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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Block Energy PLC - oil and gas company focused on Georgia - Says JSR-01 deep well has been safely drilled and completed below budget. Firm continues development of Middle Eocene reservoir with side-track of well WR-B01. Meanwhile, well WR-B01 ST will be drilled, targeting a fracture system identified by a high density of seismic attribute lineations. Further, Block Energy aims to monetise the 860 BCF of contingent resources at Project III. "Natural gas produced from a successful Project III development will support Georgia's growing domestic energy market and be suitable for export to Europe via Turkey," Block Energy explains.
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Caledonia Mining Corp PLC - gold producer with operations in Zimbabwe - Buys Motapa Mining Co UK Ltd, which holds a mining lease over the Motapa gold exploration in southern Zimbabwe, for an undisclosed sum. Seller was Bulawayo Mining Co Ltd. The project was formerly owned by Anglo American Zimbabwe, Caledonia notes. In the second half of the 20th century, up to 300,000 ounces of gold have been produced in the region, Caledonia says, albeit no mining infrastructure remains. The Motapa claim area is next to the Bilboes project, whose owner Bilboes Gold Ltd was sold to Caledonia in July for 5.1 million Caledonia shares and a 1% net smelter royalty on Bilboes's gold project in Zimbabwe. The sellers of Bilboes Gold were Baker Steel Resources Trust Ltd and other shareholders. "We are pleased to have concluded the purchase of Motapa. Given its large scale, excellent geological prospectivity and its strategic location adjacent to Bilboes, Motapa was a high-priority acquisition for Caledonia. We look forward to developing an exploration program for Motapa as we target a large-scale gold belt surrounding the Bilboes project," says Chief Executive Officer Mark Learmonth.
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Gem Diamonds Ltd - diamond producer with diamond mining operations in Lesotho and Botswana - Revenue in the third quarter ended September 30 grows 20% to USD56.6 million from USD47.3 million a year ago. Recovers 25,018 carats of diamonds, up 6.8% from 23,435 a year ago. Sells 27,913 carats, up 13% from 24,790. Carat selling price jumps 28% to USD2,028 per carat from USD1,589. For 2022, Gem expects to recover 104,000 carats of diamonds, down from the previously anticipated 112,000 to 116,000 carats. For sales, it lowers its guidance to about 105,000 carats from a previous range of 110,000 to 114,000 carats. The lowered guidance is due to a secondary crusher breakdown in a plant, and power disruption on the energy supply network, resulting in a loss of production. The crusher has since been repaired, and the plant is back at normal capacity.
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Sovereign Metals Ltd - Perth, Scotland-based rutile exploration and development company focused on Malawi - Signs non-binding memorandum of understanding with Chemours Co for the potential supply of 20,000 tonnes of rutile per year for two years, which can be extended beyond that. Sovereign says Chemours is one of the world's largest producers of high-quality titanium dioxide pigment, serving around 3,200 customers in 120 countries. Sovereign Metals Managing Director Julian Stephens calls the agreement "a true testament to the quality and strategic nature of our world-class Kasiya project in Malawi". Regarding the Kasiya project, Sovereign Metals on Monday said it is progressing the pre-feasibility study. Sovereign says Kasiya is the largest rutile deposit in the world. It expects the study to be completed in the first half of 2023.
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Spectral MD Holdings Ltd - London and Dallas, Texas-based predictive analytics firm for wound care - Expects 2022 grant revenue to be "materially" ahead of market expectations and about 60% higher ahead of grant revenues received in 2021, when this was USD15.2 million. Anticipates 2022 gross margin percentage to be higher than market expectations "due to a different clinical study cost mix in the current year than previously anticipated". Spectral says grants allow the firm "to expand the number of clinical trial sites, fund the development of DeepView's Electronic Health Record interoperability with hospitals and other sites of service, and accelerate manufacturing readiness sooner than planned. These funded tasks are expected to start earlier than originally expected and will therefore contribute to the higher-than-expected revenue."
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By Tom Budszus; tombudszus@alliancenews.com
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