Drug discovery and development company e-Therapeutics (LON:ETX) expects to see the first findings from its new programme of clinical trials before the end of this year. 

By then, it should have phase II data on one drug and phase I data on two more.

It booked a pre-tax loss of £3.86 million in the year to January 31 2012 compared with a loss of £2.66 million a year earlier. 

The results reflect increasing investment in drug discovery and drug development.

The company raised £16.7 million through a share placing last year and has £14 million in cash, which will support all the drug discovery and development plans the company currently has into 2014.

Chief financial officer Daniel Elger said: “We are in a very strong financial position and are able to carry on investing to create value in the business.”

The company is focused on four clinical candidates spanning cancer, psychiatric disorders and infectious diseases. 

It uses a novel approach of network pharmacology for drug discovery. The platform analyses networks of proteins associated with particular diseases.

The method differs from other conventional drug discovery approaches, which are generally based on targeting single proteins.

Panmure Gordon analyst Savvas Neophytou said: “The company’s platform technology remains attractive to us, and we see it as the primary reason to invest in the stock.”

The broker reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation with a target price of 76 pence.

E-Therapeutics chief executive Professor Malcolm Young said: “We have reshaped the business this year, building a new discovery team around our unique network pharmacology platform and bringing better focus to development of products entering the clinic. 

“These changes underpin our expectation of substantial progress over the next twelve months, beginning with the imminent entry into clinical trials of our cancer drug ETS2101.”

In the update, the company said it has moved the development of its C.Difficile, a bacterium that causes severe diarrhoea, candidate, Clostriban, back to take a closer look at some of the ‘mundane’ features such as its stability, rather than efficacy or potency. 

Young said: “We are taking advantage of the fact that we’re not just playing with one asset. We’re not a one trick pony.”

Hospital infection and depression treatments, ETX1153a and ETS6103 are “on time and on target” and due to enter trials this year.

Young added: “At the moment we are luxuriating in having plenty of money, a platform that is really hot and the perception that we are the leaders of it and the ability to deliver the clinical programme that we’ve set out.”

The share price was down 3 per cent at 38 pence.

Wasabi’s Turkish subsidiary Imparator Enerji signed an option to take a 50 per cent stake in the Tuzla Geothermal Power Project (TGPP) in April subject to partner and regulatory approval.

TGPP owner and operator Enda Enerji has now given its go-ahead, though the exercise of the option remains subject to the project lender's consent as well as regulatory approvals, Wasabi said.

The total consideration for the option is US$11.75 million (including a US$5 million loan note).

The project includes an operating 7.5 MWe geothermal power plant in Canakkale Turkey, with opportunities to expand further.

Historical studies indicate geothermal power generation potential of up to 80 MWe said Wasabi, which has started work on a pre-feasibility study for the development of a first stage 14 - 17.5 MWe build-out.

Wasabi will develop the project with Enda, which is an experienced power plant developer and operator in Turkey. 

The TGPP covers an area of approximately 11sq km of a very shallow and relatively high temperature geothermal zone in North Western Turkey and hosts a recently installed and currently operating 7.5 MWe power plant. 

The Tuzlageothermal field has also been extensively studied and drilling has confirmed the TGPP as a major regional geothermal resource. 

Wasabi added the proposed 14 - 17.5 MWe first-stage build-out at the TGPP may utilise its Kalina Cycle technology, which has the potential to increase power generation at the project by 20 per cent.

Wasabi said the option and development work would be funded through asset sales and other capital raising initiatives.

John Byrne, Wasabi’s executive chairman, said: 

"The opportunity we have in Turkey, through our option over the Tuzla project (TGPP) looks compelling.  As well as the potential geothermal resource we would be looking to utilize our proprietary technology.

"The Turkish power generation sector is receiving unprecedented interest from domestic and international investors and continues to be driven by the strong underlying demand for power in Turkey as a result of sustained economic growth.

"Should we decide to exercise the option, we would look to redeploy capital within the group and/or raise additional funds as appropriate to ensure the acquisition is value-accretive."

Ncondezi Coal (LON:NCCL) this morning unveiled a major overhaul of its board, including the appointment of a new chairman and chief executive, ahead of the development of its coal project in Mozambique’s Tete Province.

Michael Haworth, a former managing director of mining and metals corporate finance at the blue-chip American bank JP Morgan, becomes chairman, replacing Richard Stuart, who will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

So too will CEO Graham Mascall, who will be replaced in that role by the company’s chief operating officer, Nigel Walls. 

Paul Venter, who has 39 years mining experience across Africa, Mongolia, China and Russia, has been drafted in as COO.

In his role TSX-listed Prophecy Coal Corp Venter oversaw the successful commissioning of the Ulaan Ovoo coal mine in Mongolia just six months after acquiring the asset.

Haworth said: "I would like to thank Richard and Graham for successfully guiding and transforming Ncondezi over the past two years. 

“I am pleased that they have agreed to remain on the board so we will continue to have access to their expertise and advice."

The appointments come as the company prepares to complete its definitive feasibility study on Ncondezi Project in the Tete, on schedule in the third quarter.

In March the group unveiled a major upgrade to its JORC compliant resource  to 4.65 billion tonnes, compared to the 1.8 million tonnes defined in February 2010.

This includes 1.33 million tonnes of coal in the indicated category - representing a 108 per cent increase over the measured and indicated resources classified in 2010's maiden resource.

Importantly, 4.07 billion tonnes of today's updated resource is at depths of less than 250 metres and can be potentially mined by open pit.

Longreach Oil & Gas (CVE:LOI) said it has made solid progress across its Moroccan assets during the March quarter and is well funded for its work programmes with C$9 million in the bank.

At the Sidi Mokhtar licences, the company is currently working on completing seismic reinterpretation studies to better delineate leads and prospects.

The results should help the company determine strategy for further reprocessing and seismic acquisition.

Longreach is also processing and interpreting the new 2D seismic data from the Tarfaya licence, which is now nearing completion, while the interpretation of the 2D seismic shot over the onshore Zag basin is expected to be completed this year.

Elsewhere, the farm-out of the Foum Draa and Sidi Moussa exploration licences offshore Morocco remains underway. The company hopes to secure a partner for the drill phase on both licences.

On the financial front, Longreach had a cash balance of C$9 million at the end of March.

“Longreach continues to make solid progress on the extensive work programmes it has in place across all its licences in Morocco, for which it remains well funded,” said chairman and CEO of Longreach Bryan Benitz.

“Looking ahead, we expect to see an acceleration in activity with further seismic work, data interpretation and the identification of drill targets.

“We look forward to the future with confidence.”

The company has also made board changes earlier this month, hiring Ronald Lansdell as vice president exploration and as a board director. In addition, Mehdi Ali was appointed as an advisor to the board.

Zinc recycling specialist ZincOx Resources (LON:ZOX) is ramping up its first production plant in Korea after the demonstration period went well, it said today.

The first phase of the Korean Recycling Plant (KRP1) is designed to process 200,000 tonnes per annum of Electric Arc Furnace Dust, a production level that will make it the largest furnace dust recycling facility in Asia.

At a zinc metal price of US$2,250 per tonne and using current energy costs, KRP1 would generate underlying earnings of approximately US$31.2 million each year, the company added.

KRP2, the second phase of the development, will process a further 200,000 tonnes of furnace dust per annum and will make ZincOx the third largest recycler of this material in the world.

When in full production, both plants will produce 92,000 tonnes of zinc per annum in a high grade concentrate.

The KRP1 project was developed largely on time and budget at $110m, it added.

ZincOx made a loss of £8 million, down from £112 million, in 2011, on revenues of £1.65 million.

Andrew Woollett, executive chairman, said: We are delighted that our first recycling plant is now in operation and that the process has been successfully demonstrated in Korea.

We are excited by the prospect of the full ramp up on KRP1 while we start the development of KRP2 and push ahead with working up projects elsewhere in the world." 

KRP2 is estimated to cost a further US$100 million and take about 15 months to bring on stream.

Broker Daniel Stewart added that with KRP1 moving into production all eyes will be on the development of KRP2, which stands to double capacity and significantly increase the revenue generation possibilities for the facility.

“Lessons learned in the development of KRP1 will be extremely useful for the development of the second phase,” the broker said, which has a ‘buy’ recommendation and target price  of 139p.

The campaign will test new targets identified adjacent to, below and outside the current initial resource estimate for the Calandria Sur deposit as well as two outlier targets at the Nido Este and Pichones prospects.

According to the company, the information from this drilling programme will be “fundamental in the design of a more extensive drill campaign to be carried out in the second half of the year.

“This next campaign follows very encouraging target definition work over the last four months which has defined a mix of both high grade and bulk tonnage style targets,” said chairman of Mariana John Horsburgh.

The Las Calandrias project is estimated to have a preliminary resource of 519,000 ounces of gold equivalent.

The company had previously told investors that the re-sampling of drill holes at Calandria Sur indicated expansion potential with the company awaiting results from another 25 holes.

Drill target definition, ground magnetics, trenching and rock chip sampling are nearing completion at the deposit.

The Kazakhstan operating firm has achieved its daily mining target of 8,000 tonnes of ore at Benkala and remains on track to produce between 3,500 and 5,000 tonnes of copper this year with the plant operating at its normal capacity of 7,500 tonnes per annum.

The company plans to increase production to 20,000 tonnes by the 2014/15 fiscal year.

Frontier added that copper cathode production from Benkala, which the company says is a key milestone for the project, remains on target to begin in June this year.

In the meantime, the company’s Baitemir deposit in the north east of the country continues to show significant potential with the first results from the ongoing drill programme having met expectations.

Drilling will continue ahead of the preparation of a preliminary resource estimate, which is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of the year.

Silvermere Energy (LON:SLME) said this morning it expects production from the Mustang Island gas condensate field off the coast of Texas to begin this summer.

It follows the documented delays to the construction of a platform for the I-1 well, which have recently been resolved.

Chief executive Andy Morrison said the business, which listed on AIM in August, has come a long way in a short space of time.

“The company will soon be a gas and condensate producer and we look forward to expanding through the identification of at or near production, secondary and tertiary oil and natural gas opportunities onshore or shallow offshore the US,” he add.

Silvermere owns 33.3 per cent of Mustang Island, which is operated by Dominion Production. 

Its development was the key focus of the last financial year, which saw the company post a £1.3 million operating loss for the 12 months to December 31.

Cash and equivalents at the period end were £202,352.

The WC 35 State No. 1 well is operated by CML and Caza has a 20 per cent working interest for a 17.125 per cent production interest in the well.

The well has been perforated and CML reports that it has good fluid entry. There remains 25 per cent of load left and a frac crew is awaited, said Caza, as it updated inverstors on its Mexican operations.

Elsewhere, at the Bradley "29" horizontal well in Eddy county, drilling has reached the primary target and and operator Mewbourne has begun horizontal drilling and reported good mud log shows.

The Quail "16" horizontal well in Lea county, operated by Fasken Oil is at a depth of 10,787 feet aiming for the main horizontal target of Third Bone Spring sand at approximately 10,965 feet.

Caza also highlighted that in its Bone Spring play, energy firm Cimerex has two producing horizontal wells within half a mile of Caza's Lynch property. 

One well has produced 105,141 barrels of oil and 72.4 million cubic feet of natural gas in its first 131 days of production, while another has generated 101,111 barrels and 139.7 million cubic feet of gas in its first 221 days, it said.

In the Bone Spring play, where Caza has acquired 4,000 net acres to date, the firm has prospects Lynch, Forehand Ranch, Lennox, Copperline, Mad River, Bradley 29, Two Mesas and Quail Ridge.  

It said it was well positioned in the play, adding it continued to monitor opportunities to build on Caza's current acreage position.

Caza chief executive W. Michael Ford said: "We are very pleased that the San Andres appears to be productive for oil in the Sombrero well. The Permian basin is known for stacked pay zones, and we look forward to completing the frac job and getting the well completed and on line in the near future.  

"We are also very pleased with progress made by Mewbourne and Fasken to date on the Bradley and Quail State wells.  

"We hope to reach total measured depth on both wells within the next few weeks. Good news continues to be disseminated from activities in the horizontal Bone Spring play, and management is very pleased with recent activities near the Company's Lynch Property. 

"Successful horizontal Bone Spring wells have been drilled on all sides of this property."

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Taparko is held in a joint venture between Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) and High River Gold Mines (TSE: HRG).

Predictive Discovery is continuing reverse circulation drilling on the Laterite Hill Grid, along with a power auger program testing 15 kilometres of greenstone strike to the southwest of the grid.

The company is planning preliminary metallurgical studies on representative samples of gold mineralisation.

The Laterite Hill Grid is part of a joint venture between Predictive Discovery and El Dore Mining Corporation (ASX: EDM), in which Predictive Discovery holds a 72.1% interest.



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First sales proceeds are expected to be received in July and to build up progressively over the next four months to US$9 million per month.

The Las Lagunas project involves the reprocessing of high grade gold and silver refractory tailings from the Pueblo Viejo mine, derived from open pit operations between 1992 and 1999.

Las Lagunas is expected to produce about 69,000 ounces of gold and 630,000 ounces of silver per annum.

Valuation and Comment

By around October 2012, PanTerra will generate income of around US$9 million per month, which equates to US$108 million annually – based on a gold price of US$1,400 an ounce and silver of US$28 an ounce.

Now if production targets can be met, the project is expected to generate free cash flow of nearly US$100 within 18 months, and in addition repaying the Macquarie Bank US$37.5 million project loan.

Considering these strong cash flows, the PanTerra market cap. of just $86 million appears slight.


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However, there is further exploration upside at TCM with current infill drilling on the immediately adjacent northern area designed to help refine the mine plan and expected to increase saleable tonnages.

The wider spaced drilling underway further to the north could also extend the current mine life.

Alan Hopkins, chief executive officer, commented on the positive result:

“This is a major milestone for the company with our flagship project receiving such a positive independent review.”

Highlighting the exploration potential at TCM, Pan Asia has revised its exploration target upwards to between 200 and 220 million tonnes of 6,500 to 6,800 kilocalorie coal.

The company committed to the higher exploration target following an upgrade in the JORC Resource to 128.8 million tonnes earlier this month.

This was accompanied by an increase in the higher confidence Measured Resources to 50.2 million tonnes, compared to the October Resource of 35.6 million tonnes.

The current resource is based on drilling only part of the concession. Previous drilling has confirmed the continuity of the same coal seams from the TCM South Deposit into the north of the concession.

This could effectively almost double the existing Resource, as well as the mine life, which would improve the project’s net present value substantially. 


Next steps

Pan Asia is continuing to add to the already detailed Feasibility Study and will now have it independently reviewed by a third party, which will take some weeks.


Kopex US$1m commitment

Pan Asia has secured one of the largest global groups in the coal mining sector, Kopex Group, as a partner on the TCM Project.

Late last year Kopex agreed to step up its commitment to the project with an additional US$1 million in funding to cover the costs of an expanded drilling program.

The importance of this is that the TCM Project is fully funded through to the completion of the final Feasibility Study.

Kopex’s total commitment to date towards the drilling program now stands at around US$1.6 million.


Analysis

Pan Asia has an enterprise value of just A$14 million and an EV/Resource valuation of just A$0.11 per tonne, which is light compared to the average EV/Resource of $0.46 for peer explorers.

There are a number of factors which should improve the value of the TCM Project including the extensional potential as well as its location next to infrastructure and an already operational mine.

The TCM Project hosts high quality coal, which offers high revenue per tonne, and its location and proximity to infrastructure offsets higher mining costs.


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Zeta will hit the ASX boards at 12.30am AEST on Wednesday 23rd May 2012.

Zeta’s flagship asset is the Bobocu Gas Field, which is a historic gas field that produced 33 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas, and where updated technical studies have identified mean contingent gas resources of 44.8Bcf or 7.71 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), and an additional mean prospective gas resource of 68.73Bcf or 11.82MMboe.

The Company has proposed a 6 well development program that will commence with the drilling of the first Bobocu well (Bobocu 310).

OVERVIEW

Romania borders the Black Sea and has one of the world’s oldest oil and gas industries that was ranked as 7th largest oil producer in 1937, but had dropped to 50th place after 40 years of communist party rule marked by under-investment and a lack of access to western technology..

Zeta Petroleum was founded in 2005 to acquire and develop Romanian oil and gas assets that were being opened up to private investment after the collapse of communism, development of democratic rule, and a market economy.  

Zeta has already raised around £11.5 million of private equity to acquire a balanced portfolio of Romanian oil and gas assets that include appraisal and exploration projects, along with developed prospects with mature drilling targets. 

Romania is considered highly prospective with supermajors that include ExxonMobil acquiring Romanian offshore blocks in the Black Sea, and Chevron acquiring onshore blocks to explore for unconventional hydrocarbons. A shift is also underway in the appraisal and re-development of existing onshore fields by developers such as Zeta. 

Romania is an attractive destination for a smaller development company such as Zeta as it has an extensive network of oil and gas pipelines that are close to existing projects, and are connected to cross border pipelines that supply Ukraine, Bulgaria and Hungary. Romania is also trying to position itself as a transport route for energy supplies from Russia and the Caspian Sea for delivery to European markets.

The transportation royalty rate for transit through the national pipeline system is 10%, with income tax at 16%, and an excise duty is applied for European sales and levied on a volume basis.

Production royalties are charged on the gross production of a field on a sliding scale of 3.5% - 13.5% for crude oil and 3% - 13% for natural gas.

The Romanian gas price is expected to de-regulate in mid 2013, and that is expected to push up local pricing of natural gas which currently fetches US$4.67 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). Supplies of imported natural gas are currently priced at US$11.33 per Mcf, and it remains uncertain if local authorities will allow local prices to appreciate so much.
 
The IPO funding will allow Zeta to drill one appraisal and development well on the Bobocu Gas Field; farm-out a 50% interest in the Jimbolia Oil Field to finance the drilling of an appraisal well; undertake field development plans on the Bobocu and Jimbolia fields; participate in new licensing rounds in Romania; apply for additional licences; and source and review additional onshore project opportunities in Eastern Europe.
  
ZETA HAS ASSEMBLED A STRONG MANAGMENT AND TECHNICAL TEAM

Timothy Osborne serves as Non-Executive Chairman, and is an attorney and Senior Partner at Wiggin Osborne Fullerlove since 2003.  He is a director of GML Limited, a diversified financial holding company which holds a stake in Zeta Petroleum, and at one time owned strategic stakes in a number of Russian companies that included a majority shareholding in Yukos Oil Company of Russia.

Stephen West serves as Managing Director, and is a founder of Zeta Petroleum and a Chartered Accountant with over 17 years of financial and corporate experience ranging from public practice, investment banking, and development of oil and gas assets. His previous appointments include senior positions at Duesburys Chartered Accountants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers of Australia, Barclays Capital of London, and Regal Petroleum plc.

Philip Crookall is the Chief Operating Officer, and is a petro-physicist with over 24 years industry experience with both independent oil companies and consultancy groups including Valiant Petroleum, Hamilton Brothers Oil & Gas Ltd, Ultramar Ltd, LASMO, Hardy Oil & Gas, Scott Pickford Ltd, and Paradigm Geophysical.

Michael Scott is a Non-Executive Director, and is a petroleum reservoir engineer with over 25 years upstream and downstream industry experience. During his career he has worked for Texaco Ltd, Esso Australia Ltd, and Woodside Energy Ltd, and during 2004-2011 was the Managing Director of Cooper Energy Limited.

Helen Prior is Technical Manager, and is a qualified Geologist with over 11 years experience. Prior to joining Zeta Petroleum she worked for Troy-Ikoda on a range of international projects including geological and log analysis and reserves audits, and as a Senior Geoscientist for Regal Petroleum on their Romanian assets; and for Granby Oil & Gas covering both their central and northern North Sea assets and licensing asset reviews. She has covered a wide range of geo-scientific disciplines and has worked closely with engineers to integrate results and to create a full subsurface understanding of assets.

Bogdan Popescu is the Romanian Country Manager, and is an oil industry specialist and NAMR certified expert with extensive international experience. His prior appointments include Executive Senior Vice President of The Rompetrol Group, Senior Vice President (Australia) and CEO (Switzerland) of Millennium Group of Companies, and held various positions at Petroconsultants SA/IHS Energy, and Earth Sciences Researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics. He is currently the elected President of the Petroleum Exploration & Production Managers Forum in Romania.

IIie Stefan serves as Senior Reservoir Engineer and is a qualified Reservoir Engineer and NAMR certified specialist with 20 years experience in conventional and advanced reservoir engineering.

Jimmy Micu serves as Senior Geologist and is an NAMR certified Geologist with over 40 years experience mainly been spent in Romania.

SHAREHOLDERS

Founders and seed investors will retain an approximate 68% interest in Zeta after the IPO is completed, with the largest shareholder being GML Limited with a current holding of a 35.63% interest.

GM Investment & Co Limited holds a convertible loan of approximately A$3,470,046 that converts into a maximum of 18,136,291 shares at the time Zeta Petroleum is listed for trading on the ASX, and is a subsidiary of GML Limited.


BOBOCU GAS FIELD

Zeta holds 100% of the Bobocu Gas Field that is located 110 kilometres northeast of Bucharest, and lies on the northeast part of the Moesian Platform. The field was discovered in 1966, and reached peak production of 12.8 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMsf/d) in 1981 from 9 wells.  

Due to sand production, poor completion practices and a generally poor understanding of the field, the Bobocu field was shut in 1995 after producing a total of 33Bcf of gas over an 18 year life.

Zeta acquired Bobocu in 2007 and undertook extensive technical studies, geological modeling, and in 2010 completed and interpreted 75 square kilometres of 3D seismic over the field. The 3D seismic study led to a revised geological model, with a significant improvement in the understanding of the geology and distribution of hydrocarbons across the Bobocu gas field.

Previous production from the field was from several reservoirs at a depth of 2,500 - 2,700 metres within stratigraphic traps of a delta lobe environment or Delta Wedge Sequence. Some of the delta wedge lobes have previously been produced but have remaining resources, and there is mapped potential in undrilled delta wedge lobes similar on the seismic to the previously produced lobes. Further exploration targets are also identified in the intervals above and below the Delta Wedge Sequence.

These studies identified mean contingent gas resources of 44.8Bcf or 7.71MMboe, and an additional mean prospective gas resource of 68.73Bcf or 11.82MMboe. Additional potential was also identified in shallower and deeper horizons that will be evaluated during development programs.

The Company has identified drill ready targets for a 6 well development program, and has scheduled the Bobocu 310 well for drilling in the second half of 2012. Zeta has targeted first gas production for 2013, and will be able to connect to a gas pipeline that is in close proximity to Bobocu and local gas markets.

JIMBOLIA OIL FIELD

The Jimbolia Oil Field is 100% owned and is located in the proven producing eastern part of the Pannonian Basin, 40km west of Timisoara on the Romanian-Serbian border, and covers an area of 23.9 square kilometres.

The licence contains two discoveries known as Jimbolia Veche, and Jimbolia Vest that were discovered by Petrom in 1983.

Jimbolia Veche has two hydrocarbon bearing intervals that include the Pliocene VIII which is an oil reservoir with a gas cap that was penetrated by two wells at Jimbolia-1 which flowed at rates of 120 barrels per day bbls/day, and tested at a sustained rate of 55bbls/day for 6 days; and at Jimbolia-6 which penetrated an oil leg with 50 degrees API oil. Both wells were never developed as oil producers. 

Management believe that there is also additional potential in a second separate structure at the Jimbolia Vest discovery which tested two intervals in the Lower Pliocene IV, reporting 33% CO2, 61% CH4, and condensate of 196,000 cubic feet per day in the lower interval, and an unreported amount of gas in the higher interval.

The Pliocene III gas reservoir was brought on stream from 1985 - 1998 and produced 2.89Bcf of gas. The last well penetration in 2010 suggested that there may be some remaining reserves, or that some limited recharge may have taken place within the structure.

Zeta has collated all existing well data and 2D seismic data on the field to complete a geological model, identify drill targets and establish a mean contingent oil resource of 1.72 million barrels (MMbbls).

A letter of intent has been received for a farm-out of a 50% interest, and discussions are underway to finance the drilling of an appraisal well known as Jimbolia-1 in the third quarter of 2012.

Importantly, the project is close to local infrastructure and markets, and attracts an Urals crude price.   Initial oil production is targeted for 2013.

PADURENI GAS FIELD

The Padureni licence is 12.5% owned and lies in the eastern area of the Transylvanian Basin and developed from late Cretaceous times. Padureni is a structurally complex gas field that is located 25 kilometres northeast of Targu-Mures.

The Padureni gas field was discovered by Romgaz in 1984, and produced 0.226Bcf from Padureni-2 from 1991- 1994. The field has a total of 5 wells drilled on the structure, and currently hosts a mean contingent gas resource of 0.52 Bcf.

Zeta sold an 87.5% interest to Expert Petroleum, and is currently free carried on all expenditures by the farm-in partner which is finalising a geological model and developing drill targets.

PROSPECTING PERMITS

The Company retains 100% interests in excess of 6,000 square kilometres of non-exclusive Prospecting Permits located in the Eastern Moldavian Region that include Falticeni covering 653 square kilometres, Faurei covering 2,439 square kilometres, and Vaslui covering 2,981 square kilometres. 

All three of the Prospecting Permits are within known hydrocarbon prone areas, and Zeta is finalising an extensive evaluation that will allow the Company to place them into a bidding round in 2012, and be given an opportunity to secure 100% ownership of prospective permits. 

GAS MARKET

While North America is under a regime of low natural gas prices and current over supply of natural gas, a number of markets in Europe have witnessed gas prices that have risen and in some cases doubled over the past 24 months.

Upcoming deregulation of the Romanian gas market in 2013 will bring the gas price into line with the European market, typically between $8 and $13 per Mcf.

Romania has an extensive network of oil and gas pipelines throughout the country with
capacity to deliver new production of gas and oil.

In addition, the attractive fiscal terms in Romania go some way toward de-fraying sovereign risk.

NEAR TERM CATALYSTS

• IPO funding and ASX listing
• Drilling of Bobocu 310 well and gas production assessment Q3 2012
• Farm-out of Jimbolia Project finalised
• Drilling of Jimbolia-1 and oil production assessment Q3 2012
• Development plans for Bobocu and Jimbolia
• Deregulation of Romanian gas market 2013
• First revenues from oil and gas production 2013

ANALYSIS

Zeta offers a compelling valuation built around high impact assets located within areas with historic production or discovery in onshore Romania that significantly de-risks the assets and reduces total exploration and development costs.

The strong board, management team, and technical staff bring a track record, energy, ideas and ambition to aggressively develop Zeta into a significant producer of oil and gas over the next two years.

The Company has a strong international presence with offices in Perth, U.K. and Romania, and is assessing acquisition opportunities to expand the current portfolio to include assets in the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary.

These opportunities will be on-shore and target proven oil and gas assets with near term production and low risk exploration.

Zeta’s known gas and oilfields in Romania are in known gas and oilfields in Romania. By using modern drilling techniques and where possible, undertaking work overs of existing wells, there is a road to earlier production and cash flows.

The Company has recently identified several drill ready targets and plans to commence drilling in 2012 with a view of commencing production in 2013.

As seen by the arrival of “majors” into Romania including Chevron, Hunt Oil Company, Petrosantander and ExxonMobil since its petroleum industry was opened up in 2005/6, Zeta is at the forefront of the movement to “kick-start” the Romanian oil and gas industry.  While not without risk, near term production opportunities in 2013 will assist to lower risk and increase the return trade off for investors in Zeta.

The IPO price on listing of $0.20 gives Zeta = a market cap of around $25 million.   Given that Zeta plans to rapidly establish operating cash flow from its Bobocu gas field in eastern Romania by developing a targeted 44Bcf of Contingent gas for sale in high-value gas markets – this valuation does not seem high relative to peer companies. 

In fact, we believe that as development of the Bobocu gas field progresses in 2012 and moves closer toward production and cash flows (after appraisal wells and securing development funding) in 2013 that the Zeta Petroleum valuation could be nearer to $0.40, affording investors potential upside from the IPO.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

Dr. Guimarães Campos has over 22 years of experience in the field of estratigraphy, sedimentation and tectonic evolution.

Specifically, his expertise lies in sedimentary, metamorphic and alkaline igneous rock occurrences, as well as sedimentary phosphate deposits and their geological structure within Brazil.

Dr. Campos now serves as the sedimentology, hydrogeology and soil sciences professor at the University of Brasilia, and is a member of the Brazilian Society of Geology (SBG), Regional Advice of Geology (CREA) and the Association of Professors of the University of Brasilia (ADUnB).

"We are extremely excited about our newest addition to the Eagle Star team," said president and CEO of Eagle Star Minerals, Eran Friedlander.

"We believe the expertise, knowledge and contacts that Dr. Guimarães Campos brings to the company are second to none. Furthermore, his decision to come on board lends strong support to the credibility of not only our projects, but our overall strategy moving forward."

Dr. Campos has consulted with many agro-mineral projects throughout different regions of Brazil. He acted as co-advisor to the technical study of the Campos Belos / Itafós Arraias phosphate deposit in Goiás-Tocantins state, now owned and operated by MBAC Fertilizer Corp., which included the in-depth observation of the geological modeling of the deposit.

He also took part in a technical study and discussion of the genesis and controls of the Rocinha phosphate deposit in the Lagamar region of Minas Gerais.

Most recently, he worked in the re-evaluation of the Córrego Rico limestone deposit to cement production, which included regional geology framing, drilling log analysis, and reserves definition, and assisted with geological mapping and mineral deposit characterization for the Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM).

He obtained his Master's Degree in Geology in 1992, and continued on to complete his Doctorate Degree in 1996, both from the University of Brasilia, FD, Brazil.

"Our team is looking forward to utilizing the phosphate specific knowhow of Dr. Guimarães Campos towards the development of our current projects and we believe that with his regional knowledge of the surrounding geology, more opportunities may also present themselves to Eagle Star," said Friedlander.

The company, which was initially focused on developing its Brazilian Angico iron ore project, said in February it had recognized certain "opportunistic trends" in Brazil over the past year, taking note of a significant lack of sufficient domestic supply of agro-minerals, and as a result, decided to reposition itself to focus on agro-minerals projects in the country.

Earlier this year, Eagle Star acquired the Samba phosphate project located in the western portion of Piaui state in Brazil, and has staked areas with significant potential to host large phosphate deposits.

Under the terms of the recent agreement, Eagle Star can earn a 100 percent interest in the Samba project - which it now considers its flagship property.

The 109,285-hectare Samba property, which consists of 60 mineral claims, is located near the cities of Valenca and Sao Jose do Peixe in Brazil, and near Eagle Star's Ruth phosphate project.

The new asset is also located near potential future end-markets, including the Balsas and Bom Jesus agricultural centres - which are home to a large soy growing industry with production of over 2.3 million tonnes of beans annually - the company said.

The proximity to its own Ruth project is not a coincidence, as preliminary exploration work done at Ruth led Eagle Star's team to investigate other areas with a "similar geological setting", which ultimately led to the discovery and acquisition of Samba.

Celeste is currently focused on the acquisition of an interest in Cornish Minerals Limited, which controls mining rights in the historic Cornish mining region in Cornwall, England, including the South Crofty Mine.

Celeste also assesses other tin, copper and copper-gold properties for exploration and development.

Shoesmith brings Celeste 40 years of commercial experience, having previously been CEO of The Shaw Group, a highly diversified group of companies overseeing operations in specialist engineering, manufacturing and property management.

"I am excited to be working with the Celeste management team to bring its historical Mine project in Cornwall, England back into production," said Shoesmith.

"South Crofty is a poly-metallicproject with the potential scale to create a significant value opportunity for Celeste's shareholders."

Since 2001, Shoesmith has been CEO of Baseresult Holdings, and subsequently Western United Mines, the operating arm of Celeste's partially owned subsidiary Cornish Minerals Limited.

In this capacity, he had oversight of South Crofty and managed all activities in relation to the commercial, governmental  permit, planning and mineral right aspects to the project.

"We are pleased to have Alan join Celeste as he is an experienced senior executive and he has guided the company's key asset, the South Crofty Project, since the mine was acquired in 2001," said chairman of Celeste, Farhad Abasov.

"I know Alan is committed to bringing this important project back into production and helping the Celeste team realize the value that our exciting projects represent for our shareholders. I look forward to working with him."

Celeste also announced Tuesday that Norman Brewster will be resigning as the company's president and CEO, but that he will remain actively involved with the company as a member of the board of directors.

The company said last week that it has extended an earn-in agreement to acquire an initial 25 percent equity interest in Cornish Minerals Limited. The company extended the expiry date of the earn-in agreement, signed in May 2011, to June 30,2012.

The Calgary-based company also recently reported that it has gained additional property assets to facilitate the construction of the future surface infrastructure at South Crofty.

Earlier this year, Cornwall Council – the project’s local mineral planning authority – granted new conditional planning consents for developing new surface mine infrastructure and for the extension of the mine's underground working area to 1,460 hectares from 510 hectares.

SRK Consulting is currently working on the updated technical report, which Silver Bull said will boost resources to 72.13 million ounces of silver in the measured and indicated category and 10.49 million ounces of silver in the inferred category.

The results reported Tuesday were pulled from the upcoming technical report, which is expected within the next 45 days.

"We are extremely pleased with this report and feel this is a big step forward for the company," Silver Bull's president and CEO Tim Barry said.

"This is the third report we have completed on the Shallow Silver Zone in just over one year, during which time we have more than doubled the silver ounces in the ground.

"Moving forward, in addition to our drill program focused on expanding the silver resource further, we have an extensive metallurgical program underway on both the silver and the zinc, which when complete will allow the company to move to the next stage of completing a Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Shallow Silver Zone."

The Shallow Silver Zone at Sierra Mojada is an oxide silver deposit hosted along an east-west trending fracture-karst system.

The mineralized body averages between 30 to 90 metres in thickness, is up to 200 metres wide and remains open in the east and west directions.

Approximately 60 percent of the current 3.8 km strike length is at or near surface before dipping at around 6 degrees to the east.

"We are also confident that with minimal additional extra core drilling targeting high grade areas highlighted by the historical channel and long holes, we can quickly prove up a sizable zinc resource in the Red and White Zinc zones," added Barry.

At a 15 g/t cutoff grade for the silver, the company said the updated resource report represents a 39 per cent increase in the open pittable resource of the Shallow Silver Zone previously reported by Silver Bull in November 2011.

It also represents a 52 per cent increase in the number of silver ounces in the measured and indicated category at the zone.

The mineral resource estimate for the Shallow Silver Zone contained in the SRK report includes a measured silver resource of 3.688 million tonnes at an average grade of 57.0 g/t, equivalent to 6.714 million troy ounces of silver; an indicated silver resource of 45.175 million tonnes at an average grade of 45.0 g/t, equivalent to 65.419 million troy ounces of silver; and an inferred silver resource of 8.162 million tonnes at an average grade of 40.0 g/t, equivalent to 10.496 million troy ounces of silver.

In addition to the silver and zinc resources, Silver Bull said the SRK report will also contain an additional "zinc exploration target" ranging between 4 million tonnes grading 8.4% zinc and 6 million tonnes grading 8.0% zinc, which sits directly below and adjacent to the Shallow Silver Zone.

Vancouver-headquartered Silver Bull Resources' flagship asset is the Sierra Mojada project, located 150 kilometres north of the city of Torreon in Coahuila State, Mexico. It is highly prospective for silver and zinc.

Silver Bull also owns three mineral exploration licences in Gabon, Africa, two of which are currently under joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU). These licences are prospective for gold, manganese, and iron ore.

The full technical report for the Shallow Silver Zone is expected within the next 45 days. Further details can be found on the Silver Bull Resources homepage: http://www.silverbullresources.com

The company said that in order to establish a "reasonable prospect of economic extraction in an open pit context", the reported silver resource falls within an optimized Whittle pit shell that uses an average silver price of US$22 per ounce, with an estimated recovery of 62 per cent and a $1.25 per pound of zinc, with an assumed recovery of 95 per cent.

Completion of the budgeted 5,000 metre drill program, which began in March, is expected to resume once the additional submitted samples have been received and the ground work completed.

Asante Gold is a Vancouver-based gold exploration company, exploring the Fahiakoba concession, a 22.07 square kilometre prospecting license located on strike with and between Perseus Mining's 4.32 million ounce Edikan Mine and AngloGold Ashanti's (NYSE:AU) 60 million ounce Obuasi mine.

Asante said the latter mine is the longest producing, highest grade and largest gold resource in West Africa.

Asante Gold holds a 100 percent interest in the Fahiakoba gold concession through an option agreement with Goknet Mining Company Limited of Accra, which holds the prospecting license. The deal is subject to a five percent government and a three percent underlying net smelter royalty interest.

The Fahiakoba property covers a part of the former Dunkwa Continental Mining Lease, where large scale gold dredging activities were active from 1930 for nearly 70 years on the Ofin River and its tributaries.

The company is actively looking for a partner to take MagicVault into production. It has already finished demonstrating the product to a few potential customers.

Zaidi says NeoMagic's long-term goal is to move on from USB to SSD, which is a solid state drive that acts like a hard drive - with "a lot more flash" on it, used in devices like iPads. The SSD market has even greater potential than the UFD market, he adds.

California-based NeoMagic, which was incorporated in 1993 and demonstrated one of the first solutions used for H.264 video decoding in a mobile digital TV phone, made $1.5 million in revenues in 2010. Zaidi says the company has enough cash to sustain itself, with strategic partners expected to take the company to its next level.

"We are focused on bringing the magic back into NeoMagic," he concludes.

The highlight from the Arzu North and South veins in the Kiziltepe sector of the Red Rabbit Project was a 12.1 metre section at 13.1 grams of tonne of gold and 187.6 grams of silver. 

This included 3.2 metres at 38.7 grams of gold and 511 grams of silver and a one metre section at almost 66 grams of gold and 760 grams of silver.

Other intercepts included 34 metres at 1.04 grams of gold equivalent, 7.6 metres at 7.6 grams and 5.8 metres at 5.71 grams.

The City broker Fairfax said: “This is good news for Ariana who are proving up further mineralisation at the Kiziltepe deposit. 

“These high grade drilling results underscore the resource potential at the Red Rabbit project with scope for the JORC resource to expand from the current 448,000 ounces. 

“The company will now be focusing on identifying optimal drilling positions before forestry permits are obtained for a deeper drilling programme in the area.”

The best intercept was from 65-77 metres depth and sits “within a structural jog along the mineralised fault”, Fairfax added. 

The ore shoot has a moderate plunge which would be helpful for open cast mining, it also pointed out.

Managing director Dr Kerim Sener described today’s data as “truly exceptional”.

“The scale of the project continues to grow with further zones being identified that will only improve the economics of the project which we are advancing towards production,” he said.

"The fact that these results derive from an area of cover along a strong geophysical anomaly corridor suggests that there is significant potential in this zone.  

“We will now look to advance our exploration on the project with drilling focused on identifying mineralisation that could be accessed by underground development originating from either the bottom of the Arzu South or the Arzu North pits."  

Yeun Low, mining analyst at Shore Capital, described today’s results as “highly encouraging”, though he tempered this by adding: “More work will be required to properly understand the structure.”

The stock was changing hands at 3.25 pence, up 0.75 pence.

Stratex International’s (LON:STI) Pandora gold vein in Djibouti could be a game-changer if drilling results show it continues at depth and along strike, according to brokers.

Stratex today said the chip sampling programme at Pandora had produced the best results so far seen in the Afar region in the East African country. 

David Hall, executive director for East Africa, said the latest samples confirmed the potential for a high grade gold discovery in the region.

"These extremely exciting results are now the best surface sampling results of any discovery to date in the Afar epithermal province,” he added.

Multi-gramme gold grades showed continuity over more than 1,000 metres of strike, together with well-defined high-grade portions within the structure, he said.

A number of samples returned over 10g/t gold, including a best of 20.35 g/t over 1.9 metres and 12.17g/t over 2.07 metres.

Mineralisation included 13.9 metres at 5.35 g/t, 23.28 metres at 1.52 g/t and 18.31 metres at 1.43g/t.

Stratex is exploring the Afar province with its strategic partner Thani Ashanti, a joint venture between Anglogold Ashanti and Dubai –based Thani.

Broker Northland said these were the third good rock chip results from the Pandora vein.

The latest results follow up previous rock-chip sampling and channel-chip results published in April and May.

The programme comprises channel-chip sampling at 25 metre-intervals along the strike of the vein.

Previously reported assays from the initial 43 rock-chip samples showed six at greater than 9 g/t gold.

Pandora occurs within a larger structure that is at least 5km long and if Stratex with and partner Thani-Ashanti can prove these high grades also occur at depth they would have a significant deposit, the broker added.

The Pandora vein is up to 2.5 metres wide at surface and can be traced north-westwards for approximately 1.5 kilometres, Stratex said.

It added that the channel-chip sampling is now complete and a substantial drill programme is expected to start by the end of 2012.

“The next key milestone is to commence drilling before the end of the year, and investigate the potential for continuity of these grades at depth," David Hall said.

“We are reviewing all data in terms of geological setting, structure, geochemistry, and epithermal textures, to assist in defining the controls of the gold distribution in these systems so as to advance our understanding and vectoring at Blackrock and Megenta, as well as our numerous other discoveries in the Afar," he added.

Northland has a price target of 17.1p largely founded on the group’s Turkish development assets. Only a small proportion of the valuation is assigned to the significant blue sky potential of Stratex’s exploration projects, it added.

Shares rose 5 per cent to 6.45 pence.

Ariana Resources (LON:AAU) this morning said the latest drilling programme in western Turkey returned “truly exceptional” gold and silver grades.

The highlight from the Arzu North and South veins in the Kiziltepe sector of the Red Rabbit Project was a 12.1 metre section at 13.1 grams of tonne of gold and 187.6 grams of silver. 

This included 3.2 metres at 38.7 grams of gold and 511 grams of silver and a one metre section at almost 66 grams of gold and 760 grams of silver.

Other intercepts include 34 metres at 1.04 grams of gold equivalent, 7.6 metres at 7.6 grams and 5.81 at 5.71 grams.

Managing director Dr Kerim Sener said: "These are truly exceptional drilling results and underline the potential of our Red Rabbit Gold Project.  

“The grades and width of mineralisation reported are greater than anything we have seen in the seven years that we have been exploring this deposit and importantly prove the high grade vein system extends under cover between the Arzu South and Arzu North structures.  

“The scale of the project continues to grow with further zones being identified that will only improve the economics of the project which we are advancing towards production.

"The fact that these results derive from an area of cover along a strong geophysical anomaly corridor suggests that there is significant potential in this zone.  

“We will now look to advance our exploration on the project with drilling focused on identifying mineralisation that could be accessed by underground development originating from either the bottom of the Arzu South or the Arzu North pits."  

Paxton purchased the shares at 47 pence each for a transaction cost of £18,800, it said in a statement.

He now holds 175,000 shares in the gold mining company, or 0.18 per cent of the share capital.

Paxton also holds options over 1 million shares, or around 1.03 per cent of the capital.

Meanwhile, finance director Kiran Morzaria also today bought 6,340 shares at 47 pence each for £2,979.80.

Morzaria now holds 47,280 shares in the firm - or around 0.05 per cent of the share capital.

He also holds options over 700,000 Vatukoula shares, representing around 0.72 per cent of the issued share capital.

Leni Gas & Oil (LON:LGO) has now mobilised a workover rig to start re-developing the onshore Goudron oilfield in south-eastern Trinidad.

As previously announced, the company plans to re-develop the Goudron oilfield in partnership with Trinidad and Tobago state-owned Petrotrin under the terms of an existing contract.

Field operations are starting imminently. LGO will first be working over up to 50 existing wells and will then drill additional wells.

The Goudron field lies between the East Moruga and Beach Marcelle fields in south-eastern Trinidad and has direct access to the Petrotrin oil export pipeline to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery in western Trinidad. 

The oil reservoirs generally lie between 300 and 3,500 feet below surface and the oil is low sulphur and has API gravities ranging between 25 and 55 degrees.

Proven reserves, recoverable using existing wells and a small number of infill wells, have been estimated at 1.9 million barrels (mmbbls), whilst proven plus probable reserves were estimated at 8 mmbbls. 

LGO has recently engaged Challenge Energy to prepare a Competent Persons Report (CPR) on the Goudron field and the report is expected in the third quarter 2012.

Broker Old Park Lane Capital views the announcement as important as it values Goudron as the company’s core asset.

“Upon the conclusion of the partnership agreement to co-develop the field with Range Resources, we believe that LGO’s ultimate 50% interest in Goudron will be worth approximately 2.4p per share (fully diluted),” said the broker, which is a 'buyer'.

This suggests significant upside to the current price of 0.82 pence, which has dipped 0.02 pence, or 2.4 per cent, today.

“We believe that the commencement of workover operations and the publication of a CPR will act as catalysts for further value recognition for the Goudron Field,” the broker concluded.

It produced gold at a "significantly" higher rate in the six months to February 29 this year, than in the second half last year, although production was "in line" with the comparable period in 2011. 

Vatukoula unearthed 242,769 tonnes of ore and waste - a 24 per cent increase from 195,832 tonnes in the comparable period last year.

And it produced 29,999 ounces of gold compared to 30,000 ounces in the comparative period.

Revenues for the half year stood at £30.4 million -  21 per cent higher than in the same period in 2011, when it stood at £25.2 mln.

The firm also benefitted from the increases in gold prices, with the average realised gold price at US$1,678 in the period compared to US$1,328 per ounce in 2011.

That offset increases in mining, processing and overheads, and led to a gross profit for the period of £4.9 million, compared to £4.2 mln in 2011, the company said.

Vatukoula chief executive David Paxton told investors: "We continued to exceed our mine development targets for the half year. 

"Achieving these development targets will enable us, in the longer term, to mine higher tonnages and at higher grades and will result in a lower cash cost per ounce of gold."

However, he did note the heavy rainfall in Fiji in January and April this year had affected access to and from the mine area. 

"However, I am pleased to report that the mine itself remained secure and protected, albeit with some water ingress which caused temporary disruptions in production and will reflect in third quarter gold sales being lower than planned."

The firm's focus remained on building long-term cost effective sustainable gold production, at 100,000 ounces per year, he said.

Operationally, highlights of the period saw an inferred resource figure of 142,000 ounces defined and a new high mineralised system discovered during exploration drilling.

Paxton concluded by saying that although the mine suffered production hurdles during and after the reporting period, every effort was being made to ensure that "there will be no materially adverse effect" on the company's guidance of 65,000 ounces for the year ending August 31 this year.

Tom Elder, at broker WH Ireland, said today's results provided little new information on operational progress from the Q2 results announced on March 19.

He highlighted that it would be the Q3 results which would be "pivotal" in assessing the firm's operational turnaround, "not so much from an ounces produced perspective but from a profitability per ounce perspective".

"The Vatukoula Gold mine is a significant gold mine with a long operating history and a substantial resource base. These latest results may well mark the nadir of subdued operating performances and we therefore reiterate our 'BUY' recommendation," he said, targeting a price of 122 pence a share.

As at 10.49am, shares in the firm were trading up 2.41 per cent, at 45.5 pence each.

New World Oil & Gas (LON:NEW) has exceeded its goals since listing on the AIM market last year - and now operates three highly prospective oil and gas licences, it said.

The comments came as the company unveiled final results for the year to December 31 - in which it made "outstanding" progress, it told investors.

Within months of listing on AIM in May last year, it progressed two projects - the Blue Creek in Belize with a P50 resource of 294 million barrels of oil - and the Danica Jutland Licences in Denmark, where one licence has an estimated P50 gross resources unrisked recoverable volume of 1.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and 97 million barrels.

And in late 2011, the firm identified a third project in Denmark - the Als prospect, which was described as "close to drillable" by RPS Energy.

Als has an estimated P50 gross resources unrisked recoverable volume of 1.4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas and 97 million barrels of recoverable oil with a gross potential value of US$2.4 billion.

A farm-out agreement has been signed with Danica Resources, which names New World as operator.

When a mutually agreed seismic and drilling programme is completed, the company will have the opportunity of earning into an 80 per cent participating interest.

The firm posted a loss before tax of $2.6 million in the period, compared to a pre-tax loss of $517,000 from April 15, 2010 to December 31, 2010.

As at December 31 last year, it had $3.67 million in cash.

Chairman William Kelleher told investors that the company was delighted with the progress it had made at its flagship project - Blue Creek.

"We have fast-tracked its development, following the highly positive results of the seismic acquired to date.  We are currently in the process of acquiring additional seismic.  

"We feel that the potential of Blue Creek may be significant, in that it lies in close proximity to and displays structural similarity to the recently discovered and producing Spanish Lookout and Never Delay Fields, each with reported reserves of approximately 25MMbbls."

He added that the firm had completed the first phase of seismic acquisition on its second project, the Danica Jutland Licences in Denmark, to better define hydrocarbon resources and upside value potential.  

"We expect to announce an updated competent person's report from RPS Energy in H2 2012.  The Danica Jutland licences cover 1.015 million acres, and contain two identified Triassic leads and eight Zechstein leads," he said.

Mutiny Gold (ASX: MYG) continues to unleash the potential of the Deflector Gold Deposit in Western Australia, with the latest positive news flow bonanza grade gold strikes - which are from the drilling program completed in March.

The importance of the discoveries is not just the high grade, but the fact Deflector has been extended down-dip, along with the confirmation of mineralisation in both West and Central Lodes.

This leads to the outcome of providing confidence in the resource targets allowing the Mutiny team to accelerate exploration planning.

New discovery highlights from the Central Lode at Deflector include:

- 2 metres at 57.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.2% copper from 92 metres;
- 5 metres at 41.8g/t gold and 0.3% copper from 218 metres;
- 4 metres at 30.7g/t gold and 0.9% copper from 146 metres;
- 5 metres at 23.9g/t gold and 0.5% copper from 162 metres; and
- 2 metres at 22.7g/t gold and 1.0% copper from 104 metres.

The results will be incorporated into the revised resource estimation, which will be released in the September quarter of 2012.

John Greeve, managing director, said that the continued discovery of high-grade gold and copper is increasing the company's confidence in the asset.

"We look forward to releasing a new resource model and hence a new LOM production profile.

"The distribution of the gold ounces-plus results across the entire length of Deflector shows that we really have one of the best undeveloped orebodies in Australia."

Adding to the future development potential of the deposit, are results with elevated copper levels from diamond drilling to the north of the Deflector Fault at West Lode, with new discoveries including:

- 2 metres at 38.8g/t gold and 0.5% copper from 211 metres;
- 2 metres at 20.6g/t gold and 2.2% copper from 201 metres;
- 5 metres at 10.3g/t gold and 1.1% copper from 209 metres; and
- 2 metres at 13.0g/t gold and 3.1% copper from 163 metres.

These assays and their locations in West Lode have added a potential block of ore 200 metres in length and 100 metres in height to the underground mine shape, and considering the grades ranging up to an over 1 ounce per tonne, it would be expected that Mutiny will deliver a substantial upgrade in the upcoming resources and reserves.

Not to be forgotten were the very impressive discoveries from earlier in the year, such as:

- 3.3 metres at 79g/t gold and 10.5% copper from 62 metres; and
- 2 metres at 24g/t gold and 2.4% copper from 234 metres.


Repetition of mineralised intersections

Worthy of note is the repetition of mineralised intersections in some holes, delineating a number of parallel lodes present at depth within the deposit.

This will add flexibility in the mining sequence and has the potential to add tonnes per vertical metre to the deposit.


Deflector - on the road to development

Mutiny has developed the timeline to commence mine development in the second half of 2012 leading to an open pit mining operation at Deflector, followed by underground mining after two years.

Deflector has a resource of 3.4 million tonnes at 4.9g/t gold for 530,000 gold ounces, 0.85% copper for 29,000 tonnes and 5.7g/t silver for 620,000 ounces.

Measured and Indicated accounts for; 2.1 million tonnes at 5.2g/t gold for 350,000 ounces, 1.1% copper for 22,000 tonnes and 7.3g/t silver for 490,000 ounces. Inferred is 1.3 million tonnes at 4.5g/t gold for 180,000 ounces, 0.5% copper for 6,000 tonnes and 6.2g/t silver for 130,000 ounces.

Mutiny has a target at Deflector 2.5 million ounces of gold (ranging from 1.65 million to 2.5 million gold ounces), and 40,000 to 80,000 tonnes copper.

On the milestone news front, a maiden gold Reserve is pencilled in for May, with the Definitive Feasibility Study in the first half of 2012, along with the completion of project financing around mid-2012.

The first gold pour to be from White Well will be in the second half of 2012, with the mine development at Deflector in late 2012.


Existing infrastructure provides key production component

Mutiny is a near term gold producer, and to further highlight the potential of Deflector, existing infrastructure includes a 300,000 tonnes per annum mill which has the capacity to be upgraded to 620,000 tonnes per annum - along with accommodation and offices, power plant, water, haul roads and tailings dam.

The additional infrastructure required includes a ball mill, crusher, floatation circuit, additional accommodation for up to 150 and an upgraded power plant.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

It produced gold at a "significantly" higher rate in the six months to February 29 this year, than in the second half last year, although production was "in line" with the comparable period in 2011. 

Vatukoula unearthed 242,769 tonnes of ore and waste - a 24 per cent increase from 195,832 tonnes in the comparable period last year.

Revenues for the half year stood at £30.4 million -  21 per cent higher than in the same period in 2011, when it stood at £25.2 mln.

The firm also benefitted from the increases in gold prices, with the average realised gold price at US$1,678 in the period compared to US$1,328 per ounce in 2011.

That offset increases in mining, processing and overheads, and led to a gross profit for the period of £4.9 million, compared to £4.2 mln in 2011, the company said.

Vatukoula chief executive David Paxton told investors: "We continued to exceed our mine development targets for the half year. 

"Achieving these development targets will enable us, in the longer term, to mine higher tonnages and at higher grades and will result in a lower cash cost per ounce of gold."

However, he did note the heavy rainfall in Fiji in January and April this year had affected access to and from the mine area. 

"However, I am pleased to report that the mine itself remained secure and protected, albeit with some water ingress which caused temporary disruptions in production and will reflect in third quarter gold sales being lower than planned."

The firm's focus remained on building long-term cost effective sustainable gold production, at 100,000 ounces per year, he said.

Operationally, highlights of the period saw an inferred resource figure of 142,000 ounces defined and a new high mineralised system discovered during exploration drilling.

Paxton concluded by saying that although the mine suffered production hurdles during and after the reporting period, every effort was being made to ensure that "there will be no materially adverse effect" on the company's guidance of 65,000 ounces for the year ending August 31 this year.

ReNeuron Group (LON:RENE) chief executive Michael Hunt this morning welcomed the move by the Canadian authorities to grant marketing approval for the world’s first manufactured stem cell drug.

Osiris Therapeutics was last week given the green light for Prochymal, used to treat graft versus host disease.

This is an important landmark for other firms in this emerging sector of the life sciences industry such as ReNeuron, which is using stem cells to treat stroke patients.

Hunt said: "We congratulate Osiris on the achievement of the world's first marketing approval for an off-the-shelf stem cell treatment. 

“We believe that this is a defining moment, opening up the therapeutic paradigm of stem cell treatments of this kind. 

“Our own stem cell treatments are also off-the-shelf in nature, so it is particularly reassuring to see that this completely new approach to medicine is being increasingly endorsed by regulatory authorities around the globe."

The ReNeuron CEO will present to delegates today at the World Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Conference in London.

This will provide a summary of the company's stem cell technologies, including ReN001 for stroke. 

An update on its PISCES phase-one clinical trial of ReN001 is scheduled for next month, ReNeuron confirmed this morning.

David Hall, executive director for East Africa, said the latest samples confirmed the potential for a high grade gold discovery in the region.

"These extremely exciting results are now the best surface sampling results of any discovery to date in the Afar epithermal province,” he added.

Multi-gramme gold grades showed continuity over more than 1,000 metres of strike, together with well-defined high-grade portions within the structure, he said.

A number of samples returned over 10g/t gold, including a best of 20.35 g/t over 1.9 metres and 12.17g/t over 2.07 metres.

Mineralisation widths included 13.9 metres at 5.35 g/t, 23.28 metres at 1.52 g/t and 18.31 metres at 1.43g/t.

Stratex is exploring the Afar province with its strategic partner Thani Ashanti, a joint venture between Anglogold Ashanti and Dubai –based Thani.

The latest results follow up previous rock-chip sampling and channel-chip results published in April and May.

The programme comprises channel-chip sampling at 25 metre-intervals along the strike of the vein. 

These previously reported assays from the initial 43 rock-chip samples showed six at greater than 9 g/t gold. The Pandora vein is up to 2.5 metres wide at surface and can be traced north-westwards for approximately 1.5 kilometres, Stratex said.

It added that the channel-chip sampling is now complete and a substantial drill programme is now expected to start by the end of 2012.

“The next key milestone is to commence drilling before the end of the year, and investigate the potential for continuity of these grades at depth," Hall said.

“ We are reviewing all data in terms of geological setting, structure, geochemistry, and epithermal textures, to assist in defining the controls of the gold distribution in these systems so as to advance our understanding and vectoring at Blackrock and Megenta, as well as our numerous other discoveries in the Afar."