Category: Market News

Afentra (LSE:AET) has announced a significant upgrade to its resource base after an independent audit and internal portfolio review lifted its 2C working interest contingent resources to 87.3 million barrels of oil equivalent. The revised estimate covers Angola’s offshore Blocks 3/05, 3/05A and 3/24 and reflects a more than fourfold increase on previously reported volumes.

The uplift follows an assessment by Sproule ERCE, alongside Afentra’s own evaluations of newly awarded acreage, with the increase largely driven by undeveloped discoveries and early-stage resource potential identified at Block 3/24. The company highlighted that these figures point to meaningful upside beyond currently booked resources.

Looking ahead, Afentra plans to further appraise this potential through a targeted infill drilling and heavy workover programme scheduled for 2026–27 on the producing Block 3/05 fields. In parallel, the group is advancing the maturation of near-field discoveries and exploring opportunities within the onshore Kwanza Basin, initiatives that could enhance production levels and support longer-term growth in Angola.

From an investment perspective, Afentra’s outlook is underpinned by solid financial performance and what is viewed as an attractive valuation. However, bearish technical momentum suggests some caution in the near term, even as the company’s strategic activity and recent corporate developments continue to strengthen its growth profile.

More about Afentra plc

Afentra plc is an upstream oil and gas company focused on acquiring and managing production and development assets across Africa in support of a responsible energy transition. Listed on AIM, the company holds operated and non-operated interests in several offshore blocks in Angola’s Lower Congo Basin, including the producing Block 3/05 and adjacent Blocks 3/05A and 3/24. Its portfolio also includes non-operated interests in the onshore Kwanza Basin blocks KON15 and KON19, as well as offshore exploration Block 23.

Seascape Energy Asia (LSE:SEA) has introduced new long-term incentive plan awards for its executive directors and senior management, with participants choosing to receive a significant portion of their 2025 annual bonus in the form of nil-cost share options. In addition, the company has granted options to newly appointed independent non-executive director Michael Buck under its non-executive director incentive plan.

Following these awards, directors’ combined shareholdings will represent approximately 7.7% of the company’s issued share capital, enhancing alignment between leadership and shareholders while supporting retention across the senior team. The board also exercised its discretion to approve an exceptional option award for the non-executive director, structured as a multiple of annual fees, reflecting the importance placed on attracting and retaining key individuals during a pivotal stage in the company’s development.

Despite these governance and incentive measures, Seascape’s near-term outlook continues to be weighed down by weak financial fundamentals. The company currently generates no revenue, continues to report widening losses and sustained negative free cash flow, and has experienced significant equity dilution. Technical indicators remain broadly neutral with limited short-term momentum, while valuation metrics are constrained by negative earnings and the absence of a dividend.

More about Seascape Energy Asia plc

Seascape Energy Asia plc is an energy company focused on exploration and production activities across the Asian region. Listed in London, the group operates with a capital-light model and uses equity-based incentive schemes to align management and board interests with those of shareholders, as part of its strategy to create long-term value in the upstream energy market.

Tharisa (LSE:THS) reported a strong safety outcome alongside mixed operational results for the first quarter of its 2026 financial year. Lost-time injury rates were extremely low across both Tharisa Minerals and Karo Platinum, while metallurgical performance improved, with higher recoveries for both platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome despite disruption from heavy rainfall and lightning during the period.

Production of PGMs and chrome in the quarter declined compared with the previous quarter, reflecting planned mining volumes and typical seasonal impacts. However, the effect on financial performance was partly offset by higher PGM basket prices and steady chrome pricing, which supported revenues and cash generation. As a result, the group ended the quarter with a net cash position of US$47.0 million.

The balance sheet strength allowed Tharisa to continue funding underground development at its flagship operation while progressing the Karo project in line with available capital. Management highlighted that this positions the group well within a PGM market environment marked by ongoing platinum supply deficits and resilient pricing conditions.

More about Tharisa

Tharisa is an integrated mining and metals group focused on platinum group metals and chrome concentrates. The company operates across the full value chain, from exploration and mining through to processing, beneficiation, marketing, sales and logistics. Its core asset is the low-cost, long-life Tharisa Mine on South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, alongside the development of the tier-one Karo Platinum Project in Zimbabwe. Tharisa is also pursuing downstream beneficiation and energy-transition technologies, including iron chromium redox flow batteries, to support decarbonisation and long-duration energy storage.

First Class Metals (LSE:FCM) has broadened its exploration focus beyond gold after securing options to acquire 100% interests in two rare earth element (REE) prospects in northwest Ontario, known as Block H and Block F. The move marks the company’s entry into critical minerals exploration while retaining gold as the core pillar of its strategy.

The two properties, covering approximately 18km² and 33km² respectively, are located in the White Otter Batholith area near FCM’s Sunbeam gold project. Both sit within one of the most anomalous REE zones identified in Ontario’s lake sediment database and are believed to lie on the traditional territory of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation, where First Class Metals already has an established working relationship.

Under the three-year option agreements, financial commitments in the first year are deliberately modest, limiting upfront exposure while the company completes desktop studies and prepares for an initial prospecting-led field programme starting in spring 2026. This work is expected to focus on ground-truthing historic anomalies, validating existing assay data and refining geological models before any potential escalation of exploration activity.

By targeting thorium-associated REE mineralisation in a region recognised by Canada as a priority critical minerals jurisdiction, First Class Metals is positioning itself to benefit from increasing global demand for rare earths and Western initiatives to diversify supply chains away from China. However, the company’s near-term outlook continues to be weighed down by weak financial metrics, including the absence of revenue, ongoing losses and continued cash burn. Mixed technical indicators and valuation constraints linked to negative earnings offer limited offset to these challenges.

More about First Class Metals Plc

First Class Metals Plc is a UK-listed mineral exploration company focused on discovering economic metal deposits across a portfolio of properties in Ontario, Canada. Its primary emphasis is on gold exploration within this Tier-1 mining jurisdiction, while it is increasingly seeking complementary exposure to critical and strategic minerals aligned with government-supported supply chain priorities.

Metir (LSE:MET) said trading for the year ended 31 December 2025 was in line with management expectations, with revenues forecast to surge to around £1.5m from £0.23m in the prior year. The sharp increase was driven by strong overseas demand for its Microtox instruments and reagents, renewed uptake of its relaunched sulphate-reducing bacteria test kits, and progress on sizeable potable water monitoring projects, including a continuous toxic monitoring installation in Qatar.

The company noted that manufacturing constraints at outsourced suppliers during the fourth quarter restricted its ability to convert orders into revenue, resulting in some Microtox unit shipments being deferred into early 2026. Despite these short-term limitations, demand remained robust across key product lines. To address capacity bottlenecks and support future growth, Metir strengthened its balance sheet through a £1m fundraising, which will be used to expand production capability, increase exposure to higher-margin recurring reagent sales, and accelerate the development of new technologies.

Looking ahead, the group is advancing innovations such as mobile PFAS monitoring solutions and real-time pathogen detection platforms. The board believes these initiatives, combined with increased manufacturing capacity, will underpin near-term revenue growth, improve margins and move the business closer to sustainable profitability.

More about Metir plc

Metir plc is a UK-headquartered provider of rapid-response, mobile and point-of-use water and environmental monitoring technologies, operating through its Modern Water and Microsaic Systems divisions. The company develops and supplies instruments, reagents and testing kits for toxicity, PFAS monitoring and pathogen detection, delivering real-time water and liquid quality data for environmental, public health and industrial customers worldwide.

Under the banner of fighting drug cartels — and alongside invoking the Monroe Doctrine, which asserts a U.S. right to an exclusive sphere of influence across the Western Hemisphere — the U.S. carried out a special operation in Venezuela. Soon after, U.S. authorities began seizing tankers suspected of transporting Venezuelan oil, even when they were sailing under foreign flags.

Naturally, this sparked concerns that oil prices could slide. After all, Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and a sudden return of its crude to global markets could sharply boost supply. In reality, however, that didn’t happen. While crude oil prices did start the year lower, they quickly recovered, and by Monday, Brent crude was trading above $62 per barrel.

What explains this resilience?

First, despite its vast reserves, Venezuela simply cannot flood the market overnight. Years of sanctions have left the country’s oil industry in serious decline. Restoring production will require hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, as well as time.

Furthermore, most of Venezuela’s oil reserves are located in the Orinoco Belt and are classified as heavy or extra-heavy crude. Extracting them is costly and technically difficult. According to some estimates, the break-even price of Venezuelan oil would have to be at least $80 per barrel for production to be economically viable. No wonder, during a recent meeting between Donald Trump and representatives of the oil and gas industry, the CEO of ExxonMobil said the Venezuelan market is “uninvestable” in its current state.

At the same time, tensions are rising in the Middle East, especially in Iran.

The country is facing new protests as the rial continues to fall and inflation remains high. The demonstrations are becoming political, with Tehran blaming the U.S. and Israel for stirring unrest. If the situation worsens and the U.S. intervenes, Iranian oil supplies could be disrupted, potentially tightening the global market.

The good news for those hoping for lower oil prices is that Goldman Sachs still expects average Brent and WTI prices in 2026 to be $56 and $52 per barrel, respectively, as oil reserves continue to rise in OECD countries.

Ajax (AQSE: AJAX) has begun drilling at its Eureka Gold and Copper Project in Jujuy Province, Argentina, marking the first time the historic mining area has ever been drill tested despite nearly 400 years of documented production.

The natural resources investment company said the fully funded and permitted initial programme will consist of around 10 diamond drill holes, totaling approximately 1,500 metres. The campaign is designed to test a combination of shallow geochemical and induced polarisation (IP) anomalies, alongside a deeper IP chargeability target highlighted in a 2014 SRK Consulting report. That deeper anomaly is interpreted as a possible transition into a sulphide-rich zone within the broader mineralised system.

Drilling is taking place close to Mina Eureka, a historic copper and gold mine within the project area. Although the mine has a production history stretching back roughly four centuries, it has never been subjected to modern drilling, leaving much of its subsurface potential unexplored.

Previous work at Eureka has identified multiple high-priority targets. Surface sampling has confirmed high-grade copper oxides, including historical results of up to 6.1% Cu, with numerous samples exceeding 0.5% Cu across several earlier exploration campaigns.

Ajax said all work is being carried out in line with stringent environmental, health, safety and community engagement standards. The start of drilling represents a major milestone for the project and a key step in Ajax’s strategy of unlocking value from historically productive but underexplored assets.

Initial assay results from the programme are expected by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo said:

“The commencement of drilling at Eureka represents an important milestone for Ajax. Opportunities to drill test a project with a 400-year history of copper and gold production that has never previously been drilled are uncommon. The presence of strong surface geochemistry, multiple IP anomalies, and the proximity to historic workings provides a compelling technical rationale for this initial programme, while recognising that drilling is required to validate the geological model.

A number of historical third-party studies provide additional context regarding the potential scale of the mineralised system. Minera Peñoles estimated an exploration potential of 61.6 Mt at 1.0% Cu, containing approximately 616,000 tonnes of copper, while work undertaken by Codelco also pointed to the presence of a significant copper system. In addition, Mantos Blancos, now part of Anglo American, carried out underground mapping and bulk sampling and declared a historical, non-NI 43-101 compliant gold resource of approximately 52,000 ounces, based on 600,000 tonnes at 2.7 g/t Au.

This fully funded programme is a key step in systematically assessing the potential of the Eureka Project, and we look forward to keeping shareholders informed as results are received, analysed, and interpreted over the coming months.”

Note on historical estimates

Ajax cautioned that the historical estimates referenced were prepared by previous operators and do not comply with current reporting standards. The figures have not been verified by the company and should not be treated as Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves. They are included solely to provide geological context and to explain the rationale behind the current drilling programme.

Great Western Mining Corporation (LSE:GWMO) has named seasoned geologist Edward (Ed) Loye as Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 February 2026, as the company sharpens its focus on advancing exploration and development activities in Nevada. Loye, who has already been advising the group as a geological consultant and is expected to join the board in due course, brings over 20 years of international experience spanning rare earths, critical minerals, and precious and base metals.

His background includes founding and leading multiple exploration ventures, as well as contributing to UK government-supported critical minerals initiatives. The board believes Loye’s combination of technical depth and commercial leadership will help accelerate progress across Great Western’s Nevada portfolio and support the transition of key assets toward development, with a clear emphasis on long-term value creation for shareholders.

More about Great Western Mining

Great Western Mining Corporation is a diversified exploration and development company focused on strategic and precious metals in Nevada, operating across several wholly owned claim groups in Mineral County — a well-established and mining-friendly jurisdiction. The company follows a multi-commodity approach, balancing near-term development with longer-term exploration. Its portfolio includes the flagship Huntoon Copper Project, which hosts a JORC-compliant copper resource, alongside gold, silver and early-stage tungsten assets aligned with U.S. critical minerals priorities. Great Western is also evaluating farm-out and joint venture options to unlock additional value from its asset base.