Xtract Resources Plc (XTR) announced a fundraising today for £2,000,000 at a price of 0.60 pence per Ordinary Share principally for the ongoing advancement of its Silverking copper and Amghas antimony projects.
Executive Chairman Colin Bird commented: “This fundraising has been initiated in order to enable us to continue to develop our mine project in Morocco and invest in our joint venture with our partners in Silverking in Zambia and in particular, to complete construction of a processing plant at Silverking whilst continuing with exploration on the general licence area. The Board expects that the Silverking plant will be commissioned and mining start in 2026 to take advantage of current copper prices. In Morrocco, exploration will continue while Government approval is obtained to redevelop the Amghas mine and construct a floatation plant.”
Comment: Shares of XTR are remarkably strong in the wake of a fundraise which represents approximately half the current market cap. The fact that this is the case suggests that the market is backing the company’s current strong copper / antimony focus.
Valereum Plc (AQSE: VLRM) announced that its licensed and regulated subsidiary, VLRM Markets, S.A. de C.V., has been authorised by its regulator, CNAD, the National Commission of Digital Assets, to adopt DigiShares Inc.’s real world assets tokenisation platform under the VLRM Markets brand. The Platform, which is one of Valereum’s strategic investee company’s core technologies, will operate as a white-labelled solution within VLRM Markets’ marketplace, following receipt of regulatory approval. The Company expects the Platform’s deployment to support accelerated revenue growth opportunities for VLRM Markets, with an aim to increase its operating margins through the combination of enhanced service levels and operating efficiencies driven by unique features and high levels of automation provided by the Platform.
Comment: Most observers of VLRM will have lost count of all the zeitgeist hitting initiatives the company has served up over the past year or two, most of which will be far too technical / go over the heads of RNS readers. But presumably, one day the company will hit the mark.
MicroSalt (SALT), a leading manufacturer of full-flavour natural salt with approximately 50% less sodium, is pleased to provide the following trading update and continuing advancement of its B2B bulk business. Unaudited sales for the 10 months ended 31 October 2025 total $1.66 million and the Board is confident of exceeding its original expectation of full year revenue of $2.0 million. In its H1 2025 Trading Update on 18 August 2025, the Company announced that it had received increased North America volume projections from whom it describes as Customer 3, one of the world’s largest food, soft drink and snack manufacturers.
Comment: It is a numbers game, particularly of scale for SALT. In theory every processed food maker in the world should be beating a path to the company’s door. Presumably the process is not as easy as it should be, with vested interests and ongoig contracts.
Shield Therapeutics plc (STX), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company specialising in iron deficiency, announced that its partner, MEDLEAP Pharma, a subsidiary of Vital KSK Holdings Inc. has initiated a Phase II clinical trial for ACCRUFER® (ferric maltol), a new drug candidate for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), for patients in Japan. This trial is an exploratory study to support a Phase III trial and follows confirmation by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) of the development plan for the drug as a PAH treatment in Japan, based on previous clinical results in Europe, UK and USA. Subject to the results of this trial, MEDLEAP plans to conduct a Phase III trial (Pivotal Study) and proceed with regulatory submission and launch preparations from 2028 onwards. MEDLEAP positions this drug as a core pipeline in the PAH field.
Comment: The trail had gone slightly cold as far as STX was concerned, after a stellar spring / summer as it celebrated not only its newsflow, but the revival in the baby biotech area on the London market. Whether today’s RNS mentioning the year 2028 is immediate enough for new punters remains to be seen.
First Class Metals gears up for high-potential drilling – Dead Otter could be a game-changer
Reabold Resources (RBD), the investing company focused on developing strategic gas projects for European energy security, announce the launch of our interactive investor hub. For both existing and prospective shareholders, the new investor hub brings all Reabold content into a single integrated platform to better inform and engage investors and stakeholders.
Comment: On the one hand an investor hub is great for the service provider as it means they have a permanent retainer coming in. On the other hand. Actually, that is about it. That said, it is disappointing that none of the significant newsflow from RBD since the summer including Parla, LNEnergy, Colle Santo et al has moved the share price for the company. Hence the move to engage with investors.
Polarean Imaging plc (POLX), a commercial-stage medical technology company and global leader in functional lung imaging using hyperpolarised Xenon MRI, announces that it intends to seek shareholder approval for the cancellation of the admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM with effect from 7:00 a.m. on 23 December 2025 and the re-registration of the Company as a private limited company.
Comment: It will be lonely this Christmas without POLX. Another AIM stock bites the dust, and in a way one might say, what took the company so long. But as stated before the ridiculous cost of being listed on AIM should not be a reason for throwing in the towel.
Caledonian Holdings (CHP) announced a £3.5m funding package with Yorkville. CHP said this provides funding for further investment into AlbaCo, other investment opportunities and working capital.
Comment: Given the quantum of the raise it is surprising that so far this morning shares of CHP are flat. Perhaps no one noticed the RNS?
Oriole Resources PLC (ORR), the AIM quoted gold exploration company focused on West and Central Africa, announce that it has conditionally raised £1.8 million before expenses at a price of 0.24 pence per share. The Placing Price is equal to the bid-price of the Company’s ordinary shares at close of market on 13 November 2025. The Placing proceeds will be used to advance the Company’s assets in Cameroon during the 2025/26 field season and will, more specifically, provide capital for a step out drilling programme at the MB01-S deposit (following completion of the fully funded MB01-N target drill programme, as announced on 5 November 2025), focus on extensive exploration work in the Eastern Central Licence Package, and enable the completion of technical studies in support of the Company’s application for an exploitation licence at the Bibemi project.
Comment: It would appear that this year we are getting into the pre-Christmas / end of year placing season a little earlier than usual. That said, all those mince pies and presents do not pay for themselves.
Aptamer Group plc (APTA), the developer of next-generation synthetic binders for the life sciences industry, announced two key contract wins worth £192,000, demonstrating momentum with major global pharmaceutical companies and commercial traction with the proprietary Optimer® platform. With these contract wins, the order book for FY26 has reached £1.95 million, representing a strong pipeline of revenue-generating projects across multiple top-tier pharmaceutical partners. Many of these are repeat contract wins, build on the Group’s previous successes with major global companies, which routinely invest in US$100+ million therapeutics, validating the commercial potential of Aptamer’s technology platform.
Comment: The drip-drip of contract wins echoes the validation in the industry that APTA has achieved. Share price wise we are hoping for a resumption of the August – September rally.
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.
