Author: Fiona Craig

Thor Explorations (LSE:THX) has published a positive pre-feasibility study for its 100%-owned Douta Gold Project in Senegal, outlining a long-life open-pit operation with forecast production of around 1 million ounces of gold over a 12.6-year mine life. The development plan is underpinned by a probable reserve of 1.2 million ounces and an indicated resource base of 1.7 million ounces.

Operational and financial highlights

The study highlights strong project economics, generating a post-tax NPV (5%) of US$633 million and an internal rate of return of 61% using a gold price assumption of US$3,500 per ounce. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at a relatively modest US$254 million, with rapid capital recovery expected in under 12 months, driven by high-margin oxide ore production in the early years. Sensitivity analysis indicates substantial leverage to prevailing gold prices, providing meaningful upside potential.

Key project milestones are already in place, including approval of the environmental and social impact assessment. Thor has also entered into a binding agreement to acquire the remaining 30% interest in the Douta West permit, consolidating full ownership across the broader project area. Ongoing drilling of approximately 40,000 metres is aimed at further expanding resources and testing district-scale potential along the mineralised trend. Importantly, the company reports it has sufficient cash resources to fund construction without the need for equity dilution, with first gold production targeted for early 2028. Collectively, these factors position Thor to evolve into a multi-asset gold producer with a strengthened growth profile in West Africa.

More about Thor Explorations

Thor Explorations is a West Africa–focused gold exploration and mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and AIM. The group already has producing assets in Nigeria and is pursuing a growth strategy centred on building a diversified, multi-asset gold portfolio across the region. Its activities span exploration, development and production, with the Douta Gold Project in Senegal representing a cornerstone growth asset supported by active drilling programmes and strategic permit consolidation.

Venture Life Group (LSE:VLG) has reported a strong trading performance for the twelve months ended 31 December 2025, with revenue from continuing operations increasing by 32% to £35.1 million, equivalent to 11.1% growth on a proforma basis. The uplift was largely driven by higher volumes and continued momentum across the group’s Power Brands portfolio.

Operational and financial highlights

UK sales rose sharply, up 20.7% to £25.7 million, supported by increased advertising and promotional spend. Performance was led by Balance Activ and Earol, while the Health & Her/Him brands delivered a 44% proforma increase, reflecting growing consumer traction. International revenues declined by 8.7%, mainly due to order phasing and temporary disruption with a distributor, an issue the company says has since been resolved.

During the period, Venture Life completed its strategic transition to a pure-play branded consumer healthcare business following the disposal of its CDMO activities. The group is now integrating international management into its UK commercial team, with the aim of building deeper, more strategic global partnerships. It is also stepping up investment in new product development, working alongside Healthea Group, and rolling out a Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP system to underpin a more data-driven and digital-led operating model.

The balance sheet remains robust, with net cash of £34.4 million at year-end. This financial strength supports an ongoing share buyback programme and provides capacity for selective, earnings-enhancing acquisitions. Management highlighted an active M&A pipeline focused on women’s and men’s health, energy management and hormonal health. The board reiterated confidence in delivering revenue and adjusted EBITDA expectations for the extended 17-month reporting period ending 31 May 2026.

From a market perspective, Venture Life’s outlook is underpinned by supportive technical indicators and positive corporate actions, including share buybacks and insider buying. These factors signal confidence in the company’s strategy, although valuation concerns remain due to a high price-to-earnings ratio and ongoing profitability challenges.

More about Venture Life Group

Venture Life Group is a UK-headquartered international consumer self-care company focused on the development and commercialisation of over-the-counter healthcare products. Its portfolio includes Balance Activ in women’s intimate healthcare, ENT care spray Earol, Lift and Glucogel for energy and glucose management, and the Health & Her range supporting the hormonal lifecycle. Products are sold through pharmacies, health and beauty retailers, grocery channels and e-commerce platforms, both directly in core markets and via international distribution partners.

Concurrent Technologies (LSE:CNC) has unveiled Kratos (32 Core), a new 32-core CPU board that delivers up to 60% higher processing performance than the original 20-core Kratos product launched in 2025. The latest board is aimed at mission-critical C4ISR applications, offering high performance density in a compact form factor that can replace significantly larger rack-mounted server systems.

Operational and financial highlights

Built to the widely used VPX defence standard, the Kratos (32 Core) board is positioned as a flagship offering within Concurrent’s rugged embedded computing portfolio. The company notes that there are currently no direct competitors using the same processors in this architectural format, giving the product a clear differentiation advantage. By combining maximum computing power with a 3U single-board design, the new Kratos is expected to materially expand Concurrent’s addressable market within defence and security applications. Early engagement from customers seeking top-end performance in space-constrained environments has already been reported, reinforcing the product’s commercial potential and the company’s first-to-market credentials.

From a broader investment perspective, Concurrent Technologies’ outlook is underpinned by strong underlying financial performance, including solid revenue growth and healthy cash generation. However, market technicals point to bearish momentum in the shares, while valuation appears stretched on a high price-to-earnings multiple. Recent corporate developments present a mixed picture, with optimism around defence contract momentum offset by some negative sentiment following a CEO share sale.

More about Concurrent Technologies

Concurrent Technologies Plc is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of high-performance embedded computing products, including plug-in cards, computer systems and mission-critical solutions. The company specialises in Intel-based processor boards designed for long life-cycle and high-reliability applications across defence, telecommunications, security, aerospace, scientific and industrial markets worldwide. Its products are engineered to operate in harsh environments and comply with industry standards while supporting leading embedded operating systems.

Oriole Resources (LSE:ORR) has reported additional encouraging gold intercepts from its maiden 2,950-metre diamond drilling programme at the MB01-N prospect within the Mbe project in Cameroon. Highlights include an interval of 16.10 metres grading 2.49 g/t gold from drill hole MBDD027, which also intersected the deepest mineralisation recorded at the target so far. The results confirm continuity of the mineralised structure along strike and to a vertical depth of at least 160 metres.

Operational and financial highlights

The drilling campaign is fully funded and now approximately 70% complete, with more than 2,000 metres drilled to date. Oriole expects to complete the programme later in the first quarter of 2026, after which it plans to commission a maiden JORC-compliant Resource estimate for MB01-N. A defined resource at this target would sit alongside the existing MB01-S resource and could materially enhance the overall scale of the Mbe project, potentially increasing its appeal to both investors and potential industry partners.

From an investment perspective, the outlook continues to be weighed down by the absence of revenue and ongoing cash burn, despite the company maintaining a relatively strong, low-debt balance sheet. Technical indicators are moderately supportive, but valuation remains constrained by negative earnings and the lack of dividend yield.

More about Oriole Resources

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-quoted gold exploration company focused on West and Central Africa. Its core strategy is centred on the discovery and delineation of gold resources, with its flagship asset being the Mbe gold project in Cameroon, where it holds a 90% interest. The project already hosts the MB01-S deposit, which carries a JORC Inferred Resource of 870,000 ounces of gold, providing a solid foundation for further growth through ongoing exploration success.

Powerhouse Energy Group (LSE:PHE) has entered into a 25-year lease agreement for a 1.98-acre fully serviced plot at Silverwood Business Park in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. The site is earmarked for the development, ownership and operation of a waste-to-hydrogen plant with a planned processing capacity of 40 tonnes of waste per day.

Operational and financial highlights

The proposed facility is designed to convert landfill-destined waste into ultra-high-purity hydrogen (99.999%), targeting end uses such as transport fuel. The project aligns with Ballymena’s ambition to establish itself as a regional hydrogen hub, working alongside local stakeholders including Wrightbus, Translink and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. The lease is conditional on the project securing planning consent, but nevertheless represents a meaningful step forward in Powerhouse Energy’s commercial deployment strategy and its positioning within the early-stage hydrogen economy.

From an investment standpoint, the outlook continues to be dominated by financial and technical headwinds. The group remains loss-making, with negative cash flows and declining revenues, while share price indicators point to a bearish technical backdrop. Although recent corporate developments demonstrate strategic intent and project momentum, they are not yet sufficient to offset the underlying financial and market challenges.

More about Powerhouse Energy Group

Powerhouse Energy Group is a UK-listed clean technology company that has developed proprietary process technology to convert waste plastics, end-of-life tyres and other non-recyclable waste streams into syngas. This syngas can be used to produce hydrogen, electricity, heat and chemical feedstocks. The group also owns Engsolve, a revenue-generating engineering services business that supports the design and delivery of new technologies and clean energy projects, enabling deployment of Powerhouse’s solutions at both community and industrial scale.

Sound Energy (LSE:SOU) has reported further progress at its Tendrara Phase I gas development in eastern Morocco, where operator Mana Energy has successfully flowed both the TE-6 and TE-7 wells. The wells have now fully tested their respective sections of the gas gathering system, completing a key element of the project’s surface infrastructure.

Operational and financial highlights

The company is preparing to commission nine on-site power generation engines, including seven gas-fired units that are expected to transition to using Tendrara gas in the near term. This switch is intended to reduce diesel consumption, lower operating costs and cut Scope 1 emissions, as Sound Energy continues to evaluate bridging finance options ahead of first gas production.

On the exploration front, Moroccan authorities have approved an extension to the complementary period of the Anoual Exploration Permits through to September 2028. As part of the extension, Sound Energy has committed to drilling the M5 exploration well targeting Triassic reservoirs, with the option to undertake further 3D seismic work and additional drilling. The agreement reinforces the company’s longer-term exploration position in a highly prospective area, while capping its cost exposure to the M5 well at US$2.57 million.

From an investment perspective, the company’s outlook remains constrained by weak financial fundamentals, including sizeable recent losses, rising leverage and sustained negative cash flow. Share price technicals are moderately supportive, with the stock trading above key moving averages and a positive MACD signal. Management guidance points to potential upside from near-term production and contracted gas sales, although balance sheet pressure and project timing risks remain significant. Valuation support is limited by negative earnings and the absence of dividend yield.

More about Sound Energy

Sound Energy PLC is a UK AIM-listed transition energy company focused on onshore gas exploration, development and production in Morocco, alongside renewable power generation initiatives. Its core assets are centred on the Tendrara gas field, where the company holds a 25-year development concession. Development plans include a micro-LNG project currently under construction and a larger Phase II piped gas scheme awaiting final investment decision, targeting industrial and power customers across a 28,000 square kilometre onshore permit portfolio in Morocco.

Andrada Mining (LSE:ATM) has announced standout surface sampling results from its Lithium Ridge project in Namibia, confirming the presence of multiple high-grade lithium-bearing pegmatites. Grab samples returned lithium oxide grades in excess of 4% Li₂O, with a highest recorded value of 4.67% Li₂O.

Operational and financial highlights

An extensive mapping and sampling programme has now identified more than 1,500 pegmatite outcrops, materially extending the recognised mineralised corridor to around 6 kilometres. In addition to lithium, the work has confirmed economically meaningful tin and tantalum mineralisation, raising the prospect of attractive by-product credits. Mineralogical analysis shows lithium is predominantly hosted in spodumene.

The surface results support the ongoing, SQM-funded Stage 1 drilling campaign, which comprises 14,000 metres designed to test the depth extent and continuity of the system. Collectively, the findings point to Lithium Ridge as a potentially large-scale, polymetallic project that could significantly bolster Andrada’s development pipeline and reinforce its positioning within the global critical minerals supply chain, alongside continued expansion at the Uis Mine.

From a financial perspective, the investment case remains constrained by ongoing losses, negative returns on equity, and negative operating and free cash flow, despite healthy top-line growth. Share price trends remain constructive, with a clear uptrend in place, although elevated momentum indicators suggest an increased risk of near-term pullbacks. Valuation support is limited by a negative price-to-earnings ratio and the absence of dividend yield data.

More about Andrada Mining

Andrada Mining Limited is a Namibia-focused producer and developer of tin, with a broader portfolio of critical minerals assets that includes lithium and tantalum projects. The company is listed on AIM and the OTCQB and is pursuing a strategy of expanding beyond its flagship Uis Mine to establish a diversified regional platform in battery and technology metals, targeting long-term growth driven by rising global demand for lithium and associated critical minerals.

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) has released encouraging results from a 7,714-metre diamond and reverse circulation drilling programme at the historic Bill’s Luck Gold Mine, part of its Hillside Project in Zimbabwe. The campaign has confirmed a mineralised gold system extending beyond 220 metres below surface, with multiple parallel reef structures identified in both the hanging wall and footwall alongside the currently exploited Main Reef.

Operational and financial highlights

Drilling from surface and underground has returned a series of high-grade gold intersections, including assays exceeding 100g/t over narrow intervals. These results are now being incorporated into a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, which is under preparation and expected to support detailed mine planning and longer-term production evaluations. The findings reinforce Kavango’s strategy to lift gold output at Bill’s Luck while advancing other Hillside targets such as Nightshift and Steenbok, positioning the company as an emerging mechanised gold producer in Zimbabwe.

Despite early-stage revenue generation, the investment outlook remains constrained by weak financial fundamentals, including sizeable losses and ongoing cash burn, which heighten near-term funding and execution risks. Market technicals add further pressure, with the share price showing a sustained downtrend and negative momentum. Valuation support is limited by the loss-making profile and the absence of dividend yield.

More about Kavango Resources

Kavango Resources is a Southern Africa–focused metals exploration and gold production company listed in London and on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. The group is focused on rapidly advancing both open-pit and underground gold deposits in Zimbabwe using modern mechanised mining and processing methods. Its Zimbabwean portfolio is centred on the Hillside Gold Project, which includes Bill’s Luck, Nightshift—where a maiden resource has already been defined—and Steenbok, forming a pipeline of assets aimed at delivering scalable, near-term gold production.

Oxford BioDynamics (LSE:OBD) has confirmed that Stephen Diggle has stepped down from his position as a non-executive director with immediate effect, concluding a nine-year tenure on the board. The move follows previously communicated intentions and aligns with standard corporate governance practices regarding long-serving directors.

Operational and financial highlights

Although Diggle has exited the board, his investment firm, Vulpes Investment Management, remains Oxford BioDynamics’ largest shareholder. The firm intends to appoint a replacement non-executive director in due course, ensuring it continues to exert meaningful influence over governance and strategic oversight. This continuity comes at a key stage for the company, as it advances the commercial rollout of its EpiSwitch-based diagnostic tests and works to strengthen its competitive position in the precision diagnostics market.

From an investment perspective, Oxford BioDynamics continues to face notable headwinds. The group is characterised by ongoing losses, elevated leverage and weak share price momentum. Valuation metrics offer little support, with a negative price-to-earnings ratio and no dividend yield, leaving financial performance as the dominant risk factor shaping the near- to medium-term outlook.

More about Oxford BioDynamics

Oxford BioDynamics Plc is an international biotechnology company specialising in precision clinical diagnostics. It develops and commercialises blood-based tests built on its proprietary EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform, which is designed to identify disease presence and predict patient response to treatment. Key products include the EpiSwitch PSE prostate cancer screening test, which enhances the accuracy of conventional PSA testing, and the EpiSwitch CiRT test, used to predict response to immuno-oncology checkpoint inhibitor therapies. The company is expanding its pipeline across oncology, neurology, inflammation, hepatology and animal health, and operates laboratories in Oxford (UK), Maryland (USA) and Penang (Malaysia), with its shares listed on AIM in London.

Cobra Resources (LSE:COBR) has finalised the assignment of three exploration licences from Tri-Star Group, materially enlarging the landholding and upside potential of its Boland ionic rare earth project in South Australia. The additional ground strengthens the company’s ability to advance high-priority rare earth element (REE) targets that are considered suitable for in situ recovery, allowing drilling activity to be brought forward.

Operational and financial highlights

With regulatory approvals, environmental reviews and community engagement processes being accelerated, Cobra intends to roll out a phased drilling programme across the Boland, Head and Stokes prospects ahead of the cropping season. Results from this work are expected to underpin a resource estimate and economic scoping study targeted for mid-2026. In parallel, metallurgical test work is progressing to define a mixed rare earth carbonate product, which is aimed at supporting early offtake discussions. The company is also advancing plans for an in-field ISR pilot recovery trial, provisionally scheduled for late 2026, as it seeks to establish a competitive position within the emerging low-cost rare earths space.

From a financial standpoint, the investment case continues to be weighed down by the absence of revenue, ongoing losses and persistent cash outflows, although this is partly offset by the group’s debt-free balance sheet. On the technical side, the shares are trading above key moving averages with constructive momentum indicators. Valuation remains difficult to assess given negative earnings and the lack of dividend yield metrics.

More about Cobra Resources

Cobra Resources Plc is a South Australia–focused critical minerals developer advancing a portfolio of pre-production assets. Its flagship project is the Boland ionic rare earth discovery within the wider Wudinna Project on the Gawler Craton, currently regarded as Australia’s only rare earth project suited to in situ recovery mining — a low-impact, low-cost extraction method targeting bottom-quartile recovery costs. Beyond rare earths, the company is developing the Manna Hill Copper Project, aimed at large-scale copper discoveries, and has previously monetised its Wudinna gold assets through a sale to Barton Gold for up to A$15 million in cash and shares, reflecting a strategic pivot toward critical minerals.