Blog

Pulsar Helium Inc. (LSE:PLSR) has signed and accepted a firm proposal with Chart Energy & Chemicals, a subsidiary of Baker Hughes, covering the staged supply of equipment for its proposed Rare Gas Hub in Minnesota.

The package is valued at US$85.5 million before additional costs and covers equipment for a commercial-scale helium purification and liquefaction plant alongside a carbon dioxide capture plant.

The proposed helium facility has a nameplate capacity of approximately 7.5 million litres of liquid helium per year, while the CO2 facility is designed to capture 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day.

Pulsar to Make Initial US$5.025 Million Payment

Pulsar plans to make an initial payment of US$5.025 million from its existing cash resources of US$25.2 million, subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.

A second milestone payment of US$8.55 million is due by January 31, 2027. Payment of this amount would trigger procurement of long-lead equipment for the project.

The agreement includes a milestone-linked payment structure as well as provisions allowing for suspension or termination if financing or other required milestones are not achieved.

Rare Gas Hub Remains Subject to Financing and Approvals

Development of the Rare Gas Hub remains dependent on several conditions, including securing additional financing, completing engineering and engineering, procurement and construction work, and finalising a project site in Lake County, Minnesota.

Pulsar will also need to obtain the required permits and regulatory approvals before the proposed facility can proceed to operation.

The company is developing the Rare Gas Hub as processing infrastructure for its helium activities in the region.

Pulsar Helium Portfolio

Pulsar Helium is a primary helium exploration and development company with listings on AIM, the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB.

Its portfolio includes the Topaz helium project in Minnesota, the Falcon project in Michigan and the Tunu project in Greenland. The company’s projects are focused on primary helium resources that are not associated with hydrocarbon production.

Halo Minerals (LSE:HALO) has said it is unaware of any operational, financial or corporate developments that would account for a recent decline in its share price.

The company said work at its Playa Verde copper and gold tailings reprocessing project in Chile continues in line with its plans and reiterated the project’s development schedule.

The update follows recent Class 3 engineering work and an update to the bankable feasibility study for Playa Verde.

Halo Outlines Work Ahead of Investment Decision

Halo said several workstreams are underway as it progresses Playa Verde towards a final investment decision.

These include preparation of an updated resource report, engineering optimisation, permitting activities, stakeholder engagement and work related to project financing.

The company is also continuing discussions with potential financiers, strategic partners and offtake counterparties as part of the project’s development process.

Halo has outlined an indicative implementation period of approximately 18 months and is targeting a potential start of operations in October 2028. The timetable remains subject to the project progressing through the required development stages.

Playa Verde Focused on Tailings Reprocessing

Halo Minerals is a London-listed copper development company focused on recovering minerals, primarily copper and gold, from legacy mining waste.

Its principal asset is the Playa Verde project in Chile, which is being developed to recover copper and gold from existing tailings.

Tap Global Group (LSE:TAP) has added Solana to its Digital Asset Income Strategy reserve, purchasing 500 SOL tokens at an average price of £91.66 each.

The acquisition follows the company’s earlier purchase of 3 BTC and takes the total acquisition cost of assets held within the reserve to £235,227.

Tap said the Digital Asset Income Strategy, or DAIS, reserve is maintained separately from assets used for the company’s operations and is deployed through its Tap Earn programme.

Solana Purchase Expands DAIS Holdings

The addition of Solana diversifies the reserve beyond Bitcoin. As a proof-of-stake cryptoasset, Solana can generate staking rewards when deployed through relevant protocols.

Tap said its DAIS strategy is designed to generate income from digital assets held on its balance sheet through activities including staking and lending.

The company’s Tap Earn programme, which provides customers with the ability to earn yield on various cryptoassets, has attracted more than US$8 million in customer assets.

Tap also acknowledged that deploying digital assets through staking and lending involves risks including cryptoasset price volatility and counterparty exposure.

Tap Global’s Crypto-Fintech Operations

Tap Global operates a crypto-fintech platform through the Tap app, which has more than 400,000 customers across over 25 countries.

The platform provides access to more than 70 cryptoassets and allows customers to trade digital assets, spend through Mastercard’s merchant network and access yield products through Tap Earn.

Tap operates under Gibraltar’s distributed ledger technology regulatory framework and intends to seek authorisation under the forthcoming UK cryptoasset regulatory regime.

Landsec (LSE:LAND) has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in the Metrocentre shopping complex in Gateshead for net cash consideration of £516 million, expanding the property group’s portfolio of UK retail destinations.

The acquisition price represents a 7.9% yield based on Metrocentre’s in-place net rental income of £41 million.

Metrocentre comprises 1.86 million square feet of retail and leisure space alongside an adjacent retail park. The complex attracts more than 16 million visitors annually and has a high occupancy rate.

Landsec intends to partly finance the acquisition through an equity issue.

Acquisition Expands Landsec Retail Portfolio

The transaction forms part of Landsec’s strategy to invest £1 billion in major retail assets.

Following completion, Landsec will own three of the UK’s top 10 shopping centres and eight of the top 30. Retail destinations are expected to account for approximately 46% of the group’s annualised rental income.

Completion of the Metrocentre acquisition is subject to bondholder approvals and the dissolution of a legacy Intu entity. Landsec is targeting completion by the end of October.

The company said leasing activity and disposals of lower-growth office properties support its expectations for like-for-like rental income growth and faster EPRA earnings per share growth through the end of the decade.

Landsec Portfolio

Land Securities Group, known as Landsec, owns a portfolio valued at approximately £10 billion across the UK.

The group’s assets include major retail destinations, office properties and a residential development pipeline.

Talon Resources plc (LSE:TAR) has completed its first diamond drilling programme at the Eagle Lake gold project in Ontario, Canada, with 12 holes drilled across four target areas.

The programme, which began in early September, totalled 1,169 metres of drilling at East Fornieri Bay, West Fornieri Bay, Cedar Trench and Moss Knoll.

Core recovered from the drilling is now being logged and cut ahead of assay work at ActLabs’ certified facility in Dryden, Ontario.

Assay Results to Feed Into Geological Model

Talon said the assay results will be incorporated into its geological model alongside information collected from previous fieldwork and analysis generated through MINML’s PRISM machine-learning technology.

The company expects the first drilling phase to provide additional information about the subsurface geology and mineralisation at Eagle Lake. Results from the programme are also expected to inform the design and targeting of subsequent drilling.

Chief executive Alex King said the programme was completed around three months after Talon began work at Eagle Lake and tested multiple targets within Ontario’s Wabigoon Subprovince.

The announcement was classified by the company as containing inside information under UK market abuse regulations.

Eagle Lake Remains Talon’s Primary Exploration Asset

Talon holds a 90% interest in the Eagle Lake project, which comprises a land package containing multiple gold exploration targets in the Wabigoon Subprovince.

The AIM-listed company is focused on gold exploration in North America and is using conventional field exploration alongside machine-learning-assisted prospectivity mapping through its collaboration with MINML.

Talon is also evaluating exploration opportunities beyond Eagle Lake as it seeks to develop a broader portfolio of North American gold projects.

Critical Mineral Resources (LSE:CMRS) has secured a US$2 million equity investment from Nebari Natural Resources AIV II to support work at its Agadir Melloul copper-silver project in Morocco and provide additional working capital.

The investment is being made at 2.0 pence per share and will result in Nebari holding approximately 15.2% of Critical Mineral Resources’ enlarged share capital.

Proceeds from the financing are expected to be used for resource definition, acquisitions, technical studies and development activities at Agadir Melloul, alongside general working capital requirements.

Nebari Receives Warrants and Financing Rights

Under the investment agreement, Nebari will receive pre-emption rights and a package of warrants. If the warrants are exercised in full, they could provide Critical Mineral Resources with approximately £2.8 million of additional funding.

Nebari has also been granted a right of first refusal in relation to construction financing for Agadir Melloul and future mine developments.

The agreement provides Nebari with a board observer position and representation on a technical committee, giving the mining financier involvement in discussions relating to project development and financing.

Critical Mineral Resources is also undertaking a concurrent share issue to Gilini Holdings as part of the changes to its capital structure.

Funding to Support Agadir Melloul Development

Critical Mineral Resources is progressing Agadir Melloul towards a maiden JORC resource. The copper-silver project is located in Morocco’s Western Anti-Atlas.

The company is focused on the exploration and development of critical mineral projects, with its activities primarily centred on copper and silver assets in Morocco.

URU Metals Limited (LSE:URU) has raised £1.25 million before expenses through an oversubscribed share placing, with the proceeds primarily earmarked for a new drilling programme at its Zeb Nickel Project in Limpopo, South Africa.

The mineral exploration and development company placed 50 million new ordinary shares at 2.5 pence each. The fundraising was arranged by broker Axis Capital Markets Limited.

URU said the funding will support the mobilisation and execution of an initial eight-hole diamond drilling campaign at Zone 2 of Zeb, alongside geological, analytical and technical work intended to advance the area towards a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate.

The planned programme comprises approximately 3,850 metres of NQ diamond drilling, with eight Priority 1 holes to be drilled from four shared pads. Each pad will host two holes at different inclinations, allowing the company to investigate both shallower mineralisation and the down-dip continuation of the Zone 2 system.

Drill locations and orientations were selected using URU’s completed Leapfrog 3D geological and mineralisation model. The model identified several coherent mineralised envelopes at Zone 2, with the higher-grade southeastern part of the system selected as the priority area for further drilling.

URU said the campaign is intended to increase drilling density and geological confidence in Zone 2 and generate sufficient geological and assay information to support preparation of an initial resource estimate.

Preparations for mobilisation are already underway after Zaaiman Exploration Drilling was selected as the preferred drilling contractor. The programme will be carried out through Lesego Platinum Uitloop (Pty) Ltd, which holds the Mining Right covering the Zeb Nickel Project.

Pre-mobilisation work includes contractor onboarding and mine safety documentation, securing access to drill sites, arranging water supplies, preparing drill pads and access routes, establishing core-handling facilities and finalising laboratory and quality assurance procedures.

Zaaiman plans to deploy two NQ diamond drill rigs. The first is expected to begin operating once mobilisation and site-readiness work has been completed, with a second rig to be introduced as the drilling campaign gathers pace.

Drilling is expected to start in the coming weeks and continue for several months. Core logging, photography, measurement, sampling and independent laboratory analysis will take place progressively during the campaign, allowing URU to release operational and assay updates as work advances rather than waiting until all eight holes have been completed.

Alongside drilling, proceeds from the placing will fund site establishment and security, geological supervision, core processing, independent assays and QAQC, metallurgical testwork, land access and community engagement, further three-dimensional geological modelling and technical work associated with the planned Mineral Resource Estimate. A portion will also be used for general working capital.

Chief executive John Zorbas said the company’s immediate priority was establishing the drilling contractor on site and beginning drilling once the necessary safety, access and site-readiness requirements had been completed.

“Preparatory work for mobilisation is underway and our immediate focus is on getting the drilling contractor established on site and the first rig turning as soon as the required safety, access and site-readiness work has been completed,” Zorbas said.

He added that the structure of the programme should allow geological and assay information to emerge throughout the campaign, providing shareholders with a series of operational and technical updates as drilling progresses.

The 50 million placing shares will rank equally with URU’s existing ordinary shares. The company expects the new shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange at 8:00 a.m. on or around 6 October 2026.

Following admission, URU Metals will have 146,963,703 ordinary shares in issue.

Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday following sharp losses in the previous session, as markets weighed recovering crude exports from Saudi Arabia against continuing disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

At 05:06 ET, November Brent crude futures rose 1.0% to $103.64 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures increased 0.9% to $90.21 per barrel.

The recovery followed Tuesday’s declines, when Brent settled 2.6% lower and WTI dropped 3.5%.

Oil prices had come under pressure as Saudi Arabia resumed crude loadings from the Red Sea port of Yanbu following the restart of its East-West Pipeline. The infrastructure gives the country an alternative route for crude exports that does not require tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Crude Flows Increase Through Red Sea Export Route

Saudi Aramco has notified customers about its October loading schedule, while shipping data indicated that almost 10 million barrels of crude were being loaded at Yanbu and nearby Al Muajjiz, according to Reuters.

Separately, Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia had restored flows through the East-West Pipeline to at least 3.5 million barrels per day, citing people familiar with the matter.

That represents approximately half of the pipeline’s total capacity.

The East-West Pipeline enables Saudi Arabia to move crude from producing regions in the east of the country to export facilities on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The recovery in Saudi flows has reduced some of the immediate supply risks associated with the regional conflict, although disruption to the main Gulf export route continues to affect the broader supply outlook.

Markets Continue to Price in Extended Hormuz Disruption

The Strait of Hormuz remains a central uncertainty for oil markets despite increased flows through alternative routes.

The waterway has effectively been closed since shortly after the U.S. and Israel began their joint assault on Iran in late February.

Diplomatic attempts to reopen the route have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.

Deutsche Bank analysts said market pricing continued to reflect expectations that the disruption could last for an extended period.

Traders are “still pricing in a lengthier period of disruption, even as increased oil flows out of the Gulf have eased the near-term pressure,” the analysts said.

The improvement in Gulf export flows has therefore reduced some immediate supply pressure without resolving the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar Continues Mediation Between U.S. and Iran

Qatar is mediating between Washington and Tehran as efforts continue to reach an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussions are focused on a potential arrangement that could include reopening the strait and easing some U.S. pressure on Iran.

President Donald Trump has rejected reports that the U.S. offered Tehran sanctions relief.

Iran, meanwhile, has continued to seek conditions connected with reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The negotiations have yet to result in an agreement that would restore shipping through the waterway.

U.S. Administration Reportedly Weighs Diesel Export Ban

Energy prices are also in focus in the U.S., where Trump is considering several measures aimed at addressing higher domestic fuel costs, according to a Financial Times report cited in the supplied information.

The measures under consideration include a possible ban on U.S. diesel exports.

The discussions come as higher fuel prices increase pressure on the domestic economy and the administration.

U.S. diesel prices reached $6.53 per gallon last week, more than 70% above their pre-war level, according to the Financial Times.

The potential diesel export restrictions are among the options reportedly being considered as the administration assesses measures intended to reduce domestic fuel prices.