks through the firm's second quarter financials - which showed record production.
Chris Gilbert, chief executive of Fox Marble PLC (LON:FOX) tells Proactive they've signed a deal to establish a new distribution outlet for their marble products in the United States.
The AIM-listed company - focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region- has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pristine Stone NYC LLC in New York, a natural stone importer and distributor in the USA.
John Peters, managing director of Strategic Minerals PLC (LON:SML) discusses their Q2 2017 update.
Peters adds they've set themselves a target to reach a market capitalisation of £100mln over the next five years.
Revenues from New Mexico–based iron ore business Cobre Magnetite hit another record in July, though the quarter to June was affected by transport issues at the end of the three months.
Defenx plc (LON:DFX) CFO Philipp Prince discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their decision to raise up to £2mln through the issue of convertible bonds via the peer-to-peer bond auction platform UK Bond Network.
Chris Maule, who's chief executive of the UK Bond Network, is also on the line explaining the increasing appeal of convertible bonds to investors.
Martin Eales, chief executive of Rainbow Rare Earths Limited (LON:RBW) popped into the Proactive studio for a quick chat through the even better than expected grades they've reported at the Gasagwe target on their Gakare licence in Burundi.
Lab testing of ore from the main vein at Gasagwe returned an average Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) grade of 62.17%, which compared with an average 57% in veins across the rest of the 39 sq km licence published in the competent person’s report.
Verditek's (LON:VDTK) Theo Chapman speaks to Proactive Investors as the clean tech company lists on London's AIM market.
Focused on green technology, the firm's put together by the acquisition of three early stage businesses - an arm that makes electricity-generating solar roof tiles, as well as a carbon capture and an odour control business.
Jeff Stusek, president and chief executive of ISC (TSE:ISV) talks through the firm's 2017 Q2 earnings.
Stusek tells Andrew Scott challenging market conditions saw them post reasonably flat year-on-year revenue - which was in line with expectations.
''We expected 2017 to be challenging in the primary market we operate in, Saskatchewan and a little bit generally in the Canadian market as well''.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Ltd (LON:PREM) talks through the decision to increase their stake in potash producer Circum Minerals.
Premier African's agreed to snap up another 416,700 shares – around 0.5% of Circum’s issued share capital – from GMP Securities for just shy of US$521,000.
It will make the payment to GMP through the issue of 87.5mln new PREM shares.
That takes the AIM-quoted firm’s total interest in Circum to 4.1mln shares, or 4.2%.
Samer Khalaf, chief executive of Tango Mining Ltd (CVE:TGV), talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their recent private placing to raise $250k.
Khalaf also updates on developments with the firm's coal and diamond operations.
Fiona MacAulay, chief executive of Echo Energy Plc (LON:ECHO) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through her first five weeks in the job as chief executive.
In that time the explorer's sealed two deals in Bolivia with news of their third acquisition 'imminent'.
In a wide-ranging discussion MacAulay also touched on the growth strategy, relationship with Sound Energy and 'getting the job done' in Latin America.
Dr Helen Phillips, head of medical affairs at Amryt Pharma PLC (LON:AMYT) discusses with Proactive a recently published long-term study of the drug Lojuxta which further confirmed its efficacy in lowering high cholesterol levels resulting from a rare genetic disorder.
The assessment of Lojuxta, also known as lomitapide, followed the progress of patients with Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH).
Shaun Chilton, chief executive of Clinigen Group PLC (LON:CLIN), tells Proactive the European Commission (EC) has approved an update to the product information for a key oncology product that would allow doctors to consider its use in children.
The label change relates to Cardioxane, which is given to protect the heart against certain chemotherapies called anthracyclines.
''With any claim you have to check out your facts but as far as we're able to tell no pharmaceutical company has ever overturned what was originally called an article 31 restriction placed on it'', Chilton says.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) tells Proactive they've received their first batch of findings from lab analysis of samples from the Kun Manie nickel project in Russia.
The initial batch, comprising some 561 core samples from recent drilling, has been used to independently verify the nickel and copper findings.
The results will be incorporated into the group’s ongoing work towards a new mineral resource estimate for the project.
Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of FairFX Group Plc (LON:FFX) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through the detail of their CardOne acquisition.
Dr Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) tells Proactive they've been making significant technical and commercial headway with their Affimer technology, as part of the firm's trading update for the year to the end of July 2017.
''It's been 12 months of significant de-risking of the therapeutic platform ... it's been a significant period of progress for us'', Dr Smith says.
John Fenton, chief executive of Van Elle Holdings plc (LON:VANL) gives Proactive a break down of the company and the strategy for growth.
Operating for 33 years they specialise in installing geotechnical engineering techniques - such as piling.
Fenton adds they're the largest in their space in the UK as well as the most profitable.
IPO'ing in October 2016, Fenton says: ''It's been a very good move for us, the company's done well since then and it's increased our profile across the construction industry and we're certainly a well-known company in the sector''.
''We're very confident about what's coming up in the new year ... we're just at the end of Q1 and the year's kicked off in line with expectations and the end markets look very good for us''.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM), talks Proactive through a potential new zone of lithium they've identified at their Zulu deposit in Zimbabwe, which they suspect could be larger than the current resource.
Michael Masterman, chairman of W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) tells Proactive they've awarded the crusher plant contract for their La Parrilla Project in Spain to a subsidiary of Finland’s Metso Corporation for €1.2mln.
The crusher will be built in France and delivered to the site within 24 weeks, well within the scheduled development time.
Todd Hibberd, managing director for White Cliff Minerals, speaks with Proactive Investors.
International Technical Services provider to the global video gaming industry Keywords Studios (LON:KWS) chooses Paris-based audio recording companies to keep its growth plans on target. The acquisitions are all part of the plan to take a leading position in the highly-fragmented video games service industry, with an investment of around a million Euros in new state of the art studios providing localised services in 'pillar languages' such as French and German. Up until now, the trend has been to source all languages from a single provider, but some clients still want to work with individual languages separately....which is where Keywords intend to out-power the rest.
SEC SpA's the leading independent PR and advocacy agency in Italy with offices also in Germany, Spain, Brussels, Poland and the UK.
''We have completed our programme in Europe with the exception of France ... which will be the next step'', says managing director Cesare Valli.
''We serve big banks like Deutsche Bank, we serve large multi-nationals like Shell, Nestle.''
''We want to grow and serve even more so that's why we're trying to expand our footprint''.
Just this week they've announced they're pumping £3mln into Porta Communications PLC (LON:PTCM), the communications, marketing and advertising conglomerate.
Most recently they announced they're to take a strategic equity stake in Porta, SEC has signed a commercial collaboration agreement with them that will see the pair share business opportunities and platforms.
The digital marketing services group Be Heard (LON:BHRD) is showing healthy top line growth, they are debt free and clever about acquisitions...how do they do it? Net revenues are up 155% - to £8.4M - in the first half of 2017 (only £3.3M in 2016) and a highly-experienced management team complements a strong balance sheet. Be Heard CEO Peter Scott tells us why investors should be listening.
New motor finance loans and collections hit an all time high as S&U (LON:SUS) continue to outperform expectations, with debt quality good. Anthony Coombs tell us why motor finance is doing so well and why worries about mushrooming debt (recently talked about by The Bank of England) are irrelevant when you're picky about who you lend to and when collections are at an all time high. With new loan transactions up 20% year on year, no wonder Anthony's smiling and it looks like a steady drive for S&U in the motor finance market.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford explains why gold is still in demand as democracy and liberty fight for political supremacy across the globe. Alastair points to liberal-leftist commentator Paul Mason's assertion that 'Democracy is Dying' as proof there are still golden opportunities out there for investors. If it comes to a fight between democracy and liberty he says, holding onto your guns...and your gold ...could be your best bet.
Proactive Investors senior reporter Renae Dyer discusses Next plc's (LON:NXT) second quarter update.
Shares in the fashion retailer surged after revealing they returned to quarterly sales growth and declared a third special dividend.
Formed back in 1996, Frontera Resources Corporation (LON:FRR) is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused predominately in Georgia.
''We're sitting on quite a volume of gas in Georgia'', president and chief executive Zaza Mamulaishvili tells Proactive.
''12 tcf of natural gas from which 9 tcf is recoverable ... and almost 788 mln barrels of crude oil''.
''This is what we're sitting on right now and we're trying to unlock and start production of that crude oil starting this year''.
Proactive's Stocktube catches up with the World Gold Council's head of market intelligence Alistair Hewitt to chat through their Gold Demand Trends H1 report.
Hewitt says European ETFs saw their strongest H1 inflows with holdings in these funds reaching a record 977.7t.
Technology demand also enjoyed its third consecutive quarter of growth, with wireless charging and development of features that use LEDs boosting demand.
Marcus Engelbrech, chief executive of Stratex International PLC (LON:STI) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their interims for the six months to the end of June 2017.
It was a period of transformation for the AIM-quoted mine developer – one in which it sold its cornerstone asset and agreed to acquire a Brazil-focused business with a large gold resource.
Steven Michael, managing director for Segue Resources, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Andy Blundell, chief executive of Communisis PLC (LON:CMS), talks their interim results for the six months to the end of June 2017.
Stephen Stone, managing director for Azumah Resources, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Ian Fishwick, chief executive of Adept Telecom PLC (LON:ADT) talks through their 'phenomenal' acquisition of Atomwide Limited.
Atomwide has a customer base of more than 4,000 schools and over two million users including a long-term relationship with the London Grid for Learning.
Brian Raven, chief executive of Tavistock Investments PLC (LON:TAVI) runs through their results for the year to the end of March 2017.
Turnover was up 22% at £36.4mln giving EBITDA of £537,000, up 421%.
Cash generation was £497,000 in the second half.
The company saw its net assets more than double to £18.2mln in the period, while funds under management were ahead 332% at £769mln.
Neill Carson and Graham Heath of i3 Energy (LON:I3E) chat through with Proactive's Andrew Scott their asset in the North Sea - the Liberator field.
They say an estimated 10 mln barrels of oil is in situ and possibly another 5mln to be found.
i3 Energy listed on AIM in July.
Mick Billing, chairman of Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their deal to acquire an interest in the historically mined Kapunda copper deposit in South Australia.
Justin Wheatley, chief executive of StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG) talks Proactive through the firm's interim results for the six months to the end of June 2017.
The cloud-based StatPro Revolution platform saw organic revenue growth of 16% in the first half of the year, as the group as a whole reported a 2% organic rise in revenue.
Group revenue rose 23% to £21.62mln from £17.55mln, helped by currency tailwinds.
Catalin Chiloflischi, chief executive of Canarc Resource Corp (CVE:CCM) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're on track to start a drilling campaign at Fondaway Canyon in September.
Keith Allaun, chairman of PowerHouse Energy Group PLC (LON:PHE) updates Proactive on what's been a massive week for the green energy provider - culminating in first gas from their G3-UHt gasification reactor.
Matthew Idiens, chief executive of Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) tells Proactive they've given Magellan Gold Corporation just over two weeks to complete the proposed acquisition of its San Dieguito de Arriba gold mill operation in Mexico.
The non-core asset sale was announced in March, with Magellan paying a US$100,000 deposit, but the buyer was supposed to have deposited a further US$900,000 of cash into escrow and previously, in June, Rose granted a 60-day extension to the option period.
Brett Childs, chief executive of Brainworks Limited tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're a Zimbabwe-focused investment company looking to list in Johannesburg at the end of August.
Established back in 2011, they're headquartered in Mauritius and have interests in hospitality, real estate and financial services.
Childs says international appetite from foreign investors to go back into the country is returning and they want to be ''at the front of the queue''.
Greencoat UK Wind's Stephen Lilley discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their half yearly report to June 2017.
Among the highlights, the group’s investments generated 626.6GWh of electricity - 2% above budget.
They also increased their portfolio to 21 through the acquisition of two wind farm investments.
Lilley also discusses news of their further investment in Clyde.
Gert Rieder, chairman of Falcon Media House (LON:FAL) talks Proactive through their results for the 15 months to the end of March 2017.
While still at the pre-revenue earning stage, they're on the way to achieving this on the back of a number of partnerships they've signed since beginning trading last year in London.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) tells Proactive they've hit the largest and continuous thickness of mineralisation ever drilled at Kun-Manie - 76.4 metres averaging 0.93% nickel and 0.20% copper.
Paul Huet, president and CEO of Klondex Mines Ltd (TSE:KDX, NYSE:KLDX) tells Proactive they're a gold producer with four main assets - two of which are being put into production this year.
They have three assets in Nevada - Fire Creek, Midas and Hollister which they're building.
Huet adds they've also got the True North asset in Canada - which they're building this year.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM), talks through their new financing package which'll provide working capital and allow them to increase their stake in fertiliser project developer Circum.
The cash will also allow Premier African to up the exploration effort at Zulu Lithium in Zimbabwe and to start a preliminary economic study there.
Kevin Flynn, Anglo Pacific Group plc's (LON:APF) chief financial officer updates Proactive on their first half trading.
Royalty income was up some 290% for the period - between £15.9mln and £16.3mln - mostly attributable to an increase in sales from the Kestrel mine which is now paying royalties on around 95% of its sales.
Greg Hahn, president and CEO of Arizona Silver Exploration Inc (CVE:AZS) tells Proactive they're a relatively new company, having been formed privately about two years ago.
Their main focus is the Ramsey silver mine project in western Arizona, which they'll be doing further exploration work on in September.
Roy Pitchford, chief executive of Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) tells Proactive Q2 was an 'impriving' quarter for them after a difficult few months at the start of the year.
He adds that he's expecting output from the mines in Romania and Zimbabwe to continue increasing.
Gil Holzman, chief executive of Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas Ltd (LON:ECO, CVE:EOG) tells Proactive they're gearing up for a ‘high impact’ 2018 as the company’s recent progress sets the explorer up for drill campaigns in both Namibia and Guyana.
ETX Capital's Neil Wilson gives his view on BT Group PLC's (LON:BT.A) first quarter results.
The closely followed UK telecoms giant was the top loser on the FTSE today, as its shares sank over 3% to 304.20p, on the back of the numbers.
Its shares are down around 17% since the start of the year.
The group was forced to pay out £225mln to shareholders Deutsche Telekom and Orange in the wake of its purchase of EE in 2015 and the accounting scandal at BT's Italy operation, meaning pre-tax profit for the three months to end June sank 42% to £418mln.
Justin Tooth, executive chairman of Ferrum Crescent Limited (LON:FCR) tells Proactive they've now completed a programme of six holes at the Toral project in Spain - all of them returning visually identified lead-zinc intersections.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford talks through a bounce this week for FTSE miners as copper rallies to a two-year high.
Ford also looks back on what's been a tricky week for US President Donald Trump with the Senate rejecting a move to repeal parts of the Obamacare health law as well as his ban on transgender people from serving in the US military.
Gerard Kisby-Green, chief executive of Goldplat PLC (LON:GDP) tells Proactive a strong end to the trading year will see them post underlying profits ahead of market expectations.
David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) talks Proactive through the objectives of their drilling programme at the Mina do Barroso lithium project.
They're planning to test three key areas – namely Grandao, Reservatorio and NOA.
Andrew Day, chief executive of Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS) tells Proactive they've beaten expectations with a strong first-half performance.
BOS GLOBAL Holdings Limited (LON:BOS) managing director Michael Travia and product manager Justine Lorenz-Daniel discuss with Proactive Investors their deal with MSP Secretaries, a supplier of secretarial services in the UK.
Lorenz-Daniel also gives a demonstration of BOS Meet, BOS Automate and BOS Time.
Crater Gold's Alexander Molyneux speaks to Proactive Investors about the company's new focus and strategy.
Steve Flavell, co-CEO of LoopUp Group PLC (LON:LOOP) tells Proactive they've had a strong first half to 2017, with revenue, earnings and margin strongly ahead of last year.
Ken Wotton, manager of the Livingbridge UK microcap fund, discusses with Proactive their investment criteria and performance.
The fund, as the name suggests, is focused on UK microcaps with a market capitalisation of less than £250mln.
Wotton adds: ''It's a pretty concentrated fund ... there's currently 43 holdings''.
'A bit of patience is required but the longer term returns we have delivered have been strong'', he says.
''The businesses we try to focus on are not cyclical, they're small companies where the management teams are capable enough and agile enough and the business models are robust enough that they can still grow their profits even if the economic environment is not as favourable''.
Stephen O'Hara, chief executive of OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) tells Proactive they've reached a significant milestone with first sales in Germany of a new range of cholesterol-lowering capsules containing their breakthrough LP-LDL technology.
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH, ASX:EMH) chats through the news the UK is to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
Coughlan also updates on developments at their Cinovec lithium-tin deposit in the Czech Republic.
Robin Young, chief executive of Amur Minerals PLC (LON:AMC) updates Proactive's Andrew Scott on progress at their Kun-Manie project in Far East Russia.
They're currently drilling a further 20,000m at two targets to boost existing inferred resources to the more certain indicated category and find more metal.
Andy Walters, managing director of Quartix Holdings plc (LON:QTX) tells Proactive first half profits were held steady, despite a conscious decision to reduce exposure to the insurance market.
WideCells Group PLC (LON:WIDE) Chief executive Joao Andrade and Chief Scientific Officer Peter Hollands chat through the launch of a new synthetic bone graft in the UK that will be used initially in tooth fillings.
Andrade also discusses the recent launch of the Cellplan e-commerce platform in the UK.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their 'very exciting' acquisition of the Havieron Project in Western Australia.
Adam Bond, chief executive of AFC Energy plc (LON:AFC) tells Proactive they're advancing a landmark fuel-cell project in Surrey, signing a deal with Dunsfold Park Ltd.
The company has signed a term-sheet for a front end engineering and design (FEED) for the project, which will be a micro-grid utilising hydrocarbon fuel cells capable of powering 2,500 homes.
Steve Hughes, VP of Exploration at Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS) talks through their recent resource update at BKM as well as exploration work which is underway at BK West and BKZ.
Simon Cook, chief executive of Draper Esprit (LON:GROW) tells Proactive they back people with big ideas.
''About 30% of our money is at the earlier stage when they've got a product, some early customers and they're looking to build that''.
''70% of our capital is really focused on scaling up the opportunities''.
''Our average company in the core portfolio will have £30-40mln revenue - so they're small in a large company sense but they're not pre-revenue high tech companies .... they're meaningful companies growing at 30,40,50% a year on average.''
Based in Berlin, Andrew Coombs, chief executive of Sirius Real Estate Limited (LON:SRE) tells Proactive their focus is on business parks in the country.
''We have 47 business parks across Germany consisting of nearly 500 buildings''.
As to why they're keen on doing business in Germany, Coombs says: ''The price that you can buy property for versus the cost of replacing it is widely different and what that means is you can buy German business parks at quite a low cost and you can develop a good business with a good margin without the worry of people simply just moving in to a brand new property''.
''Secure, predictable and reliable - we're all about risk-adjusted returns throughout the cycle'', Coombs adds.
Andrew Austin, chairman of RockRose Energy (LON:RRE) talks Proactive through the firm's strategy and recent acquisitions as well as plans to raise production from 1400 barrels to 10-15,000 barrels a day within the next 18 months to two years.
''We think there's a lot of opportunities left in the North Sea where assets over time have sometimes ended up in the wrong hands, with people with possibly the wrong cost base, for the environment we find ourselves in'', Austin says.
''Our objective at RockRose is to be acquisition-driven and to acquire a number of assets - sometimes for negative consideration - such that we can build an oil company that makes sense in the current oil price environment''.
Jonathan Satchell, chief executive of Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) talks Proactive through their first half 2017 trading.
The e-learning group has an annual turnover target of £50mln and seems well on track to hit that soon - first half sales rose 63% to £20.8mln with the traditionally stronger second half still to come.
Elizabeth Gooch, chief executive of EG Solutions plc (LON:EGS) tells Proactive they've enjoyed such a strong first half of trading that they've upgraded their full-year guidance.
Antony Odell, chief executive of Tissue Regenix PLC (LON:TRX) tells Proactive they're spending US$30mln on Texas-based rival, Cellright Technologies, which will catapult them to the front of the growing US market for regenerative medicine and bone grafts.
Tristan Chapple from Aurora Investment Trust Plc outlines the fund's investment strategy to Proactive Investors.
''We're value investors but on the hunt for quality'', Chapple says.
''There's often a misconception that you're either a value investor or a quality investor and we think they're not mutually exclusive - we're looking for excellent quality businesses to hold for the long term but we won't pay more than half what we think they're worth''.
Peter Dasler, president of CanAlaska Uranium Ltd (CVE:CVV) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've kick started summer drilling at the West McArthur uranium project.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford talks through a number of upcoming mining IPOs.
''Mining's beginning to recover its confidence ... there are people in the markets saying they can raise more than $1bln for projects and they are being believed''.
Scott Maybury, chief executive of PCF Group Plc (LON:PCF) tells Proactive that after three long years, they've now launched PCF Bank and are ready to start taking retail deposits.
David Ellingham, Finance director at Bilby Plc (LON:BILB) tells Proactive the emphasis of their acquisition policy is focused on bringing like-minded companies within the group.
As to why they're focused on London and the South East, Ellingham says: ''We find it very cost effective to enable us to service properties within a defined area.''
''Unlike some of our peers which offer a nationwide service, we have opted to keep focused on certain geographical areas ... simply because it means our engineers can get to the properties in a much quicker time and more effectively''.
''We're servicing over 300,000 properties - they range from local authority assets as well as housing associations''.
Keith Bush, chief executive of Cabot Energy Plc (LON:CAB) tells Proactive they've been producing some 550 barrels of oil per day, which is in line with guidance, and its summer programme is set to expand on that significantly.
Nigel Newton, chief executive at Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY) tells Proactive revenues rose 19% (13% year-on-year on a constant currency basis) in the first quarter of their financial year.
The Consumer division had a number of top selling titles during the quarter, including A Court of Wings and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet and The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray.
Steve Curtis, chief executive at Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL TSE:CAL) tells Proactive they're expecting to meet their gold production target this year through an improved second half performance.
The Zimbabwe-based miner produced approximately 12,522 ounces of gold from the Blanket mine in the three months to June.
Over the half year, output rose by 8.5% to 25,316oz, but Caledonia expects output to rise over the next two quarters.
John Hall, senior vice president of commercial operations at IXICO Plc (LON:IXI) talks Proactive through their recent attendance at the Alzheimer's Association International conference and why it's important they were there.
Hall also discusses their own Expert Symposium as well as the growing opportunities in the application of wearable biosensors.
Dan James, president of Medgold Resources Corp (CVE:MED) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their encouraging exploration results from their Tlamino project in Serbia - as well as plans for upcoming drilling.
There’s more than US$100bn dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency now in existence, but, don’t worry, you’ve not yet missed the chance to make money by investing in blockchain technologies – so says entrepreneur David Siegel.
Siegel, who talked to Proactive Investors Stocktube about his blockchain focussed group TwentyThirty, says the easy money is “not even close” to being made yet.
The entrepreneur says everyone should put around 10% of their investments in ‘crypto assets’.
He acknowledges, however, that this is frontier investing and there’s a “tremendous” amount of volatility in cryptocurrencies.
Pietro Nicholls, co-founder of RM Secured Direct Lending (LON:RMDL) caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott to chat through their latest quarterly update.
Among the highlights they paid their maiden dividend and now have 18 investments across 10 sectors.
Ray Gibbs, chief executive of Haydale Graphene Industries PLC (LON:HAYD) tells Proactive the order book is at a record level.
Orders in hand, comprising product sales orders and consulting contracts to be fulfilled over the next three-and-a-half years, stood at close to £5.4mln, providing good visibility on the group's future income.
Mark Scott, chief executive of Cello Group PLC (LON:CLL) tells Proactive they've enjoyed a good first half of 2017 - making strides in both their Health and Signal businesses.
Darin Wagner, chief executive and president at Balmoral Resources Ltd (TSE:BAR, OTCQX: BALMF) tells Proactive they're continuing to see more good results from recent drilling at their Detour Gold trend project in Quebec.
There the Bug South deposit has now been extended to a depth of around 385 metres with a broad intercept of 14.28 metres grading 3.51 g/t (grams per ton) gold.
Peter Shaw, chief executive of DP Poland Plc (LON:DPP) talks Proactive through their update on store performance for H1 2017.
Total system sales, which includes the ten new stores opened so far this year, increased by 50% year-on-year to PLN27.5mln (H1 2016: PLN18mln) for the six months to 30 June.
Bradford Cooke, chief executive of Endeavour Silver Corp (TSE:EDR, NYSE:EXK) tells Proactive that improved performances at the Bolanitos and El Cubo mines in Mexico led to increased production in the second quarter of this year compared to the first.
David Galan, chief executive of Zinc Media Group Plc (LON:ZIN) tells Proactive it's been a year of transformation after changing their name from Ten Alps PLC.
They're now predominantly a TV business - specialising in factual TV production.
Galan says they're one of the UK's largest independent producers.
Adimas Prawiro, the new business development director at Golden Saint Resources Ltd (LON:GSR) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through the firm's recent restructuring and new focus.
''My main focus is to turn GSR into a revenue-generating entity'', Prawiro says.
Cameron Reynolds, chief executive of VolitionRx Limited (NYSE:VNRX) tells Proactive that Volition America - their wholly-owned subsidiary - has signed an agreement to participate in a large multi-centre clinical study with the Great Lakes New England Clinical Validation Centre.
The study will provide around 13,500 samples of people aged 50 or over who have not previously undergone screening or a diagnostic colonoscopy.
Already 4,677 samples have been collected and up to 9,000 will be prospectively collected.
Christian Schaffalitzky, managing director of Eurasia Mining plc (LON:EUA) tells Proactive they've been granted a discovery certificate for the 1.9 mln ounces of palladium equivalent at its Monchetundra project in Russia.
The granting of the certificate follows swiftly on from the application, announced on 15 June 2017.
Shaun Chilton, chief executive of Clinigen Group PLC (LON:CLIN) tells Proactive that organic growth, a currency boost and full contribution from recent acquisition Link Healthcare helped them to increase gross profits by 22% in the year to June.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) tells Proactive they've boosted an already existing interest in Circum Minerals Limited to take their total holding to 2,649,333 Circum shares in aggregate, or 2.7%.
Roach also talks through the discovery of six new pegmatite zones at their Zulu lithium project in Zimbabwe.
The company is now looking at further exploration efforts on these new zones to establish the continuation as well depth extensions, following the completion of another 11 drill holes.
Having acquired a 100% interest in CARE - Central Australia Rare Earths - Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) chairman Alan Broome outlines to Proactive's Andrew Scott why they're interested in rare earths and the huge upcoming market potential for them.
''West Australia is a well-known rare earth province … we're in the right place''.
''We are looking into the future a little bit, but that's the business Strategic Minerals is in'', Broome says.
''We're looking to find areas where we can advantage our shareholders by effectively being in the right place at the right time as the demand goes up''.
On the back of their £8.8mln fundraise, John Morton, chief executive of European Wealth Group Limited (LON:EWG) tells Proactive the main strategy behind the injection of cash was to replace a convertible loan they had in place which was due for repayment.
''It got to the stage where we wanted to move on from being funded by a Swiss funding operation to share ownership from shareholders who would actually help us grow the business and develop it… and I think we've been 100% successful in achieving that''.
On becoming debt free, Morton says: ''The debt has been a big burden for us and I think each year the interest charges have been eye-watering … we've managed to clear that out the way, we've got cash on the balance sheet and we've actually got a properly structured balance sheet to work with, which will inevitably feed through to improved profitability''.
Gerry Madden, chief executive of EQTEC Plc (LON:EQT) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their agreement to acquire assets from the company’s majority shareholder.
The acquisition will be supported by a new fundraising, via a placing of new shares, and is expected to create ‘a leading company in waste gasification to energy”.
As a result of the deal, the enlarged EQTEC business will have a pipeline of projects in the UK (plus interests in Croatia) including the Reliable Melton Hull and Reliable Seal Sands projects, as well as a Zebec Energy project in Usk, Wales.
Harry Adams, executive chairman of KEFI Minerals plc (LON:KEFI) tells Proactive they've agreed a finance package for the construction of the bulk of its Tulu Kapi gold mine in Ethiopia.
Infrastructure specialist Oryx is to put up US$135mln in new debt through a lease and payback arrangement that will also see it become the processing plant operator.
Ian Fishwick, chief executive of AdEPT Telecom plc (LON:ADT) talks through the firm's results for the year to the end of March 2017.
The acquisitive information technology (IT) services group achieved its 14th consecutive year of increased underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
RSI International Systems Inc (CVE:RSY) boss Tim Major walks us through the innovative back-room software that makes front-of-house hotel service and beyond ...a smooth traveler experience.
AIM Journal editor Andrew Hore discusses with Proactive the spark that's erupted between Good Energy Group (LON:GOOD) and rival Ecotricity.
Hore also updates on Begbies Traynor (LON:BEG), Gordon Dadds and 'Over The Top' broadcast tech specialist Amino Technologies (LON:AMO)
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford explains why it's the US President's son who's this time causing fluctuations in the gold market after making comments on Twitter...and what investors are looking for after StratMin Global Resources PLC (LON:STGR) (soon to be Tectonic Gold) make a push on new technologies.
Proactive Investors correspondent John Harrington reports on the recent hammering of Carillion PLC (LON:CLLN).
JP Morgan has downgraded the construction services firm to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ on the back of Monday’s trading update in which its chief executive resigned after warning investors that full-year revenues would be lower than expected.
Tom Burnet, executive chairman of Accesso Technology Group plc (LON:ACSO) tells Proactive they've completed a £58.8m fund raise to pay for their latest expansion - US theme park software specialist The Experience Engine (TE2).
Marcus Engelbrecht, chief executive of Stratex International plc (LON:STI) updates Proactive on progress with the merger with Aussie-listed, Brazil-focused gold miner Crusader Resources Ltd (ASX:CAS).
Cameron Parry, chief executive of Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've agreed terms which will see them become the majority owner of gold-focused financial tech company, TRAC Technology.
Parry also chats through developments at their projects in Finland and India.
Roland Phelps, chief executive of Galantas Gold Corporation (LON:GAL)(CVE:GAL) tells Proactive it’s all systems go now that underground development work at the Omagh gold mine has started.
Tony Durrant, chief executive of Premier Oil PLC (LON:PMO) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their new “world class” oil discovery offshore Mexico, with the Zama-1 exploration well unearthing an estimated 1bn barrel find.
The well hit a gross oil bearing interval spanning 335 metres, with up to 200 metres of net oil bearing reservoir.
Light oil has so far been recovered to surface.
Sean Bennett, chief executive of Kore Potash Limited (ASX: K2P) outlines to Proactive's Andrew Scott the company's strategy and discusses their key asset in the Republic of Congo.
The project is split into three main areas - Kola being the main focus.
Bennett says they kicked off a definitive feasibility study for Kola in Q1 this year and should have it wrapped up during Q2 next year.
During his chat in the studio he also discusses their intention to dual list on AIM by the end of the year.
Anthony Kongats, chief executive of Cap-XX Limited (LON:CPX) dropped into the Proactive studio for an update on the firm's progress and development.
''We've been very busy ... things have been going very well'', Kongats says.
''Increasingly our customers are now seeing us as an IP company like we've always contended.''
''They realise now they can access our IP both through license deals, through sharing know-how, through design services and of course the sale of physical products''.
Paul Atherley, managing director at Berkeley Energia PLC (LON:BKY) tells Proactive they've now received delivery of the primary crusher at the Salamanca uranium mine in Spain.
The 400 tonne per hour crusher was one of the long lead items identified in last year’s fund raise and marks the start of the build and commissioning phases that are scheduled to be completed during the second half of 2018.
Brayden Sutton, chief executive of Friday Night Inc (CNSX:TGIF) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their raise of $7.5mln from a private placing of debenture units to expand the company's growing operations in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Canaccord Genuity Corp has agreed to act as exclusive agent on the placing.
The company plans to use the net proceeds to expand its growing operations in Las Vegas, and for general corporate purposes.
The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about July 31 this year.
John Burt, chief executive of Abzena plc (LON:ABZA) tells Proactive they've inked an agreement with a Taiwanese biopharmaceutical company worth up to £128mln to license out its ThioBridge technology.
ThioBridge is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) linker, which in layman’s terms means it attaches antibodies and other proteins to drugs.
Nick Stevens, chief executive at Stone Checker Ltd, which is part of the Flying Brands Ltd (LON:FBDU) group, tells Proactive that analysis of two studies for their kidney stones treatment have reproduced and validated the results from a preliminary study, meaning the next phase of investigation can start ahead of schedule.
Francois Martelet, chief executive of NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) tells Proactive their portfolio company PDS Biotechnology Corp and a subsidiary of Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK), MSD are embarking on a new clinical trial collaboration for metastatic head and neck cancer.
Frank Hanna, joint chief executive of Michelmersh Brick Holdings Plc (LON:MBH) discusses with Proactive the significance of their bricks being chosen as part of the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.
Hanna also touches on their recent acquisition of Carlton Main Brickworks.
Michael Travia, managing director of BOS GLOBAL Holdings (LON:BOS) talks through the details of their new convertible loan note, the first of the firm's additional strategic new board appointments as well as the latest on their product implementations.
Jamal Rushdie, chief executive of Collagen Solutions PLC (LON:COS) talks through the firm's results for the year to the end of March 2017.
Rob Goehring, chief executive of RewardStream Solutions Inc (CVE:REW) discusses with Proactive their most recent milestone - receiving approval for its new referral marketing app on Shopify.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform which powers 400,000 online stores, giving the group access to these, and adding another sales channel.
Jay Bhattacherjee, chief executive of Aminex plc (LON:AEX) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're working alongside io to put together a gas commercialisation study for the Ntorya project.
It is anticipated that the study will identify the gas monetisation options available to the company, including an early production system which would allow Aminex to deliver gas to nearby customers.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) catches up with Proactive Investors following the release of their 2016 results.
Roach says they're continuing to transition from an explorer to a developer and producer with the ongoing work at the RHA tungsten project in Zimbabwe.
He says they're making substantial progress with the Zulu lithium project and the TCT project in Mozambique.
Proxama PLC (LON:PROX) chief executive John Kennedy and managing director Mark Slade talk Proactive through the growing importance of 'location data' to the business.
''We've been growing this side of this business for the last 6-9 months and we're now at a point where we have real potential which has enabled us to recruit people such as Mark'', Kennedy says.
Mark Smith, chief executive of NioCorp Developments Ltd (TSE:NB) talks through some of the highlights of the feasibility study done on their Elk Creek asset.
Smith says he's particularly proud that the team had completed the study in just over three years, when something closer to ten is the industry norm.
Tom Britton, co-founder of SyndicateRoom talks to Proactive Investors about the huge potential market for Ed-Tech and the opportunities for investors.
Britton was joined in the studio by the founder of Dem DX Lorin Gresser.
Dem Dx helps medical staff, from students to qualified physicians, make better and faster diagnoses.
Educational technology, or edtech for short, is being cited as the next big phase of the digital revolution.
According to the Silicon Valley publisher TechCrunch revenues could exceed those of fintech, where global investment was US$5.3bn in the first quarter.
Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis Resources Ltd (LON:ARL) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott two of the three AHH turbines at its MeyGen tidal power project have been successfully reinstalled and reconnected.
The two turbines have recommenced power generation to the grid.
Phoevos Pouroulis, chief executive of Tharisa PLC (LON:THA) says they're seeing signs of stability in the chrome market after recent sharp falls in the price of the metal.
A record 1.275 mln tonnes was mined in the three months to June leading to chrome concentrate production hitting a new quarterly high at 334,000t, a 6.1% quarter on quarter increase.
Within that, high grade specialty chrome production rose 26% to 87,000t, while production of platinum and associated metals rose 3.2% to 35,400oz.
Mick Billing, executive chairman of Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) tells Proactive the second half of the year will likely be as busy as the first, with a new drill program earmarked for the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada and the potential acquisition of the remaining 75% of a US lithium explorer.
Craig Lindsay, chief executive of Otis Gold Corp (CVE:OOO, OTC:OGLDF) talks Proactive through their disposal of several non-core assets to Strata Minerals Inc (CVE:SMP.H) in return for Strata shares.
Lindsay also updates on developments at their Oakley and Kilgore projects.
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH, ASX:EMH) discusses with Proactive the implications on lithium and the energy storage markets following the announcement that Tesla's to build the world's largest lithium ion battery in Australia.
Catalin Chiloflischi, chief executive of Canarc Resource Corp (CVE:CCM) tells Proactive they've kicked off their first phase of exploration work at the Fondaway Canyon gold property In Nevada in a bid to refine drill targets.
John Meyer, mining analyst at SP Angel gives his take on the deal between electric car firm Tesla and energy company Neoen to install the world's largest lithium ion battery in Australia.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford talks through the deal with electric car firm Tesla and energy company Neoen to build the world's largest lithium ion battery in Australia.
''Cobalt companies are perhaps most under the radar when it comes to lithium batteries because they can't be built without cobalt at the moment and cobalt is a more complex metal to get hold of from a mining perspective than lithium is'', Ford says.
''Cobalt almost exclusively comes as a by-product of copper mining and what we've seen lately in the cobalt industry is that prices have shot up because copper's not being produced as much as it was''.
Ford adds that while cobalt production has slowed demand has rocketed because of this electric battery demand.
Talking through a couple of names in the Cobalt space and those set to really benefit from the upswing in demand, he discusses Metal NRG (LON:MNRG), Strategic Minerals (LON:SML) and what they're up to at Hanns Camp in Australia as well as Greatland Gold (LON:GGP) among a number of others.
John Harrington, editor of Proactive Investors virtual 'Dogs of the Footsie' fund talks through its performance six months after it launched.
The investment strategy is a tweaked, British version of a system popularised by Michael Higgins in his book, “Beating the Dow”.
Harrington says the short answer is, two or three of them have left unwanted offerings on the welcome mat, but otherwise the performance has been startlingly good.
Keith Allaun, chairman of PowerHouse Energy PLC (LON:PHE) sits down with Proactive's Andrew Scott for an extended one-to-one on the company's strategy and outlook as they fast approach commercialisation of their G3 waste-to-energy unit.
Graham Lumsden, chief executive of Motif Bio Plc (LON:MTFB), tells Proactive they've got a busy week lined up in early October, when they'll be presenting at the annual Infectious Diseases conference.
The clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specialising in developing novel antibiotics, announced that three abstracts have been accepted for poster presentations at the Infectious Diseases Week Annual Meeting in San Diego 4-8 October 2017.
''Infectious Diseases week is a major conference. About 6,000 healthcare professionals usually attend so it's a good place for us to have a presence and continue to build awareness and knowledge around iclaprim'', Lumsden says.
Proactive Investors technology correspondent John Harrington reports on the opening of Grooveme's new demo centre in Knebworth.
Norman Williams, President and CEO of Rambler Metals & Mining PLC (LON:RMM) updates Proactive on progress at their Ming copper/gold project in Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada.
They've recently initiated a surface diamond drilling program targeting the depth extension of both the Lower Footwall Zone and high grade massive sulphides at the mine.
The drilling will test up to one kilometre beyond the current known mineralized trend, between depths of 1,200 meters and 1,800 meters below sea level.
''We have a great story, targeting low cost ... ultimately we want to drive our costs low so we can set ourselves up to produce for 20 years'', Williams tells Proactive.
Proactive Investors Oil & Gas correspondent Jamie Ashcroft talks through the news from Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) that gas production is on the horizon at the Sidi Moktar project in Morocco.
In a statement, Sound told investors that the re-entry into Sidi Moktar’s Koba-1 well has been successful – the well was re-entered, perforated and gas has been flared at surface.
It comes just a few days after the company told investors that the gas discovered in the Badile exploration well is likely to be “sub-commercial”.
In a wide-ranging chat with Proactive's Andrew Scott, Paul Welch, chief executive of SDX Energy Inc (LON:SDX, CVE:SDX), discusses the size of the new South Disouq gas discovery as well as their work-over programs for the other Egypt assets in the firm's portfolio.
Welch also talks through the countdown to new drilling in Morocco in September.
It is planned that seven new wells will be drilled, comprising two exploration wells and five development wells.
Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of FairFX Group Plc (LON:FFX) talks Proactive through their first half trading update.
The low-cost multi-currency payments specialist’s revealed the profit performance was ahead of management’s expectations, and was achieved on the back of a 25.8% year-on-year increase in turnover to £433.8mln.
Proactive's Jon Hopkins tells Proactive Investors that Imagination Technologies PLC (LON:IMG) saw its shares jump as they posted a return to profits.
''It's been pretty hard work for them'', Hopkins says.
''They've had a good year when it comes to results - the figures look alright. But it's been a year of two halves.''
''They've basically had to come back from news that Apple isn't going to be using their chips anymore and that's really not good news''.
Hopkins adds: ''Their shares dropped off a cliff after that was announced earlier this year but they have bounced back since then because it's really prompted takeover discussions''.
Brian McMaster, executive chairman of Harvest Minerals Limited (LON:HMI) tells Proactive the agronomic test work which has been done on their Arapua fertiliser project in Brazil has confirmed its product, KPfértil, increases the potassium, phosphate, silicate, calcium, and magnesium in the pH of the local soil and corrects the soil acidity.
The results indicate that KPfértil works effectively as a multi-nutrient, slow release remineraliser.
Harvest has already produced 50,000 tonnes of KPfértil under a trial mining permit, but the current resource stands at 13 million tonnes so there is plenty of mine life left.
City Index analyst Ken Odeluga give his take on J Sainsbury plc's (LON:SBRY) trading update.
The retailer surprised the market with an increase in first-quarter like for like sales, excluding fuel, of 2.3%, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 1.9% rise.
Grooveme's Jake Seal talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through the opening of their 'exciting' new demo centre at Knebworth as well as updates on progress at the holographic visual imaging technology specialist.
''What we've done is taken the unique audio we have ... which is basically like a true 3D setting for the audio ... this actually means you're getting a real world sense of where that sound is coming from''.
Seal also touches on his trip to India where he’s been lining up some multi-million pound business deals that could be transformational for the business - involving some of the country’s leading political and entertainment figures.
Tony Gilby, managing director of Tlou Energy Ltd (LON:TLOU) talks Proactive through the lodging of their application to the Botswana authorities for the company’s Lesedi coal bed methane development project.
Miles Pelham, chairman of Obtala Limited (LON:OBT) tells Proactive that on numerous occasions, the WoodBois team had been very conservative in its estimates and projections.
Pelham also discusses their increases in profit share at Magole Farms and Wami Farms in Tanzania.
WideCells Group plc (LON:WDC) CEO Joao Andrade and CFO David Bridgland tell Proactive they've signed a definitive agreement with Brazilian cord blood storage facility, Hemocord Clinica Medica Ltd, to supply its stem cell services.
CellPlan Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Widecells, will offer new and existing clients of Hemocord its stem cell healthcare insurance plan and medical concierge service.
Andrew Benitz, chief executive of Jersey Oil and Gas PLC (LON:JOG) tells Proactive he's delighted the countdown is now on for their high impact summer exploration programme in the North Sea.
Benitz says the Transocean Spitsbergen rig has been mobilised for a three well programme under contract with Statoil.
Sound Energy PLC’s (LON:SOU) revealed that despite the ‘encouraging’ gas shows, reported recently, the apparent discovery in the Badile well would most likely be ‘sub-commercial’.
In London, Sound Energy’s AIM-quoted shares fell around 20p, 26.6%, to trade at 56.5p each by midday.
Cantor Fitzgerald's Sam Wahab tells Proactive's Andrew Scott: ''The sell-off post result this morning was over-done''.
'A lot are aware the company's value had been created over the last 18 months or so predominantly down to its operations in Morocco which have been hugely successful ... so to take a hit at the open of 30% was undue for them''.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Sam Wahab discusses with Proactive Hurricane Energy Plc's (LON:HUR) US$520mln fundraise - which comprises a US$300mln share placing and US$220mln convertible bond.
Wahab says the new capital will help them move closer to producing from the large, undeveloped Lancaster oil field, in the West of Shetland region.
Faisal Rahmatallah, chairman of Plastics Capital Plc (LON:PLA) talks through the firm's results for the year to the end of March 2017.
''We made a couple of acquisitions during the course of the year which have contributed'', Rahmatallah says.
''Four of our existing businesses have had record years in terms of organic growth and profitability, so we're delighted with that''.
''We've had a bit of an impact from foreign exchange as well so that's helped a little bit ... and we've used a lot of our cash flow to reinvest back in the business'.
Paul Johnson, CEO of Metal NRG (LON:MNRG) tells Proactive they're a small, shell NEX company with just under £500,000 in the bank looking to find new projects in the energy, metals and minerals sectors.
They've recently announced they're first push into the cobalt space.
''Cobalt's a very, very hot sector in Australia at the moment - the price of the commodity has been going up dramatically because it's used in battery technologies so there's a great demand for that product'', Johnson says.
''We felt that if we had to pick one commodity to start our journey on, then we would want to be in that hot area where we think there's a real good future dynamic in the next few months and few years''.
Paul Johnson adds that while they're looking keenly at Australia they're also considering opportunities in the US: ''There's some superb opportunities - we're in advanced discussions over a number of different interests.''
Cameron Parry, chief executive of Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) updates on developments at their project in Finland.
'We're doing a bit of ground preparation work at our Kuikka block while we're waiting for the environmental permitting to be approved so that we can move forward with the bulk sampling campaign''.
Proactive's John Harrington talks Andrew Scott through what's been the roller-coaster ride as manager of the virtual 'bombed out but bouncing back' fund.
Crossing to 'the other side of the street' as Harrington puts it, he's been trying his hand at a different style of investment strategy.
'I've tried to devise a strategy that relies on what they call 'momentum stocks' - and try to essentially pick out stocks where their share price has been trashed but may be turning the corner ....''.
''This really should come with a wealth warning ... [starting out with £10,000] I'm happy to say I've turned that into £5,400 in less than six months''.
Ewan Lloyd-Baker, chief executive of Hayward Tyler Group PLC (LON:HAYT) talks through the firm's results for the year to the end of March 2017 as well as news of the merger with fellow AIM engineer Avingtrans.
Wolfgang Rencken, chief executive of Sphere Medical Holding PLC (LON:SPHR) tells Proactive he's hugely excited their Proxima 4 critical care blood gas monitoring system can now work with electronics giant Philips' IntelliVue Patient Monitoring Systems.
The combination with Philips’ equipment means that Proxima's results can be recorded and displayed alongside other critical monitoring information, such as blood pressure, ECG, EEG, respiratory rate, cardiac output and temperature.
Charlie Holland, chief executive of Gusbourne PLC (LON:SHLP) tells Proactive: ''We have a very uncompromising approach to everything we do''.
''We don't cut corners and every part of our business is very much focused on quality ... we're trying to build a luxury brand so quality and attention to detail are very, very crucial to that''.
''We don't buy or sell grapes from anywhere else - we only make wines from the grapes grown on our own vineyards. This is important as it gives us complete control over the quality of what we do but also allows us to produce wines that have a sense of place and a sense of authenticity''.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford talks through the implications of the cut by the IMF in their forecast for US growth on metals and mining.
Ford also talks through the two mining IPOs of the week just gone - Jangada Mines (LON:JAN) and Phoenix Global Mining (LON:PGM).
''The London mining scene has been much quieter than many anticipated it would be at the beginning of the year''.
''Phoenix Global raised £4.6mln which was actually the second largest mining raise of the year which I think is a statistic which says a lot about the weakness in the mining IPO market in the UK''.
Michael Hunt, CFO at ReNeuron PLC (LON:RENE) sat down with Proactive's Andrew Scott on the day of their results for the year to the end of March 2017 to bring us up to speed on the latest with their therapeutic development programmes.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) tells Proactive a comprehensive ground gravity survey across a significant portion of the Ernest Giles gold project in Western Australia has “highlighted several additional targets conducive to gold mineralisation”.
Heddle also discusses some 'outstanding' gold intercepts that've recently been reported by Antipa Minerals who've been drilling at their Minyari Dome Project - approximately 35 kilometres along strike from Greatland's Havieron project.
Richard Burrell, chief executive of Aggregated Micro Power Holdings plc (LON:AMPH) caught up with Proactive to run through the firm's results for the year to the end of March 2017.
After a string of acquisitions, revenues jumped to £19.7mln (£1.3mln for the 15 months to 31 March 2016), while the AIM-listed group also posted a profit of £930,000 (£7.7mln loss for the 15 months to 31 March 2016).
AMP also today announced the acquisition of a 50.1% stake in Highland Wood Energy, a Scotland-based wood chip supplier that will become part of its Forest Fuels operation.
Jon Hopkins, senior reporter at Proactive Investors talks through Purplebricks Group PLC's (LON:PURP) results for the year to the end of April 2017.
The digital estate agency saw its loss on ordinary activities before tax reduced to £6.059mln, down from an £11.90bn loss a year earlier, as revenue more than doubled to £46.7mln, up from £18.6m in 2016.
The group said its UK operation had achieved its first operating profit, of £200,000, and had seen sales of £5.8bn worth of UK homes.
Bruce Davis, co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Abundance Investment Ltd, tells Proactive Atlantis Resources PLC (LON:ARL) has had strong interest from members in their 5 year bond offer.
Atlantis’s offer raised more than £1mln in subscriptions within 24 hours of the formal launch of the bond.
It represents a new subscription record for offerings launched via Abundance, a peer-to-peer ‘ green investment’ platform.
''This is the first AIM-listed company which has chosen to raise money with Abundance - we've had a couple of larger renewable energy companies in the past, but no one that was actually listed - so that's great to see'', Davis says.
The offer aims to raise between £2-5mln and closes on 16 August 2017.
Brian McMaster, chairman of Jangada Mines Plc (LON:JAN) tells Proactive they own what they believe is South America's largest and most developed PGM asset which they purchased about two years ago from Anglo American.
Raising just over £2mln, McMaster says the plan is to use that cash to fast-track a pre-feasibility study on the project which they hope to have completed by the end of the year.
''The asset has quite a long history, it's been developed for about 40 years, it's had around about $35mln spent on it to date'', McMaster says.
''The £2.25mln raised through IPO will be more than enough money to get us through the PFS and ready for the next stage of development''.
''Roughly 80% of the world's PGM production comes from South Africa ... it's well documented it has issues at the moment so to find a really high quality PGM asset outside of South Africa is rarely quite rare.''
Gali Bar-Ziv, chief operating officer of Lingo Media Corp (TSE:LM) tells Proactive they're continuing to expand their product distribution after striking a deal with HP Inc to sell their English language learning programs in Latin America.
João Andrade, chief executive of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) tells Proactive their stem cell healthcare insurance, CellPlan, is now available to customers of Biovault, the country’s largest private human tissue storage facility.
Haris Chaudhry, founder and executive chairman of InnovaDerma Plc (LON:IDP) tells Proactive the company came about by them looking for the next trend in the beauty and vanity space and the fact that a lot more people are now engaging with the industry online.
''We're essentially a UK-based developer of clinically-proven products and life sciences in the beauty and personal care space'', Chaudhry says.
''We have a very good eye for acquiring almost end-of-life brands and scaling them''.
In amongst their brands are the well-known Skinny Tan, Leimo as well as Stevie K cosmetics.
Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) runs Proactive through the firm's results for the year to the end of April 2017.
Dr Basu says they're now seeing a ''step change” across the business with revenues expected to grow 40% in the current year – in line with previous forecasts.
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH, ASX:EMH) tells Proactive they've declared a maiden ore reserve for the Cinovec lithium-tin deposit in the Czech Republic as well as securing a A$2mln interim funding package that will “maintain momentum” behind the project.
Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH, ASX:EMH) tells Proactive they've declared a maiden ore reserve for the Cinovec lithium-tin deposit in the Czech Republic as well as securing a A$2mln interim funding package that will “maintain momentum” behind the project.
Keith Bush, chief executive of Cabot Energy, talks Proactive through the name change from Northern Petroleum and discusses the new focus on their Italian and Canadian assets.
Giulio Cesareo, chief executive of graphene specialist Directa Plus Plc (LON:DCTA) tells Proactive they're to work with Italian workwear group Alfredo Grassi to manufacture a new range of garments using the highly flexible element.
Gert Rieder, executive chairman of Falcon Media House (LON:FAL) talks Proactive through their two recent deals with the UK arm of Indian conglomerate Tata and also Verimatrix.
''I think our Q-Flow technology, which enables you to have a superior quality stream of live media to your mobile device, stands out in the African continent'', Rieder says.
Toby Pierce, chief executive of TAG Oil, talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their main assets in New Zealand and Australia as well as the firm's strategy and possible future acquisitions.
Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR) saw its statutory pretax profit slump to £900,000 in the 52 weeks to April 29, down from £12.8mln a year earlier, although the fall in underlying pretax profit was less severe, down to £14.4mln from £18.3mln in the previous year, in-line with its expectations.
''Carpetright boasts that it’s turning things around but a collapse in reported profits suggests otherwise'', says Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.
Numis Securities analyst Justin Chan tells Proactive's Andrew Scott the cut in production by Kazakhstan - the world's top uranium producer - earlier this year did have an impact on the price - albeit temporarily.
''I think what has happened since then is that there hasn't been a fundamental change in the supply-demand dynamics in the short term ... so in the short term there is still an overhang of supply in the market'', Chan says.
He adds: ''Unfortunately the nuclear utilities haven't come back to the contracting market, so there hasn't really been secondary support for the Kazakh production cut''.
''Ultimately the uranium market remains in a situation where long term demand exceeds long term supply but the current situation is that there's more short term supply than demand'', he says.
Anna Gudmundson, chief executive of Kin Group PLC (LN:KIN), which trades as Kin Wellness, tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're about helping big corporations improve the health and productivity of their staff.
“We offer our clients a one year program and it’s really important that it’s ongoing and sustainable'', she says.
“We have a health crisis and it’s not just from an individual or society perspective but a lack of wellness is also costing corporates a huge amount with regards to absence, lost productivity, health insurance to some extent but also a disengaged workforce.''
John W Barr, chairman of Mosman Oil & Gas Limited (LON:MSMN) tells Proactive that work-over operations are now underway at the 50% owned Strawn project in Texas.
Barr also gave an update on the operations at the Arkoma stacked-pay project, in Oklahoma, where they recently acquired a 10% interest - with an option to pick up a further 45% - and the operator has recently completed a number of activities including new fracking.
Peter Cox, chief executive of Ironveld (LON:IRON) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through the latest developments at their High Purity Iron, Vanadium and Titanium Project in the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Cox also goes through the detail on their recent £2.1mln fundraise as well as ongoing discussions regarding the potential acquisition of a 7.5 MW smelting plant and associated independent power plant in Middleburg, South Africa.
David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) tells Proactive they're to press ahead with a drilling programme at their Mina do Barroso project in northern Portugal after metallurgical test work indicated the potential for high grade lithium.
Ahmet Dik, chief executive of Victoria Oil & Gas plc (LON:VOG) tells Proactive they've extended their gas supply deal with ENEO Cameroon to allow them to optimise the terms of a long-term agreement.
Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) managing director John Peters and chairman Alan Broome discuss with Proactive's Andrew Scott their three stage exploration programme by subsidiary Central Australian Rare Earths (CARE) in Western Australia.
Hanns Camp will see the first exploration with 2,000 metres of shallow hole drilling focused on finding cobalt and nickel.
Stage two will involve deeper drilling looking for nickel sulphide deposits.
The third stage will see a soil sampling campaign at Mount Weld, 30km to the south, to identify rare earths and gold targets.
Hadley Ford, chief executive of iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc (CSE:IAN, OTCQB:ITHUF) talks Proactive through their deal to buy Valley Agriceuticals for US$17.3mln - expanding its portfolio into five regulated cannabis states in the USA.
AIM Journal's Andrew Hore tells Proactive there's a rise in the number of companies looking to IPO within the next few weeks - including film finance provider FFI, online fashion retailer Quiz and Greencoat Capital.
Hore also discusses Pennant International (LON:PEN), Wynnstay group (LON:WYN) and Artilium (LON:ARTA).
John Morton, chief executive of European Wealth Group Limited (LON:EWG) talks through their results for the year to the end of December 2016 as well as their £8.8mln fund-raising which is designed to make the integrated wealth management group “debt free with working capital flexibility and balance sheet strength''.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford says debate is still raging about the extent of global economic influence China is likely to enjoy by 2050, with some forecasters arguing it will easily have surpassed the US by then in terms of GDP, and possibly even be closing in on it in terms of GDP per head.
He adds that in the broadest context, this presents positives for miners.
''The US economy isn’t shrinking, it’s just that the Chinese economy is growing faster, and if the pace of growth has slowed in recent years, it remains nonetheless impressive.''
Ford says if it remains at current levels, the Chinese economy could be twice the size of the US’s by the end of the century.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford reports on Peter Hambro, chairman of Petropavlovsk PLC (LON:POG) being voted off the board of the company he founded 23 years ago.
Toby Bradbury, chief executive of Shanta Gold Ltd (LON:SHG) talks Proactive through their acquisition of Vancouver-based Helio Resource Corp, the raising of US$14mln from investors, and their debt restructuring deal.
''We've pulled together a number of strings for the company at one time which really sets us up to take Shanta - particularly New Luika - forward for many years to come'', Bradbury says.
Paul Atherley, managing director of Berkeley Energia Limited (LON:BKY) updates Proactive on construction and progress at their Salamanca uranium project in Spain.
Atherley also talks through developments with further offtake deals and financing plans.
Vassilios Carellas, chief executive of Ortac Resources Limited (LON:OTC), talks Proactive through their increasing focus on projects in Africa - particularly Misisi in the Democratic Republic of Congo that already boasts a resource of well over a million ounces.
Carellas adds the company's long-standing chairman Anthony Balme will stand down at the company’s next annual general meeting, to be held in September this year.
Ivan Ashminov, co-founder of Trading 212 talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their new zero commission share trading platform.
''We believe that from now on the industry won't be the same'', Ashminov says.
Ignacio Salazar, chief executive of Orosur Mining Inc (LON:OMI TSX:OMI) tells Proactive a pick-up in production from their new San Gregorio West underground mine in the last three months helped them to meet production guidance for a fourth year in a row.
Paul Kuhn, chief executive of Avrupa Minerals Ltd (CVE:ARU) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their decision to take back full control of the Alvalade VMS project in the Iberian pyrite belt of southern Portugal.
Bradford Cooke, chief executive of Endeavour Silver Corp (TSE: EDR, NYSE:EXK) updates Proactive on their plans to develop two new mines - El Compas and Terronera.
They've also recently increased their footprint in Zacatecas state through the purchase of two additional properties for under US$1mln.
''We have I think one of the most compelling organic growth profiles in the silver space'', Cooke says.
Claude Lemasson, president and chief executive of Eastmain Resources Inc (TSE:ER, OTCQX:EANRF) tells Proactive their shares have begun changing hands on the OTCQX Best Market in the US under the ticker EANRF.
Justin Tooth, executive chairman of Ferrum Crescent Ltd (LON:FCR) - more commonly known now as FCR - talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their recent hiring of heavy-hitting technical consultant Myles Campion.
Tooth also discusses their drilling program at Toral in Spain and the increasing interest they're getting from Australian investors since making the strategic decision to distance themselves from iron ore in South Africa .
Gerard Kisbey-Green, chief executive of Goldplat PLC (LON:GDP) tells Proactive their Kilimapesa gold mine in Kenya is now operating profitably with a processing plant upgrade also now in the commissioning stage.
Richard Costa-D’Sa, the newly appointed growth officer for Be Heard PLC (LON:BHRD) sits down with Proactive Investors.
''We're in a unique place because we've already hit the ground running, we've already got over 200 people, Peter and the guys are constantly speaking to interesting businesses and I think we'd be silly to even put a target on what we look like in three years because in the next year so much can change''.
Miroslav Reljanovic, chief executive of Ergomed Plc (LON:ERGO), tells Proactive they've brought forward the reporting date for top-line results for their phase-IIb trial of blockbuster blood thickening agent PeproStat.
Trevor Brown, chief executive of Braveheart Investment Group PLC (LON:BRH) tells Proactive they enjoyed an ‘exceptional’ year - moving from a significant loss to a profit.
The turnaround was in part due to the sale of a stake in one of its investee companies, mLED, a developer of ultra-high brightness technology.
Ralph Rushton, executive vice president of business development at Prospero Silver Corp. (CVE:PSL) introduces the company and outlines their strategy to Proactive Investors.
Rushton also talks through their partnership with Fortuna Silver Mines.
Craig Lindsay, chief executive of Otis Gold Corp (CVE:OOO, OTC:OGLDF) talks through next month's drill program at their Kilgore gold project in Idaho as well as plans for fieldwork at the Oakley project in Cassia county - ahead of potential drilling.
Oil and gas analyst Barney Gray talks through the announcement this morning from UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) that gas has been found at the Broadford Bridge well in the Weald Basin.
UKOG’s licence area is on the southern flank of the basin and is described as a mirror image of the fault block at Horse Hill, host to one of the most important onshore discoveries of recent times.
Jay Bhattacherjee, chief executive of Aminex plc (LON:AEX) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've now repaid their corporate loan facility in full.
The company now describes itself as a ‘debt-free’ gas producer.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford talks through news of Shanta Gold Ltd's (LON:SHG) acquisition of Vancouver-based Helio Resource Corp for US$5.6mln.
Alongside news of the acquisition, Shanta's also announced they're raising US$14mln from investors, plus they've agreed a debt restructuring deal.
Tony Gilby, managing director of Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU) tells Proactive they've achieved ‘first power’ from their coal bed methane (CBM) project in Botswana.
Mick Billing, chairman of Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) discusses their recent agreement to acquire a 25% stake in a US lithium explorer.
Under a binding sale and purchase agreement, Thor will have an option to acquire a further 75% of the business over a period of 45 business days.
Separately, Billing also tells Proactive they've now completed the bedrock geochemistry drilling at the Dundas gold project in Australia.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, gives his take on the Amazon-Whole Foods deal.
''It's interesting for a number of reasons ... from Amazon's perspective it's their first major venture into the bricks and mortar markets''.
''It's interesting they've chosen to pick this avenue to go down rather than a slightly more traditional food retailer'', Campbell adds.
''It also marks a significant expansion of Amazon's grocery ambitions''.
Connor Campbell also discusses the possibility of an Amazon takeover of Ocado - should they ever look to buy up a pre-existing property in the UK.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya from London Capital Group tells Proactive: ''The markets have been pricing in a softer Brexit and I think in the aftermath of what's happened in the last couple of weeks, the political developments, we could expect a softer Brexit than what we may have initially thought a month ago''.
Oil & Gas commentator Malcolm Graham-Wood chats through with Proactive's Andrew Scott his recent visit to Morocco to see first-hand the Sidi Moktar project.
Graham-Wood also touches on drilling operations for the Badile exploration well, near Milan in Italy.
Discussing too the recent hiring of Fiona MacAulay as CEO Of Echo Energy (LON:ECHO) he says: ''I think she's absolutely world-class ... it's a very good deal as far as Echo is concerned''.
''She's one of the best in the business''.
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through the findings from German based Dorfner Anzaplan which reveal a commercial grade, high quality lithium mineral concentrate could be produced from the group's Zulu Lithium and Tantalum project in Zimbabwe.
WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) CFO Keith Merker discusses with Proactive their new tie-up to bring a cannabis brand specifically targeting women to Canada.
WeedMD will produce and ship Van der Pop's branded cannabis to registered patients starting later this year.
Christian Schaffalitzky, managing director of Eurasia Mining plc (LON:EUA) caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott to update on developments at their Monchetundra palladium and platinum project as well as progress at West Kytlim and the Semenovsky tailings project.
Leo Koot, chief executive of Columbus Energy Resources PLC (LON:CERP), , the reboot of LGO Energy, speaks to Proactive's Andrew Scott on the day of the name change and outlines the strategy ahead.
'Columbus Energy gives us the opportunity to take the positives from the past and build on them''.
''I'm very excited about the oil fields themselves, we've got four oil fields producing at the moment for us - the most exciting one is the Goudron Field''.
Andrew Newland, chief executive of ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL,OTCQX:ANPCY) tells Proactive their Parsortix system, which is used to harvest circulating tumour cells from the blood stream associated with cancer, has helped researchers from the Queen Mary University of London's Barts Cancer Institute find two rare cells.
The study of 40 people found that combining them enabled the identification of patients who are 10-times more likely to die of prostate cancer in the short-term.
Tom Becker, president and chief executive of Iofina plc (LON:IOF) stopped by the Proactive studio while in London for their AGM.
Becker updates on first half production as well as plans for the remainder of 2017.
Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS) chief executive Peter Bird tells Proactive the infill and expansion drilling on their BKM copper project in Indonesia has met and in some cases exceeded expectations.
John Rigby, managing director of K3 Capital Group Plc (LON:K3C) updates Proactive Investors on the firm's trading for the year to the end of May.
''In terms of sectors .... we see them all as opportunities. We don't feel the need to specialise in one particular area and we want to grow the businesses as aggressively as we can and therefore open as many doors for ourselves as we can''.
''Growth has been very strong. Since 2010 when I took over as MD we've grown the business from around £2mln turnover to in excess of £10mln pa''.
Richard Knights, Head of Mining Research at Liberum Capital updates on progress with Sirius Minerals PLC (LON:SXX) ahead of their listing next week on the FTSE 250.
Michael Masterman, chairman of W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) talks through their maiden statement of ore reserves at the La Parrilla tungsten/tin mine in Spain.
Based on the reserves of 29.7mln tonnes (mt) at 931 parts per million (ppm) tungsten trioxide (WO3) and 116 ppm tin (Sn), La Parrilla will have an eleven year mine life initially producing 2mln tpa (million tonnes per year) and rising to 3.5mtpa in 2020.
Michael Travia, managing director of BOS GLOBAL HOLDINGS Ltd (LON:BOS) catches up with Proactive's Andrew Scott to outline the group's strategy and targets for 2017.
Bert Munro, head of business development at Hummingbird Resources (LON:HUM) tells Proactive they're upping their stake in the under construction Yanfolila gold project in Mali to 80%.
Munro also updates on how progress is coming along on site as they eye up first gold pour towards the end of 2017.
Erik Henau, chief executive of Concepta PLC (LON:CPT) tells Proactive they've received a first sales order for their myLotus fertility products.
The order – from HuanZhong Biotech, Concepta’s partner in China – is worth £225,000 (RMB 1.95mln).
Once Concepta has fulfilled the order, HZ Biotech will distribute the myLotus products in China.
Cameron Pearce, director of Emmerson plc (LSE:EML) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've reviewed a number of projects in the natural resources space and haven't yet made a decision.
'We continue to look at opportunities ... my personal preference is the oil and gas space, it's something I've been involved with previously ... but that's not to say we'll end up doing an oil and gas deal''.
''We've looked at gold, coal, oil and gas, helium ... I think in this environment we'd like to do something fairly sizeable - in the £10-30mln range''.
Malcolm Diamond, executive chairman of Trifast PLC (LON:TRI) runs through the firm's results for the year to the end of March with Proactive's Stocktube.
''What we've done ... we've had the benefits of tailwinds in terms of foreign exchange mostly with the dollar and we've gone to great lengths to separate this gain from our normal trading profit - we don't want to take credit for something we can't control'', Diamond says.
He adds: ''Even so, the organic growth underneath has still been very healthy at around 5%''.
''It's also been a year of big investment for us ... especially in capital equipment in Italy and Asia and also in people''.
Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott the use of their radiation technology at high profile political events - such as US President Donald Trump's visit to Brussels - validates their business model.
Kromek was informed that the deployment was successful and its radiation detection systems performed well and met the desired high standards for accuracy and efficiency.
WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) CEO Joao Andrade as well as Alan Greenberg, Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) former head of education who's now tasked with heading up WideAcademy spoke to Proactive about their plans and strategy for the education and training division.
John Burt, chief executive of Abzena plc (LON:ABZA) tells Proactive full-year revenue for the 12 months to the end of March 2017 jumped by almost 90%, with underlying losses reduced as they prepare for “significant growth”.
Gary Phillips, chief executive officer for Pharmaxis Ltd, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Brandon Munro, managing director for Bannerman Resources, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Bob Smith, executive vice president of Mytrah Energy Ltd (LON:MYT) talks through their results for the year to the end of December 2016.
The group reported underlying pre-tax profit rose to US$4.6mln in the year to 31 December 2016 from US$2.15mln a year earlier.
Revenue jumped to US$362.23mln from US$74.72mln, driven by 72% growth in power generation capacity.
Rusty Hutson, CEO of Diversified Gas & Oil plc (LON:DGOC) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their 2016 results as well as their recent ‘transformational’ acquisition of assets in North America’s Appalachian Basin.
Hugh Mackay, chief executive of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) Plc (LON:EOG) tells Proactive: ''We got great support in the open offer, raising £1.3mln and the level of participation exceeded my expectations ... it's an endorsement of the story - particularly in Ireland and it means we can go ahead into 2018 with great confidence''.
Nik Philpot, chief executive of Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) tells Proactive the financial year just ended was a breakthrough one for them in the US.
Reporting its results for the year to the end of March, the company flagged up nine US payment contracts won during the year that had a combined value of US$8.3mln; the previous year new US contracts had chipped in with US$1.3mln.
Azarga Metals Corp (CVE:AZR) president and chief executive Dusty Nicol tells Proactive's Andrew Scott ''as soon as we get back to work I think we will be able to both significantly increase the tonnage with the next round of work and likely increase the grade''.
In April this year, an inferred resource for the Unkur project was put at 42 million tonnes containing 220,000 tonnes of copper and 52 million ounces of silver at 0.52% copper and 38 grams per ton (g/t) silver.
Jon Mabbitt, chief executive of Applied Graphene Materials (LON:AGM) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they have their own proprietary manufacturing technique for making the raw material graphene but a lot of the company's expertise is in how to get that material to deliver on property enhancements which can be used in real applications.
'Where we've identified our graphene delivers best performance are in areas like paints and coatings and polymers and composites''.
''We have what is called a bottom-up method of manufacturing graphene which differentiates us from people who are splitting graphite down ... we synthesise, we make the graphene and that delivers some really interesting properties in the raw material''.
Jon Mabbitt, chief executive of Applied Graphene Materials (LON:AGM) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they have their own proprietary manufacturing technique for making the raw material graphene but a lot of the company's expertise is in how to get that material to deliver on property enhancements which can be used in real applications.
'Where we've identified our graphene delivers best performance are in areas like paints and coatings and polymers and composites''.
''We have what is called a bottom-up method of manufacturing graphene which differentiates us from people who are splitting graphite down ... we synthesise, we make the graphene and that delivers some really interesting properties in the raw material''.
Gervaise Heddle, chief executive of Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) tells Proactive they've made an application for licences covering a large cobalt exploration property in the Pilbara Region of northern Western Australia.
Vincent Mascolo, chief executive of IronRidge Resources Limited (LON:IRR) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're on the verge of taking full control of Tekton Minerals, which has a number of potentially high grade gold targets in Chad.
Teo Dechev, chief executive and president of Mundoro Capital Inc (CVE:MUN) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're 'strongly encouraged' by drilling so far at the Borsko Jezero licence in Serbia.
Dechev also touches on their recent drill program at the Tilva Rosh gold target as well as upcoming drilling at the Angel gold target in the Zvezda license in southeastern Bulgaria.
Strategic Minerals (LON:SML) managing director John Peters and non-executive director Peter Wale caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott to update on developments at their Cobre, Redmoor and CARE Projects.
On Cobre, Peters says 'We're actually looking forward to some fairly healthy cash flow in the future''.
As far as Redmoor in Cornwall is concerned, ''We're very much in the midst of the drilling programme … it's all going to plan and we're very happy with our team we've got down there'', Peter Wale says.
''There's a chance really to produce a legacy project here'', Wale adds.
And on their decision to acquire 100% of CARE and the Hanns Camp project in Western Australia .. ''We think it's a great project'', says John Peters.
''We've been looking at things and it's looking fairly exciting for us'', Peters says.
Peter Wale adds: ''We've got high prospectivity, decent optionality … there's everything in our favour that from a probability point of view we could strike some very good results … it could be very exciting''.
Mining Capital's Alastair Ford says the gold price was largely flat on the back of the news of a hung parliament in the UK general election.
''It was up in sterling terms because sterling fell as a result of the election and because of the uncertainty around the British economy itself''.
''In overall terms when the gold price moved on Brexit that was because of the uncertainty that was cast over the entire European Union''.
Ford adds: ''This is quite a localised event ... I don't think we're likely to see any of the coming events now really reflecting in the gold price''.
Roy Pitchford, chief executive of Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) tells Proactive drilling has commenced at Carlibaba, the proposed location of a second open pit mining operation at Manaila in Romania.
Dollar earners will benefit from the pound's weakness and defensive stocks should also do well, but stocks exposed to the UK economy may come under pressure, Neil Wilson, senior market analyst from ETX Capital told Proactive.
Neil Ritson, executive chairman of Solo Oil (LON:SOLO) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott: ''We're beginning to capitalise on the investments we've made over the years and seeing a lot of progress''.
Ritson also discusses Kiliwani North, Ntorya-2, Horse Hill plus their recent Helium addition to the portfolio.
FTSE 100's rise reflects the dip in the pound and is 'Brexit effect in miniature', IG's Chris Beauchamp tells Proactive
Jack Perkins, vice president of investor relations at Pershing Gold Corporation's (NASDAQ:PGLC, TSE: PGLC) talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their resource estimate and preliminary feasibilty study (PFS) for the Relief Canyon project .
George Roach, chief executive of Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott the maiden SAMREC compliant resource estimate for their wholly-owned Zulu Lithium and Tantalum project in Zimbabwe.
Ian Wallis, founder of Star Tech NG tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they're the first of its kind in the UK and Europe that offers a wider audience of high-net-worths, smaller family offices and institutions access to pre-IPO technology companies in the US.
Gary Thompson, president and chief executive of M Pharmaceutical Inc (CSNX:MQ, OTCMKTS:MPHMF) tells Proactive they've received an official trademark for Extrinsa from the US patent office.
The treatment is a solution for female sexual dysfunction (FSD).
Cameron Parry, chief executive of Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) tells Proactive they've raised £550,000 to fund their mine expansion in India and also the online gold trading platform IndexGold.
Record profits for property fund manager are clear evidence that focus on sustainable income streams is paying off, chief executive Ben Habib tells Proactive Investors.
Keith Bush, chief executive of Northern Petroleum Plc (LON:NOP) talks through their acquisition of several onshore production and development gas assets in Italy from Rockhopper Exploration Plc (LON:RKH).
Toby Hall, chief executive of Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX) tells Proactive renewal rates for its .VIP top level domain (TLD) in China have been above the industry norm.
The .VIP TLD was launched in China on 17 May of last year, which means its renewal time for those on a one-year contract.
Sula Iron & Gold PLC (LON:SULA) has released the first results from batch 2 of their recently completed 3,783 metre, 14 hole drill program across Sanama Hill.
Chief executive Roger Murphy tells Proactive's Andrew Scott: ''We're delighted .... it's the first hole we've ever drilled into a new structure, the southern target .... interestingly the geology, the mineralisation looks very similar to what we've recovered from Sanama''.
Clontarf Energy (LON:CLON) director David Horgan discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their exploration plans for Block 18 after being awarded the license by the government of Equatorial Guinea.
Chris Gilbert, chief executive of Fox Marble PLC (LON:FOX) tells Proactive he expects its processing factory in Kosovo to start production next month.
The factory, which will save the company money by bringing the cutting and polishing process in house, is currently being tested and commissioned.
Doug Doerfler, president and chief executive of MaxCyte, Inc. (LON:MXCT) tells Proactive they're to continue their collaboration with one of the world’s leading infectious disease institutes after signing a cooperative research and development agreement with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD).
The two will work together to explore the development of new therapies for X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) using MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation gene-correction platform.
Peter Blight, managing director for Stellar Resources, speaks with Proactive Investors.
Peter Shaw, CEO of DP Poland Plc (LON:DPP) talks through with Proactive's Andrew Scott their £5.25mln raise.
DPP raised the cash by issuing 12.2mln shares at 43p per share, slightly above Monday's closing price of 42.63p
Paul Hamer, chief executive of WYG PLC (LON:WYG) talks through the firm's full year results and also touches on their new chief executive and chairman.
Scott Maybury, chief executive of Private & Commercial Finance Group plc (LON:PCF) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott: ''We've continued our upward trend in profitability and continued our new business and portfolio growth which means we're very comfortable with market expectations''.
Keith Allaun, chairman of the waste-to-energy specialist PowerHouse Energy Group PLC (LON:PHE) tells Proactive they've secured funding from a “large corporate partner” which has committed up to £500,000.
Mike Ingram, market strategist at BGC Partners looks ahead to the UK general election and the impact on markets and currencies.
'I think the markets are going to remain thin and rather jittery'', Ingram says.
''If you look at the index numbers you wouldn't have thought there'd be a problem but my mind is cast back to where we were in the UK referendum nearly a year ago''.
''Overall volumes are just absolutely miserable ... I'm looking at volumes at the moment which are 30% below even the summer averages .. so this sort of feels like an August really'', he adds.