Emmerson Resources Ltd (ASX:ERM) has secured commitments to raise up to $3.5 million in an oversubscribed placement to institutional and sophisticated investors with a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) also planned to raise up to a further $1 million.

Proceeds from the capital raising will be used to accelerate exploration of the company's gold and copper-gold prospects in NSW as well as to support its emerging gold royalty business.

New US-based investor

Consistent with the companys objective of diversifying its shareholder base, Canada's new resource-focused merchant bank Palisades Goldcorp Ltd has subscribed for $2 million of the placement to become a new strategic investor providing visibility to the important North American market.

Under the placement, Emmerson will issue about 35 million fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of 10 cents each.

“Strong position” to advance projects

Managing director Rob Bills said: “This new funding places Emmerson in a strong position to advance our NSW projects to the next phase while momentum builds in our emerging gold royalty business at Tennant Creek.

“We welcome Palisades Goldcorp and other new investors to the register and thank existing shareholders for their continued support.

“The strongly supported placement reflects investor appetite for Emmersons strategy and high-quality gold and copper-gold portfolio.”

For each share issued to participants under the placement, investors will also be issued one attaching unlisted option with an exercise price of 16 cents each, exercisable on or before July 8.

Share Purchase Plan

Additionally, a share purchase plan (SPP) will be undertaken through which existing holders of Emmerson fully paid ordinary shares will have the opportunity to acquire new shares and options under the same terms as the placement to raise up to a further $1 million.

The placement and SPP price are at a 4.8% discount to the last Read More – Source

Proactiveinvestors

Cellmid Limited (ASX:CDY) has had the authorisation from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co Ltd (SHE:300482) extended for Australia Application Pty Ltd to be a distributor of the Wondfo SARS-CoV-2 antibody test in Australia until December 30, 2020.

The company has also amended the agreement with Australia Application for Cellmid to be a distributor of the Wondfo test in Australia until December 30, 2020, with the previous minimum order requirements removed.

The amended agreement is subject to Cellmid maintaining registration of the product with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Both the agreements would be extended beyond December 30, 2020, with written consent.

Cellmid shares have been as much as 20% higher today to 12 cents.

Antibody tests for clinical management

As the pandemic progresses in the coming months, it is Cellmids opinion that serological testing, including rapid tests, will have an important role in widespread population surveys as well as in research and development activities such as drug and vaccine trials and as an adjunct device in diagnostic and triage settings.

The company also pointed to a recent peer-reviewed article by the Doherty Institute in Nature Medicine around the utility of antibody tests in clinical management of COVID-19 patients In countries where the incidence of the disease has been significantly higher, such as Spain, Germany and the United States, where population-wide seroprevalence studies have commenced.

The company is confident its agreement extensions maintain its ability to participate in this potential market.

The Wondfo test

The test was recently tested by the Doherty Institute, on behalf of the TGA.

In the most relevant period of 14+ days following the onset of symptoms, it was shown to have the equal highest sRead More – Source

Proactiveinvestors

Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX:SYR) could end up being one of the major beneficiaries of the economic transformations that are likely to take place in the post-coronavirus crisis world.

Major themes are already emerging: supply chains are likely to become increasingly localized, the electrification of the worlds vehicle fleet is set to gather pace, and markets in general are becoming more wary of the monopolistic tendencies of some countries as regards commodities.

With its graphite production in Mozambique Syrah covers all these bases and, as its shares are currently trading at a relatively lowly A$0.31, also offers investors an entry point to the future at a reasonable price.

But what exactly is possible here?

Well, for context, its worth noting that when the Australian graphite boom was in full swing Syrahs shares were trading at around 20 times higher than they are now. Back then though, there was a bubble mentality in the market and actualization of the companys plans was still some way off.

This time round the market is in a fairly sober mood, following months of coronavirus-related lockdowns, but Syrah is now that much closer to becoming one of the worlds major players in anode graphite production.

Indeed, at the start of the year, as graphite prices stumbled, Syrah took the decision to cut back on production to some degree, in order to assist in balancing the market. Once youre taking decisions like that, you know youve reached a position of some relevance.

The questions now are: what will that market do next, and what will Syrah do next?

A key point of departure when it comes to answering both of these questions is to consider Syrahs ongoing expansion into upstream operations in the USA.

In 2019 the company sold of the order of 160,000 tonnes of natural graphite, of which around 120,000 tonnes of fines graphite went into the Chinese market, one of the biggest in the world.

That key market will remain in place for Syrah in the years ahead, but opening up America too puts the company much further up the value chain. Currently, 100% of anode precursor, the processed material that actually ends up being used in batteries, is produced in China. And 100% of coated precursor, the finished product, is produced in Asia.

But that is about to change.

“The aim,” says Syrahs Kristian Stella, “to become the first ex-China vertically integrated producer of finished anode material from natural graphite.”

The anodes in question are the negative electrodes of lithium ion batteries, which almost everyone expects to proliferate in the coming years. Vehicle sales as a whole took a hit during the coronavirus crisis, but it was notable that in the US Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) outsold everybody else. Meanwhile, charging infrastructure is increasingly being rolled out and, with the word just having reminded itself of what a major reduction of atmospheric emissions would feel like, there is plenty of positive sentiment around.

And unlike many companies around, Syrah is already well positioned to take advantage. In 2018 the company bought a site in Louisiana, where it subsequently produced unpurified spherical graphite and sent out a batch of samples to potential customers.

“The intent ultimately is to address the ex-Asia market,” says Stella.

“We initially established in the USA, but since that time European electric vehicle sales have gained momentum. So, we see the potential to export from the USARead More – Source

Proactiveinvestors