The Times: London will get one of its biggest IPOs of the last five years after Airtel Money, the mobile payments arm of Airtel Africa, announced its intention to float. It is understood that Airtel Money could look to raise around $800 million at a valuation of $8 billion or more. This could make it the biggest IPO since Wise was valued at £9 billion in 2021, depending on the final valuation. The company said it will confirm the details of the IPO – such as the indicative price range and the number of shares it will sell – in mid October.
Comment: Hallelujah, praise the Lord. We have a decent IPO in London, as someone has decided they do not care about the shrinking AIM market, the prospect of horrific, higher CGT, and Andy Burnham’s incessant social media videos, that look as though they were generated by Crewkerne Gazette (worth looking up).
Orosur Mining Inc. (OMI) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Red Cloud Securities Inc. to act as sole agent and bookrunner, together with U.K. corporate brokers Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd. and Greenwood Capital Partners Limited in connection with a best efforts private placement for gross proceeds of up to C$14,000,000 at £0.17.
Comment: Just in case anyone was wondering why there was no follow through share price rise after the big El Cedro discovery, it was and is explained by the run up to today’s chunky placing news. One wonders if the celebrity investor in the shares has taken part in the raise, and of course whether the shares can settle at or above the placing price in quick time. Oh actually, he’s getting out…
Shuka Minerals Plc (SKA), an African focused mine operator and developer, is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement on 26 August 2026, it has received laboratory results from ALS Labs for all 5 holes drilled in the “PIT 2” area at the Kabwe Zinc Mine. SKA said “These results give the Board confidence in a significantly increased mineral resource and supports the Company’s statement that we are looking to increase the historical resource at Pit 2 by at least 50%.”
Comment: If nothing else it can be seen that CEO Richard Lloyd and friends are plugging away at SKA, and both the discovery and the share price is responding in kind. Above our first target at 4p, which has just been hit, we can dare to dream of year highs at 6p by the end of next month – fundraises permitting.
Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (GWMO), a strategic minerals exploration and development company, announced the completion of its reverse circulation drilling campaign at the Defender Tungsten Project in Mineral County, Nevada, USA. GWMO said “Completing our first drilling campaign at the Defender Tungsten Project marks a major step forward for GWM. Intersecting broad zones of scheelite bearing skarn across several targets is highly encouraging and validates our geological model for the district. The presence of scheelite over broad intervals is very encouraging ahead of assay results. Importantly, the subsurface skarn zones we have now drill-tested complement the positive results from our recent surface channel sampling, giving us a coherent picture of mineralisation from surface to depth.”
Comment: Shares of GWMO are up nearly 2x so far this year, so on this basis alone the company’s turnaround now looks unassailable. This is especially so given the regular RNS updates from the hot Nevada postcode, and the even hotter tungsten asset.
Mendell Helium (MDH), the helium exploration and production company, is pleased to announce that further gas analyses at its Rost 2-26 well (“Rost 2”) in the Fort Dodge area, Kansas have recorded helium concentrations of up to 11.5% in the most recently analysed sample. Since the commencement of de-watering of Rost 2, the Company has undertaken several multi-sample gas analyses, which, in the Board’s view, have been consistently impressive. Across the most recent analyses the recorded helium concentrations have increased with the most recent sample registering 11.5% helium.
Comment: From memory, and other helium plays, 11.5% helium is a big number and nothing to be sniffed at, if that is the appropriate pun. Post March support in the 3.5p zone may be the correct entry point in the shares for those who like the progress being demonstrated here.
Kooth (KOO), a global leader in youth digital mental wellbeing, announced unaudited half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2026 (H1 2026). Annual Recurring Revenue £62.9m, Adjusted EBITDA of £5.3m; Continued strong financial base as Company builds on its leading market position. Kooth’s US footprint now extends across three States and the recent successful launch of Soluna in UK will help support the conversion of growth opportunities, the expansion of current contract values and drive economies of scale.
Comment: A decent update from KOO, and one that justifies the 50% share price rise we have seen so far this year. It will be interesting to see whether further gains can be achieved if the company can consolidate its improving position.
Tungsten West (TUN), the owner and operator of the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, UK, announced that it has entered into a binding eight-year supply and offtake agreement with Elmet Technologies LLC, a member of The Elmet Group, a US-based vertically integrated producer of tungsten products and advanced materials.
Comment: TUN has rallied 2x in 2024, 2x in 2025, and is so far up 3x this year. It feels as though the company is enjoying a lap of honour even without producing an ounce of tungsten yet. Quite an achievement really…
Lexington Gold (LEX), the gold exploration and development company with projects in South Africa and the USA, announced its unaudited interim consolidated results for the six-month period to 30 June 2026. 53% increase in the JKL Project’s independent JORC (2012) Inferred Mineral Resource estimate to 12.90 Mt at 0.78 g/t Au for 323,500 oz of contained gold.
Comment: LEX is and has been pushing ahead, albeit in a modest way, something which has thus far not been given the credit from the market it perhaps deserves. One wonders whether the market will be more kind once the company’s cash situation is addressed?
Ingenta plc (ING), a leading provider of software and services to the global publishing industry, announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June 2026. ING said, “Trading in the first half reflects the progress we are making in executing our strategy. While reported revenues were modestly lower, this was driven largely by currency movements and the wind-down of legacy work, rather than any weakening in our core proposition. Encouragingly, 92% of the Group’s revenue is now recurring, underlining the quality and predictability of our customer relationships, and we have secured over £2m of new contract revenue during the period, spread across our major product lines. We continue to see a healthy level of pipeline activity as we move into the second half of the year.”
Comment: Given the healthy pipeline and preponderance of ARR, it is perhaps rather unfair that the market continues to be quite hard on the MET share price. Perhaps the company needs to boost its profile, and sing its own praises a little more than it has thus far?
Metir plc (MET), the global provider of fast-response, mobile and point-of-use water and environmental monitoring technologies, provided an update on commercial and development progress across its water testing and PFAS detection technologies. MET said “Taken together, our work with Swansea University and CISM, ProDecon, FIDCHEM and now Puraffinity is helping us build the technical evidence and commercial partnerships needed to support adoption of our PFAS detection technologies as a unique market offering. The ability to combine PFAS detection with treatment and rapid on-site verification could provide a compelling proposition for the growing global PFAS remediation and water treatment markets.”
Comment: It would appear that for some reason investors are more inspired by AI or booming fossil fuels, than they are by point of use water and environmental monitoring technologies. While this state of affairs continues it may be the case that MET shares do not perform as well as they should, despite progress like that which has been announced today.
Aurrigo International plc (AURR), a leading international provider of transport technology solutions, reported its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2026. he Group delivered H1 revenue growth of 19% to £4.2m (H1 2025: £3.5m). 53% growth in Automotive revenues to £3.6m (H1 2025: £2.4m), as trading continued to recover from the disruption experienced in H1 2025, together with new contract wins. Adjusted EBITDA loss of £3.1m (H1 2025: £1.6m) and loss before tax of £3.8m (H1 2025: £2.1m), reflecting continued investment in the Group’s expanded UK facility and in building manufacturing capacity ahead of the Ultra Global contract build phase and anticipated autonomous vehicles orders.
Comment: Shares of AURR have been rising like a homesick angel since the beginning of last month, so it would appear that the market is not too bothered by the latest growing pains induced losses. It perhaps does help that the company still has £8m in the bank.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
