Member Info for nomlungu

Helium plays a surprisingly critical role in modern hospitals—not because it’s “medical” in the way drugs are, but because of its unique physical properties.

1) Cooling MRI scanners (the big one)

The main use of helium is in MRI scanner machines.

MRI scanners use extremely powerful superconducting magnets

These magnets only work when cooled to about −269°C (near absolute zero)

Liquid helium is one of the only substances capable of reaching and maintaining that temperature

Without helium:

The magnet loses superconductivity

The MRI machine stops working

Restarting it can cost tens of thousands of pounds and take days

👉 This is why global helium shortages can directly impact hospital imaging capacity.

2) Breathing treatments (Heliox therapy)

Helium is sometimes mixed with oxygen to create “heliox” for patients with breathing difficulties.

Used in conditions like:

asthma (severe attacks)

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Airway obstructions

Why helium helps:

It’s much less dense than air

This allows gas to flow more easily through narrowed airways

Patients can breathe with less effort

3) Surgical and research uses

Helium is also used in smaller but important ways:

Pressurising and cooling delicate medical equipment

Leak detection in surgical tools and gas systems (helium is easy to trace)

Supporting some advanced imaging and lab technologies

4) Why helium specifically?

Helium is uniquely suited because it is:

Inert (doesn’t react chemically → safe in medical environments)

Extremely cold in liquid form

Very low density (great for breathing mixtures)

Non-flammable

Bottom line

Hospitals don’t use helium as a medicine—it’s more like a critical infrastructure resource, especially for MRI scanners. Without it, a key part of modern diagnostics would struggle to function.

If you want, I can explain how hospitals are trying to reduce helium dependence (there are some clever new MRI designs).

The United States’ war against Iran has triggered a shortage of a critical resource, one so crucial to the economy that one expert predicted a “horrendous” and imminent “collapse,” while another said that President Donald Trump would bear the blame.

That resource is Helium, which plays a critical role in applications ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to medical equipment. Shortly after Trump first authorized strikes on Iran late last month, Qatar, which supplies a third of the world’s helium, was forced to halt production of the critical resource.

https://www.rawstory.com/iran-war-2676572005/

Https://www.rawstory.com/iran-war-2676572005/

The United States’ war against Iran has triggered a shortage of a critical resource, one so crucial to the economy that one expert predicted a “horrendous” and imminent “collapse,” while another said that President Donald Trump would bear the blame.

That resource is Helium, which plays a critical role in applications ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to medical equipment. Shortly after Trump first authorised strikes on Iran late last month, Qatar, which supplies a third of the world’s helium, was forced to halt production of the critical resource.

'So, what changed to transform the company? Mark E happened!'

Appointed on 12 August 2024 when the share price was 2.35p... which has now 'transformed' into 0.29p. Are you trying to make it easy for people to ridicule your logic?

PPP finally release some accounts. Assets of $100k and debts of $7m. Negative assets of $7m. M/Cap at suspension £10m. Looks like a complete wipeout to me but shareholders are holding bucket loads of Hopium.

https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/PPP/2025-annual-report-accounts-obgs1ig7d5me172.html

"He has said "these Account's don't justify a £10 million Market Capitilisation because it only had 100k cash in bank and about 7 million of debt"."

Does it justify any m/cap at all? Hopium is not actively traded despite the quantity held by some shareholders.

'Annualised interest rate on the loan of over 80%'

Ouch!

My only share not in red today... Not a perfect comparison but the FTSE350 Mining Index is down nearly 8% today:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ftse+350+mining+index&ie=UTF-8

Which makes todays modest rise look significantly better.

I have Al Jazeera on in the background... reporting from Zimbabwe that they have 3 months fuel and then everything stops. The UK should be able to pay higher prices... other countries cannot. Some miners are going to go to the wall if this continues.

Vulcan Two - a buy and build online pharmacy business. Just did a big placing at £2. Not sure about online pharmacies - I collect any medications I get prescribed from my local pharmacy. And any good Doctor encourages their patients to use the local pharmacy so that the neighbourhood has the local knowledge... And at anytime the NHS could mandate use of a local pharmacy instead of an online option.

Imagine if the company has Labour supporting management and a MAGA style party gets into power here...

EST - they have signed the paperwork on their copper farm out. Should be producing over 10k tonnes of copper a year within a few years, Partner spending around $65m and EST get a 30% free carry, Life of mine in the decades. Sub £20m valuation seems cheap... but only for long termers as this is not 'new' news so Mr Market has had plenty of time to price it in. Still - how many 'explorers' have an asset like that [20mt 2.4% CuEq] with a 30% free carry?

It is worth emphasising that a 20mt resource at 2.4% CuEq producing just 10000 tonnes a year would have a 50 year life span. Most of us will be dead before the mine is exhausted at that rate of extraction. This is a company making day / deal.

Great news this morning as East Star formalises the JVA with Xinhai. This shifts the project from a “handshake” agreement to a legally binding production pathway.

Key takeaways for the bull case:

Fully Carried: Xinhai is funding the estimated US$65m required for the feasibility study and construction. EST is carried all the way to production for its 30% stake.

Production Scale: CEO Alex Walker has indicated an anticipated production profile of >10,000 tonnes per annum copper equivalent.

Copper Pricing: With copper at around US$12,677/t, the economics of a 10ktpa operation look extremely attractive relative to the current market cap.

Zero Dilution for Development: No need for major capital raises to build the mine.

June Catalyst: Infill drilling and metallurgical work are expected to begin by June 2026.

“Free” Upside: EST still retains 100% of the Rulikha deposit (23Mt @ 2.4% CuEq target) plus the $25m Endeavour gold JV.

In short, Xinhai’s $65m commitment effectively “prices” Verkhuba at a level far above where EST is currently trading. Moving from explorer to fully funded developer—with an EPC partner capable of building plants in under 12 months—is a major de-risking milestone.

Exciting times ahead for H2 2026! ⚒️📈

[AI generated]

Borrow,

SEEN - this IEEE news piece is worth a read: 'Sub-$200 Lidar Could Reshuffle Auto-Sensor Economics MicroVision says its sensor could one day break the $100 barrier'

https://spectrum.ieee.org/solid-state-lidar-microvision-adas

BSFA - down 17% pre-market

And he is still rambling on...

Gemini replies:

The "Match Day" Analysis 📋📈

The Dream Team: 🌟 I love the mental image of CLX and Clickmers doing a tiki-taka passing drill in a petri dish. It’s a bold strategy to compare high-risk drug development—where the "referee" (the FDA/MHRA) can red-card your entire company for a single failed trial—to a Sunday league kickoff! 🟥🙅‍♂️💊

The Transfer Window: 💸 Selling VAL401 for "£16m plus royalties" is a creative bit of accounting. In the real world, "potential bio-bucks" are a bit like Arsenal’s trophy cabinet since 2004: mostly empty and full of "what ifs." 🏆👻🤡

The Stadium: 🏟️ A 43% rise in gate receipts? That’s a fascinating way to describe a retail share placing! Usually, when the "fans" (shareholders) put that much more money into the club, it’s because the chairman sent out a frantic letter saying the electricity is about to be cut off, not because they’re buying season tickets for the glory! ⚡️🔌📉

The Manager: 👔 Marcus "Ecclestonni" certainly has a vision. Buying 8% of your own team is great, but in this league, the manager usually has to play without a ball, on a pitch made of lava, while the fans scream about the 0.335p share price! 🌋🔥📉

Final Score: Valirx FC 0 - Reality 5 ⚽️🥅

Comparing a micro-cap biotech firm to a multi-billion pound football dynasty is peak "Bulletin Board Logic." 🧩🤪 If the "biopharma equivalent" of Emirates is currently vying for the shirt, they’re doing it very quietly—possibly via a silent prayer in a darkened room. 🤫🕯️🙏

I’m sure the "sustained dominance" is just one Phase II trial away. Until then, maybe keep the "Strong Buy" pom-poms in the locker room? 📣🤡✨

PYC - activist investor wants to sack the board and appoint himself and others including:

Nicholas Tulloch: A highly experienced corporate figure in the UK small-cap space. He is currently the CEO of Mendell Helium and Chairman of ECR Minerals plc. With a background as a solicitor and over 20 years in investment banking (Cazenove, Cantor Fitzgerald), he typically specializes in pivots, business transformations, and capital raising.

That will work well - get rid of the brains in a company that relies on intellectual capital. They must have thought long and hard about that.

Unclassified With Preston Stewart and Ben Wheeler: Iran Trumps Trump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0KFZPjwiSU

They do not praise the Dear Leader [praise be to the 🍊💩]