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Critica Ltd (ASX:CRI, OTC:VTMLF, FRA:VQI0) has launched a Scoping Study at its flagship Jupiter Rare Earth Project in Western Australia, marking a clear...
Critica Ltd (ASX:CRI, OTC:VTMLF) has reported results from a second high-grade mixed rare earth product (MREP) produced from a different metallurgical...
Andrew Radonjic, the long-term Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) managing director, has tendered his resignation, effective today, and former non-executive director Philippa Leggat will assume the role. Radonjic had been at the helm since 2006 and his tenure with Venture included the pivotal discovery of the Jupiter Rare Earths Project in Western Australia. In his 17-year period with the company, Radonjic navigated the business through some challenging economic periods, such as the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, while expanding Venture's exploration portfolio. New MD Leggat, who joined the board in late 2023, led the board renewal process, which brought significant talent to the company, including Tim Lindley and Nick Cernotta. The initial drilling results from the Jupiter project highlighted its substantial potential, helping Venture attract high-calibre candidates. With more than 20 years of experience in the mineral industry, Leggat brings a wealth of knowledge gleaned from roles as an executive director and advisor to several ASX-listed companies, where she has been instrumental in capital raising, exploration, development and project evaluation. Leggat has a proven track record in negotiating value-accretive project acquisitions and effectively communicating an organisation’s competitive advantages to enhance its profile. In addition to advisory roles, Leggat has held key positions in various ASX-listed companies, including CEO of Comet Resources, executive director of Geopacific Resources and non-executive director of Kula Gold and Ensurance Ltd. She also serves as a non-executive director of Harena Resources, a private company focused on developing a significant ionic clay rare earths project in Madagascar. Non-executive chair Tim Lindley said: “We are excited to be appointing Philippa Leggat as managing director at this pivotal time for the company, where there is a clear opportunity to significantly advance the Jupiter Rare Earths Project, restructure the company to best position VMS for opportunities in critical minerals, and create substantial shareholder value. “We have a vision to make Venture one of the best rare earths and critical minerals companies in Australia. Philippa’s appointment is the next key step in that journey. "We strongly believe Philippa has the skills, capabilities and tenacity to drive the company forward through the next important phases for Venture Minerals. “We acknowledge Andrew’s 17 years of service as technical director and managing director. We thank him particularly for his valuable contribution in securing Jupiter for Venture shareholders and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.” Managing director Philippa Leggat said: “In Tim and Nick we have secured expert guidance that is founded on decades of delivering shareholder returns through capital markets and resource expertise. “I hope investors recognise how unusual it is to see people like these venturing into the junior end of the market. This is not their natural habitat and the implication of that for shareholders should set hearts racing. “We will be moving quickly in the coming weeks to focus our efforts on Jupiter, an asset with world-class potential, and we thank Andrew for bringing the opportunity to Venture. “It is my privilege to be handed the reigns of this incredible opportunity with Nick and Tim’s support. Venture has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the asset, the people and the timing at the bottom of the pricing cycle. Welcome to the Jupiter journey.” Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) is in the midst of an identity crisis. Ocado, via its ocado.com joint venture with Marks & Spencer Group plc, operates its own online grocery store in the UK. This we all know; Ocado vans are a mainstay of Britain’s congested traffic lanes. But at its heart, Ocado is – or is at least trying to position itself as – a technology company. Not everyone has got the memo though, particularly Britain’s investment class, which has refused to price Ocado’s shares in alignment with other tech stocks. This has led rumours swelling that Ocado is poised to handle its identity crisis in the same fashion as many other British technology companies before it- by moving its primary listing stateside. Some have completely dismissed these rumours, including Shore Capital Markets’ Clive Black, who in April called it a “stunt from wherever to boost the heavily loss-making British ‘tech’ company’s share price”. But is there a legitimate point behind the rumours and if so, what would be the justification for Ocado seeking a more welcoming investment class outside of the Square Mile? By the numbers Technology is without a doubt Ocado’s fastest-growing sales line. In full-year results published in February, technology sales grew 44% year on year while retail grew just 7%. Tech is still a significantly smaller segment though, bringing in £429 million worth of sales in 2023 compared to retail’s £2.4 billion-plus. Any potential divorce between the two would make Ocado a substantially smaller operation. It would also make Ocado “higher quality, with higher margins, more recurring revenue and much lower capex”, said one investment analyst speaking with Proactive on the matter. As of 17 May, Ocado’s share price is effectively a 1:1 ratio of all combined operations on a price-to-sales basis. If using Ocado’s forward guidance of mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth, the PS ratio dips below 1:1. Not unheard of in the low-margin retail space, but criminally cheap in the tech space. Undervalued, underappreciated Simply put, Ocaco is objectively undervalued as a tech company. But according to the analyst, this is “not necessarily a lack of understanding” among the investment community. “It might be more about a lack of belief in the business model, especially compared to North American investors who are more open to futuristic bets.” Ocado also has a history of disappointing financial results, breeding further scepticism among Square Mile investors. Garyth Stone, managing director of investment bank Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI)’s consumer, food and retail group, said: “The UK market focuses more on cash flow, profitability, and dividend stability… If (Ocado moved its listing) to the NASDAQ, it might get a fresher perspective from US investors.” True, British tech companies do command superior valuations stateside (hello Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM)), but there is a key difference between Ocado and Arm, or indeed other British companies that have made the move, such as Darktrace and non-tech companies like Flutter. These companies that have moved stateside have done so partially because that is where most of their sales come from. Ocado, on the other hand, is still a UK-centric business. Stone agreed that US investors prefer companies with significant US sales, “but listing on the NASDAQ, which is more internationally focused than the New York Stock Exchange, could still be beneficial. It's not a magic bullet, but it could be a sensible move”. Spinning out Listing change or no listing change, some analysts see a spinning out of Ocado’s retail operations as a very logical next step that is likely being considered by management. AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould echoed this sentiment: "In doing so, Ocado would no longer be associated with the little vans that deliver loaves of bread to Mrs Miggins. That act in itself would be an important first step in trying to get the market to look at the business in a different way." This may have already been foreshadowed with the recent addition of Gavin Patterson to the board. As former chief executive of BT and former president and chief finance officer of Salesforce, Patterson ticks all of the boxes- B2B, tech and US capital markets. It’s almost too convenient. Commenting on his addition to the board, Patterson called Ocado “a true technology pioneer… It has developed and proven applications of AI and robotics that solve some of the most complex supply chain challenges in grocery and logistics. I look forward to working with the board and the leadership team at this exciting time”. Whether this ‘exciting time’ is an allusion to a stateside move will be determined in due course. One thing is for certain- the recent controversy over Ocado’s chief executive Tim Steiner’s salary won’t have sweetened London’s appeal. Dissenting shareholders (comprising nearly a fifth of total votes) were vexed at Steiner’s potential £15 million remuneration package, given shares are off 88% since the pandemic-era Halcyon days. Shareholder advisory firms, meanwhile, criticised Ocado’s refusal to pay a real living wage. All valid points that nonetheless feed into the thesis for listing in a place where middling issues like 1,800% bonus multipliers and fair hourly wages aren’t as contentious. Putting the ‘how’ aside, there is little doubt that Ocado needs to make big changes to turn the ship around and recover lost value. Don’t be massively surprised if the Square Mile loses another member in the process.
Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) is encouraged by the latest survey from Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF), which identified multiple new targets at Venture's ‘Julimar-lookalike' nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) target in Western Australia. Seven new electromagnetic targets were unearthed during a ground program at the Thor target in the South West nickel-copper-PGE play, bringing the total number of targets to 11.
Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has raised A$6 million from a heavily oversubscribed share purchase plan. The multi-element explorer was originally out to raise A$1.25 million under the offer, but instead received applications for A$8.7 million worth of VMS shares.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has surged after a drilling campaign at the Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project in Tasmania returned a record-breaking intersection of 147 metres at 1.0% tin and 0.2% tungsten from 90 metres. This result from ML340M includes high-grade zones of 45 metres at 2.5% tin and 0.3% tungsten from 93 metres and 9 metres at 5.9% tin and 0.3% tungsten from 183 metres and the hole is still open with further assay results expected.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has high hopes to add A$5.5 million to its Mount Lindsay exploration war chest in a capital raising bid announced today. The company will use an institutional placement targeting A$4.25 million at A$0.036 per share from Australian and international institutions, and a share purchase plan aimed at eligible existing shareholders to raise an additional A$1.25 million at the same share price.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) joint venture partner Chalice Mining Ltd has completed the first stage of exploration at the South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in Western Australia. This JV project is around 240 kilometres south of Perth in the Balingup Metamorphic Belt, within the highly prospective West Yilgarn Nickel-Copper-PGE Province discovered by Chalice.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has returned high-grade zones of tin-tungsten mineralisation, including a 93-metre intersection, from its new drill program at Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project in northwest Tasmania. The drill program is designed to confirm the continuity of high-grade zones and provide additional metallurgical samples as is part of the updated feasibility study for an underground mine with significant results from hole ML339M including: 93 metres at 0.5% tin equivalent from 107 metres; 12 metres at 1.7% tin equivalent from 113 metres; and 54 metres at 0.6% tin equivalent from 113 metres.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) (OTCMKTS:VTMLF) has high hopes for its Golden Grove North Project in WA after confirming the potential for a large volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) body in maiden drilling at the Orcus prospect, according to managing director Andrew Radonjic. Radonjic told Proactive's Andrew Scott: “The VMS system, which is the style of mineralisation at Golden Grove, classically has copper-zinc-gold-silver and some other elements like cobalt and tin, which are signatures for these types of systems.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) joint venture (JV) partner Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) has recommenced its electromagnetic (EM) survey over Venture's South West nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) property. Chalice will pick up where it left off in June with a geophysical survey — the first chapter in a JV agreement that's targeting Venture's Thor target, a 20-kilometre-long magnetic anomaly that could look like Chalice's own Julimar asset.
Venture Minerals Limited has increased its understanding of mineralisation beneath its Golden Grove North Zinc-Copper-Gold Project in Western Australia through a downhole transient electromagnetic (DHTEM) survey. The survey identified multiple conductors beneath Venture's prospects, including a potential 5-kilometre-long volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) target zone beneath the Orcus and Neptune VMS zones.
Venture Minerals Limited has initiated an underground feasibility study at its Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project in Tasmania intended to further develop the tin and tungsten resource. Tin is an electric vehicle metal listed as a critical mineral by multiple countries around the world, currently trading at record highs of US $37,500 per tonne, four times the price of copper at US$9,500 per tonne.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) achieved considerable progress in FY21 across a strong portfolio of diverse mineral resource projects in Australia. The explorer-turned-producer is focused not only on its flagship Tasmanian projects but also on its Western Australian portfolio of assets, including the joint venture with Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) on its South West Project and its highly prospective 100%-owned Kulin and Golden Grove North projects.
Venture Minerals Limited has uncovered a priority exploration target along strike from the main tin deposits at its Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project in northwest Tasmania. During exploration drilling, the company hit 11 metres of sulphide-rich skarn — a type of rock that's changed by hot, chemically active fluids and can host tin and tungsten mineralisation.
(Kitco News) - “Transport and power generation are the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in diamond mining. ALROSA Group currently generates around 90% of its power from renewable sources, while its logistics function is replacing traditional liquid fuel with natural gas."
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has completed its first commercial shipment from Riley Iron Ore Mine in northwest Tasmania and will receive approximately A$5.1 million in the next two weeks. This shipment of 45,632 tonnes of iron ore with an average grade of 57.3% Fe (iron) has departed the Port of Burnie and is bound for China.
Venture Minerals Ltd has intersected 16 metres of potentially tin-bearing sulphide-rich, magnetite skarn while drilling at Mount Lindsay Project in Tasmania on a priority tin target along strike from the Renison Bell Mine, one of the world's highest grade tin mines. The new skarn discovery is within the extension of the Renison Mine Sequence that hosts the large mine at which mining has spanned over three centuries.
Venture Minerals Ltd has received Tasmanian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) approval to move to a 24-hour trucking operation for the transportation of iron ore from its Riley Iron Ore mine to the port of Burnie. The company, however, clarifies that final approval is still pending Federal Government (EPBC) sign off.
Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) (OTCMKTS:VTMLF) has high hopes for its Golden Grove North Project in WA after confirming the potential for a large volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) body in maiden drilling at the Orcus prospect, according to managing director Andrew Radonjic. Radonjic told Proactive's Andrew Scott: “The VMS system, which is the style of mineralisation at Golden Grove, classically has copper-zinc-gold-silver and some other elements like cobalt and tin, which are signatures for these types of systems.