Strategic Minerals (SML), an international mineral exploration and production company, announced that the U.S. Department of War has invested US$9.25m of funding in its wholly owned subsidiary Cornwall Resources Limited to significantly accelerate the Redmoor tungsten-copper-tin project, located in Cornwall, UK, through all feasibility studies, and towards a final investment decision*3 (“FID”) for mining. Redmoor is Europe’s highest-grade, undeveloped tungsten resource, and one of the highest-grade tungsten projects globally. The investment reflects U.S. Government support for the development of a secure and resilient allied tungsten supply and recognises Redmoor’s potential importance to U.S. and allied advanced manufacturing, defence, and critical minerals supply chains.
Comment: From recent updates on UK listed companies, the going rate for the US government investing in companies has been around the $5m mark. Therefore, at significantly above this it would appear that someone out there really likes SML. But then again, we kind of knew that.
Andrada Mining Limited (ATM), a tin producer with a portfolio of critical minerals mining and exploration assets in Namibia, provided an unaudited operational performance update for the quarter ended 31 August 2026 and the first six months of the 2027 financial year. ATM said “The strong performance in the first half of FY2027 resulted in contained tin production increasing by 13% year-on-year to 576 tonnes and tin concentrate production increasing by 11% to 955 tonnes. This performance demonstrates the benefit of the operational improvements we have made at Uis and provides a stronger base from which to deliver the next phase of growth. The higher feed grades and processing rate supported the increased tin production and the recently secured NAD98 million bank funding package from Bank Windhoek and Development Bank of Namibia will enable us to implement the installation of the ore sorting circuit.”
Comment: It took perhaps a year to two longer for the multiple attractions of ATM to be recognised by the market. But now it would appear that every update is something of a victory lap, especially an update which contains rising production figures, with the icing on the cake being funding numbers.
Halo Minerals plc (HALO), the copper development company focused on the recovery of critical minerals from legacy mining waste, announced completion of the BIOS Mining & Infrastructure (“BIOS MI”) Class 3 engineering and cost update for the Playa Verde copper and gold tailings reprocessing project in Chile. The BIOS MI update establishes a current technical and cost basis for Playa Verde using 2026 market conditions and represents a significant milestone in the Company’s pathway towards Final Investment Decision (“FID”), project financing and construction. The capital and operating cost estimates are classified as AACE Class 3, with an estimated accuracy range of -10%/+15%, consistent with a basic engineering and bankable-feasibility level of definition.
Comment: We appear to be fully on course for that FID this year, something which although well flagged to the market, should perhaps be better reflected in the share price of HALO. This is particularly the case as the tailings play is by definition going to get to the finish line of production rather sooner than its mining / discovery counterparts.
Total Graphite plc (TGR) provided an update on the progress of its downstream graphite development programme, representing the next phase of the Company’s strategy to build an integrated, mine-to-market graphite materials business. As announced on 10 September 2026, bench-scale test work in conjunction with research institutes has commenced for the development of three higher-value graphite product streams from the Company’s graphite concentrates produced in Madagascar and, in due course, Mozambique. The Company has received the first set of results from these studies. The results have achieved purification of its Madagascan graphite up to 99.2% Fixed Carbon (“FC”) by using mild reagents. The Company is now optimising the process to achieve a purity of 99.5% FC, whilst continuing studies with the objective of producing other value added product lines including expandable graphite. The Company plans to carry on with the proposed development activities over the next quarter, with the objective of achieving a definitive engineering package for an industrial scale production facility.
Comment: Just in case anyone was keen on kicking the tyres as far as the substance of the new TGR, here we have a decent insight into what the company is sitting on. One would imagine this will just be the start of the company proving up its grades and hence being able to add a zero or two to the market cap and the deal making that is to come.
Zenith (ZEN), the international energy production and development company, announced the acquisition of two further ground-mounted photovoltaic development projects in Stradella, in the Province of Pavia, in the Lombardy region of Italy, with a combined indicative installed capacity of approximately 11 MWp. The Acquisition follows the acquisition of the approximately 9 MWp Stradella 1 project, announced on September 17, 2026, and brings Zenith’s portfolio in the Province of Pavia to approximately 20 MWp across three projects, all located in the Stradella area.
Comment: Given the ongoing energy crisis both in terms of supply and security, ZEN is very much on the zeitgeist in terms of acquiring as much capacity as possible in its chose geography of Italy. Clearly a jurisdiction which is rather more mindful of such considerations than we are in Blighty.
Roadside (ROAD), the UK energy forecourt real estate business, announced that it has agreed to sell its outstanding loan note issued by Cambridge Sleep Sciences (“CSS”) to CGV Ventures 1 Ltd (“CGV”) for total cash consideration of £4.5 million. Under the terms of the Agreement, CGV has agreed to pay cash consideration of £4.5 million, comprising outstanding principal of £2.8 million, accrued interest of £1.2 million and a redemption premium of £0.5 million for future interest due to be received by Roadside under the terms of the original CSS Loan Note. The consideration is expected to be received in full by the end of 2026, with the funds used to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet and support its growth strategy. The Company retains an interest in CSS which can be sold in the period from 1 September 2027 to 30 September 2027 for consideration of £20 million following the exercise of the Put Option Agreement in relation to the Company’s remaining shareholding in CSS. This has been a year of significant change for Roadside. The Group has added 20 sites during the year through the acquisitions of Gardner Retail Ltd, Hoch Group Ltd, Ross Road service station and D.A. Roberts Fuels Ltd. Integration of the portfolio is progressing well, and trading across the acquired businesses since completion remains in line with management’s expectations.
Comment: ROAD continues to finesse an already great proposition with more funding tweaks. The roll up has already been significant, and with the latest news the company is set to take it onwards and upwards, something which should set the stage for the next move to the upside for the shares.
The Smarter Web Company (SWC) announced that 2,710,442 Ordinary Shares have been sold in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Agreement announced on 24 December 2025. The gross proceeds from the sale of these shares will be £1,891,933, equivalent to approximately £0.70 per share, and the Company will receive approximately 98.25% of these proceeds in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Agreement. The balance of Ordinary Shares issued under the Subscription Agreement which have not yet been sold is 41,213,788.
Comment: It is rather telling that the incessant mudslinging at the company from the shorting allies has gone rather quiet of late. This may be partly due to the rather better outlook for crypto since the summer, as well as the way that the shares have more than doubled since the beginning of July. Indeed, this rise was foretold in real time by charting methods here.
