The FTSE 100 started 2023 with a bang as the index rose above 7,600 in early trade, before falling back as the session progressed.
London-listed shares shrugged off pessimistic IMF comments on the health of the global economy suggesting most major economies could face a slowdown in the coming 12 months.
“UK shares kicked off the New Year with a bang despite gloomy predictions from the head of the IMF that one third of the global economy will be hit by recession this year,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Kristalina Georgieva told CBS that the US, EU and China are all slowing simultaneously. This is unpleasant to hear but isn’t a shock to markets given the multitude of headwinds that gathered pace last year, namely high inflation and rising interest rates and the negative impact they have on business and consumer spending.”
The FTSE 100 was up 1.3% at 7,548 at the time of writing on Tuesday with 88 of the FTSE’s 100 constituents gaining.
Ocado had a choppy finish to 2022 and was again the top riser on Tuesday as the retail technology company bounced off a support level building at 620p.
The FTSE 100’s commodity companies helped lift the index as miners and oil companies rallied. Banks were also strong performers ahead of year that promises a period of higher rates.
“Mining and banks were also in demand on the UK stock market, suggesting that investors were split into two camps – one happy to take on additional risks and buy commodity producers in the belief that any global economic downturn will only be short lived, and the other opting for a more cautious approach. Banks have perked up on the stock market in recent months as investors bet that they will benefit from interest rates staying higher for longer,” Russ Mould said.
Rolls Royce was 5% higher at 97p after analysts at Jefferies raised the stock to a buy with a 125p price target.
Heart health diagnostics firm GENinCode (LON: GENI) has received California state licensing approval and CLIA certification for its laboratory in Irvine, California. That sparked a 135.5% leap in the share price to 18.25p. That is the highest the share price has been since June and stops the downward trend since flotation in 2021. The certification will allow processing of LipidinCode, which is set to be launched in the US first, and CardioinCode tests. There are plans to obtain FDA approval for CardioinCode. There should be enough cash in the bank to last until the end of 2023.
Oil and gas company Challenger Energy (LON: CEG) says Uruguay has awarded two more offshore blocks, including one to a consortium including Shell, which is adjacent to Challenger Energy’s AREA OFF-1 block. A farm-in partner will be sought and that will enable increased exploration spending. The shares are 10.8% ahead at 0.1025p.
In-video game advertising technology company Bidstack (LON: BIDS) says that it has invoiced Azerion Technology, but it has received a termination notice from the company. Bidstack says that there is no entitlement to end the agreement and it is claiming damages. Azerion Technology has been in dispute since October and this deal was underpinning forecasts. The share price slumped 27% to 2.025p.
Helium One Global (LON: HE1) will not be able to procure the Exalo drilling rig as it had expected because the current user has taken up a 12-month option on its operation. This will delay exploration drilling, which was due to start in the first quarter of 2023. At the end of last year, Helium One Global raised £9.9m at 5p a share to finance a single exploration well in the Tai prospect in the Rukwa Basin, Tanzania, which would help to prove up a working helium system. There are alternative rigs that could be secured, but this will mean drilling starting later in the year. The share price declined by 23.2% to 5.45p.
DeepMatter (LON: DMTR) has fallen 7.69% to 0.03p ahead of the cancellation of its AIM quotation on 5 January.
Optamer binders developer Aptamer Group (LON: APTA) has warned that delays in signing contracts mean that full year revenues will be below expectations. Interim revenues are likely to fall from £1.4m to £1m and Liberum has cut its full year forecast from £8m to £6m, which is still a 50% increase on last year. Net cash of around £2.2m is forecast for the end of June 2023, so Aptamer is financially secure. The share price fell by 6.86% to 47.5p. Trading in Allergy Therapeutics (LON: AGY), Kazera Global (LON: KZG), Star Phoenix (LON: STA), URU Metals (LON: URU), Ince Group (LON: INCE), Inspirit Energy (LON: INSP) and Goldplat (LON: GDP) has been
Cadence Minerals have announced the completion of the pre-feasibility study (PFS) at their flagship Amapa Iron ore project in Brazil. The completion of the PFS marks a major milestone in the journey towards the production of high-grade iron ore at the project which now has a $949m NPV.
The PFS included the Maiden Ore Reserve of 195.8mt at 39.34% Fe and an IRR of 35%. The Amapa project is now expected to produce 5.28 million dry metric tonnes of iron ore per annum.
The PFS forecasted Free on Board (FOB) cash cost of $35.53/dmt at the port of Santana and Cost and Freight (CFR) cash costs $64.23/dmt in China. Iron Ore at 62% Fe is currently trading above $111 in China having touched highs in excess of $230 in 2021.
Cadence Minerals have a 30% stake in the Amapa project.
Having achieved a favourable PFS, DEV Mineração S/A – the owner and operator of the Amapa iron ore project – will now push on with advancing operations at Amapa and pursue mine life expansion at adjacent exploration targets. This will open the door to a Feasibility study and production at the project.
Source: Cadence Minerals
Amapa benefits from excellent infrastructure which will help manage initial capital expenditure currently forecast to be $399m. There are existing facilities including a processing plant, railway and port access set for rehabilitation ready for production at the project.
“The Project benefits from integrated infrastructure under the owner’s control, a well-established processing route, low capital intensity and a quality product with an international reputation,” said Cadence Minerals CEO, Kiran Morzaria.
“Along with a skilled workforce, proximity to operational infrastructure and the potential to increase the mineral resource means that Amapá remains an incredibly attractive investment opportunity.”
Cadence Minerals is a mining and minerals investment company with a diverse portfolio of assets that spans critical minerals and base metals.
Bidstack shares have had a disastrous start to the new year after the in-game advertising technology company revealed a souring relationship with their partner, Azerion.
A deal with Azerion struck in 2021 was supposed to deliver $30m in sales from Bidstack’s in-game advertising inventory over a 2-year period.
However, Bidstack have today announced Azerion have withheld payments Bidstack feel are due to them, and Azerion are seeking to terminate the agreement. Concerns about the health of the relationship arose in October when Bidstack said they received a non-disclosed email from Azerion but there was ‘no litigation with Azerion’.
Today, Bidstack said they are now pursuing legal action to recover sums they feel are owed to them as part of the agreement.
Bidstack had called the ‘landmark’ commercial Azerion deal ‘ground-breaking’ in their 2021 full year results and just eight months later the agreement lays in tatters, along with the Bidstack share price.
Bidstack shares were down 28% to 1.98p at the time of writing and had a market cap of just £25m – considerably less than the cash it has raised from investors to fund the development of their in-game advertising platform.
The company conducted their latest raise in October, securing £10m.
Bidstack have failed to capitalise on their first mover advantages in the in-game advertising space with multiple advertising agencies and platforms now getting in on the action.
Windward Ltd (LON: WNWD) is another of the 2021 new AIM admissions where the share price has done poorly. The issue price on 6 December 2021 was 155p and the share price went to an initial premium. However, in 2022 it fell by 69.3% to 65p. Yet the business, while still heavily loss making, has made good progress.
Israel-based Windward has developed AI-based software that enables real-time information about seafaring vessels to be transmitted to their owners. Additional services are being added to the platform. The latest is the vessel fuel consumption API, which assesses fuel consumption and p...
Kitchenware retailer ProCook Group (LON: PROC) has been hit by weak consumer demand, yet it continues to gain market share. The share price fell by 81.5% to 28p in 2022, but there are signs of improvement.
ProCook joined the premium list in the autumn of 2021. The share price range for the offer was 137p to 185p. The price was eventually set at 145p. The shares sold in the flotation all came from existing shareholders.
ProCook has been trading for more than 25 years and it sells kitchenware, including cookware, tableware and cutlery. Online sales predominate but there are also retail sites. Th...
Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) says that 2023 revenues will be better than expected because of the order inflow in recent months and delayed contracts. The 2023 forecast was raised from £20.6m to £23.7 in September. The battery storage technology developer will still make a significant loss even with higher revenues. The share price is 13.2% ahead on the week at 43p.
Cadence Minerals (LON: KDNC) has recovered by 10%n to 11.275p following the completion of the pre-feasibility study for the Amapa Iron Ore and an announcement is expected in early 2023. Investee company Evergreen Lithium is awaiting final regulatory approval to join the ASX.
Oberon Investments Group (LON: OBE) reported a decline in interim revenues from £3.45m to £2.64m. Corporate broking revenues fell by one-third to £1.03m, although the number of clients increased from 15 to 22. Funds under management rose above £1bn, although investment management revenues also declined. The group moved from profit to a £1.7m loss as additional staff were taken on in corporate broking and investment management. There was net cash of £2.3m at the end of September 2022. The launch of an EIS fund and other new products should boost longer-term revenues. The share price has risen 6.06% to 3.5p.
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Fallers
Looking Glass Labs Ltd (LON: NFTX), which operates Web3 platforms for immersive metaverse environments and blockchain, has progressed with the development of its Pocket Dimension metaverse offering. Carl Chow has stepped down from the board and Lucas Russell has replaced him. The share price fell 7.41% to 12.5p.
Tectonic Gold (LON: TTAU) reported an increased loss of £311,000 in the year to June 2022, while there was a £270,000 cash outflow from operating activities. There was £403,000 in the bank at the end of June 2022, with net cash of £232,000. The share price declined by 3.33% to 0.725p.
Video editing technology developer Blackbird (LON: BIRD) has made progress with an important collaboration and that helped the share price recover in the last few weeks of the year. It was still down 52.8% at 14.5p.
Blackbird recently revealed that its previously unnamed major partner is EVS Broadcast Equipment, which has already announced a $50m, ten-year deal with a US broadcaster that includes Blackbird’s editing technology. The first deal provides Blackbird with a per-seat user licence fee, as well as maintenance and support revenues.
The developer of real-time video editing technology can...
Applied Graphene Materials (LON: AGM) received indicative proposals from interested parties for the sale of the business as part of the strategic review. Management hopes that there will be final proposals in early January when it will choose a preferred party to negotiate with. There is no guarantee that any satisfactory proposal will be tabled. Redundancy consultations continue. The share price recovered by 77.8% to 8p.
Higher than normal trading levels have pushed up the share prices of diagnostics companies Novacyt (LON: NCYT) and Abingdon Health (LON: ABDX). The amount of Novacyt shares traded on Thursday and Friday was higher than at any time since early July and the price jumped by 66% to 113p. The trading in Abingdon Health shares was at the highest levels since early October and the share price is 52.9% ahead at 6.5p.
Trading in digital media company Catenae Innovation (LON: CTEA) shares recommenced after it published its 2020-21 accounts and interims to March 2022. They jumped 38.2% to 0.235p. There was a £993,000 cash outflow from operations last year and that was reduced to £283,000 in the latest interims. There was cash of £337,000 and no debt at the end of March 2022. A £250,000 interest-free loan facility has been secured from Sanderson Capital.
NetScientific (LON: NSCI) investee company PDS Biotech (NASDAQ: PDSB) has revealed median overall survival of 21 months in a phase II study for a PDS0101-based triple combination therapy for advanced HPV+ cancer patients. This is a better outcome than for current treatments. The PDS share price rose on the news and even though it has fallen back it has still risen by around one-third this week. NetScientific’s 4.7% stake is worth around £13.8m. The NetScientific share price rose 21.1% to 80.5p, which values the investment and consultancy company at £18.9m.
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Fallers
Pantheon Resources (LON: PANR) is the worst performer on the week with a 48.3% decline to 42.52p. The Alaska-focused oil and gas explorer continues to have problems with the Alkaid #2 well due to sand blockages. A specialist rig is available in January to clean out the sand. There was a $48.6m cash outflow in the year to June 2022, leaving $54.7m in the bank thanks to $55m raised from a convertible bond. The fall in the share price will increase the dilution of the bond if it is converted.
Allergy Therapeutics (LON: AGY) says that its accounts will not be published by the end of 2022, so trading in the shares will be suspended on 3 January. The audit has been delayed, but there is no indication of any material problem. Management is still assessing funding options, following the setbacks in the past year. The share price slumped 45.1% to 6.25p.
Harland & Wolff (LON: HARL) has lost some of the gains following its fleet solid support contract announcement in November, falling 24.4% to 15.875p. Guidance on revenues for the year to March 2022 has been more than halved to £29m-£31m. Progress has been slower than expected on an MoD contract and commercial clients are delaying spending. A contract for four wind turbine generator jackets has been terminated following cost escalations. The fleet solid support contract is still being negotiated. A finance facility of up to £200m could be secured by the first quarter of 2023.
Shares in Star Phoenix (LON: STA) have continued their downward trend following the previous week’s shareholder vote against the removal of the auditor and the proposed replacement auditor. The share price fell a further one-third to 0.4p. The new auditor has already started work. However, it is required to be appointed by shareholders, so accounts cannot be published. Another general meeting will be held next year. This means that trading in the shares will be suspended on 3 January.
Lithium prices are soaring and interest in lithium stocks is palpable as investors position for the electric vehicle revolution.
Demand for Electric Vehicles is expected to increase over the next decade with lithium entering a structural supply deficit and providing support for lithium prices.
With such a potential shortfall in lithium supply over the coming decade, any lithium mining company successfully bringing their assets into production, establishing processing facilities or increasing production levels during this time frame will be in a strong position to deliver value to their shareholders.
The UK Investor Magazine team has handpicked 20 lithium shares for investors to watch as the lithium story plays out in 2023. We cover companies producing – and exploring for – lithium encountered in brine, clay and hard rock geologies.
Our selection is grouped by the country of equity listing, as opposed to operations, and is by no means exhaustive.
Australian Lithium Stocks
Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS)
Pilbara Minerals owns 100% of the worlds largest independent hard-rock operation, the Pilgangoora Project in Western Australia. The rising lithium price and increase in production is evident in Pilbara’s latest quarterly results which saw their cash balance surging A$783.7M over the period. Pilbara achieved sales of 138,249 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the Q1 2023 period, up from 58,383 in Q2 2022. Pilbara Minerals are also investing heavily in downstream operations in South Korea where there is a burgeoning lithium chemical and car manufacturing industry.
Lake Resources (ASX:LKE)
Lake Resource’s flagship project is the Kachi 4.4Mt lithium project in Argentina. Kachi will utilise direct lithium extraction in highly sustainable, low cost lithium production. A 2020 pre-feasibility projected 25,500 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate with a potential EBITDA margin of 62%. Lake Resources has four other projects in Argentina, three of which are brine and one pegmatite.
Core Lithium (ASX:CXO)
ASX-listed Core Lithium owns 100% of the Finniss Lithium Project in close proximity to the Darwin Port in Australia. Finniss has a JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resources of 15Mt at 1.3% lithium oxide. Core Lithium began production in late 2022 with the sale of 15,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene direct shipping ore (DSO) at a rate of US$951/dmt.
Their flagship Finniss project is situated in the highly prospective Bynoe Pegmatite Field which also holds gold mineralisation. Core
Core Lithium has number of other lithium projects, as well as base metals and uranium projects across Australia.
Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA)
Sayona’s flagship North American Lithium (NAL) lithium asset is located in Canada nestled among their hub of lithium operations that include the Authier and Moblan projects.
The North American Lithium project has proven and probable mineral reserves of 29mt and has an NPV of $1 billion. The NAL project is a partnership with Piedmont which is expected incur low CAPEX costs to recommence spodumene mining in Q1 2023 with plans to establish a lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate processing plant in the vicinity.
Sayona’s NAL processing plant
European Lithium (ASX:EUR)
This ASX-listed lithium explorer is focused on Europe and their flagship Wolfsberg project in Austria. European Lithium are positioning themselves in the heart of the European EV region and have signed a binding offtake agreement with BMW. BMW will prepay for $15m lithium hydroxide and production is expected to begin in 2026.
European Lithium are currently undergoing a DFS at the Wolfsberg project which is thought to hold a 11mt lithium resource at 1% Li2O.
London Lithium Shares
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO)
London is home to some of the world’s largest miners by market cap. However, the FTSE 100’s miner are typically diversified behemoths that don’t provide the pure play attributes of Australian or US lithium miners. That said, Rio Tinto secures a spot in this selection due to its recent acquisition of an Argentinian lithium mine, and reports by Bloomberg suggest Rio is on the hunt for additional lithium assets after requesting information on potential lithium opportunities from investment banks.
CleanTech Lithium (LON:CTL)
CleanTech Lithium is targeting sustainable DLE extraction across three brine projects in Chile. The company is currently trialing their extraction techniques in pilot projects before rolling out larger scale testing of lithium brines. The company successfully raised capital to fulfil the evaluation of their Chilean projects in late 2022.
A scoping study at their Laguna Verde project is underway and results are expected in the near-term before embarking on a PFS. The Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin projects have a combined resource in excess of 2mt.
Laguna Verde, Chile
Power Metal Resources (LON:POW)
Power Metal Resources is a diversified junior explorer with a broad portfolio of mining assets including Canadian and Australian lithium projects.
Power Metal’s subsidiary First Development Resources holds the license to the Selta project in the Northern Territory, Australia and is set to IPO in the coming months.
Premier African Minerals (LON:PREM)
Premier African Minerals has encountered spodumene within the main pegmatite ore body at their Zulu project in Zimbabwe. The project consists of 14 mineral claims across 3.5 km2. Premier African Minerals have recently unveiled assay results that support earlier evaluations of spodumene at the project.
Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology are helping support studies and future construction develop at the Zulu Project by providing Premier African Minerals with equity funding.
Trident Royalties (LON:TRR)
Trident Royalties is an AIM-listed mining royalties investment company with a diversified portfolio, including lithium royalties. The company has secured a royalties on the Thacker Pass and Sonora lithium projects. The Thacker Pass project is operated by Lithium Americas, a US-listed stock included in this selection. Sonora is a 8.8 Mt resource project operated by Bacanora Lithium, previously listed in London before a being acquire by Gangfeng.
Trident benefits from the upside in metals prices and increased expansion at mines, without the need for additional capacity expenditure by Trident themselves.
Cadence Minerals (LON:KDNC)
Cadence Minerals is a diversified mining investment company with a portfolio of private and listed investments spanning a range of metals.
Cadence Minerals has a stake in three lithium assets including a 8.1% interest in AIM-listed European Metals Holdings, holdings in privately-held Evergreen Lithium, and interest in a Mexican lithium asset.
In addition to Cadence’s lithium assets, investors will be closely watching progress at the company’s flagship iron ore project in Brazil.
European Metals Holdings (LON:EMH)
European Metals Holdings operates the Cinovec mine in Czech Republic which hold Europe’s largest lithium resource. The Cinovec mine has a total JORC Resource of 7.39 Mt LCE 0.64 Mt LCE measured, 3.88 Mt LCE indicated, 2.87 Mt LCE inferred.
A 2022 pre-feasibility study gave the project a $1.94 billion NPV at an assumed lithium hydroxide price of $17,000 per tonne.
European Metals Holdings’ Cinovec mine is favourably located near the German border and is in close proximity to a region that has the potential to be a powerhouse for electric vehicle and battery storage manufacturing.
US Lithium Stocks
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)
Ablemarle is one of the world’s largest lithium producers and expects adjusted EBITDA of their lithium business to surge 500-550% in the 2022 FY. Ablemarle are a vertically integrated lithium giant with global operations in key geographies including China, Chile, Australia and the US.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile(NYSE:SQM)
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) is a Chile focused miner operating in the Salar de Atacama. The Salar de Atacama is located in the Lithium Triangle and one of the world’s foremost geographies for lithium brine production. SQM has forecast 145,000 tons production in 2022 which is facilitated almost entirely by solar power.
Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL)
Piedmont Lithium is dual listed on the NASDAQ and ASX and is targeting the development of assets in Carolina Tin Spodumene Belt of North Carolina and low-cost lithium hydroxide production. Piedmont is engaged in Canadian assets through a partnership with Sayona Mining discussed else where in this article.
Piedmont has an equity interest in London-listed Atlantic Lithium concerning the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana. Piedmont have the ability to gain a 50% interest in Atlantic’s Ghana assets. Piedmont has $117m cash as of end September 2022.
Piedmont recently received a $141m grant from the US government to advance development of the Tennessee lithium hydroxide processing plant. Piedmont say they will invest $600m in the project.
Livent Corporation(NYSE: LTHM)
Livent has deep roots in the lithium industry having started life as lithium hydroxide producer in the 1940s. It has since created a lithium and speciality products empire that is now targeting the rapid expansion of the EV industry. Livent Corporation is a predominately brine focused producer with assets in Argentina, although they are developing a hard-rock asset in Canada.
Livent Corporation Bessemer City Lithium Hydroxide Facility
Having listed in 2018, Livent Corporation has forecasted it will generate between $815m – $845m revenue and $350-375m EBITDA in their 2022 FY. The company has a suite of IP collectively known as LIOVIX that helps improve battery performance and manages their lithium supply chain.
Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC)
Lithium America’s is developing projects in Argentina and the US targeting production in the near term. The Argentinian brine assets are thought to hold in the region of 8mt lithium resources while resources estimates are currently being prepared for the Thacker Pass open-pit project. The company has successfully raised over $1bn finance to fund development of the projects.
Lithium Americas operations
Canadian Lithium Stocks
Lithium Chile (TSX-V:LITH)
Winner of the Mines and Money ‘Best Lithium Company of the Year’, Lithium Chile has 12 brine projects in Chile and Argentina. The licenses cover 79,900 hectares in Chile and 23,300 hectares in Argentina. Recent evaluations of their Laguna Blanco brine assets showed near-surface samples assaying up to 1410 mg/l lithium. Lithium Chile did receive significant backing from Chinese investors who were later ordered to divest their holdings by Canadian authorities.
Sigma Lithium Resources (TSX-V:SGML)
Sigma Lithium owns and operates the largest hard-rock asset in the Americas, Grota do Cirilo. The company is working towards two phase production at the project which could see production up to 104,200 tonnes LCE production per annum. Analysts at Cannacord Genuity see Sigma becoming one of the world’s largest lithium producers should all planned expansions be delivered.
Sigma Lithium say they are planning to achieve net-zero targets by 2024 through the use of carbon credits.
Standard Lithium (TSX-V:SLI)
Standard Lithium is developing the “LiSTR” Direct Lithium Extraction technology to help unlock value in brine assets in South Arkansas. The 4.3mt LCE Smackover project is targeting brines held in limestone aquifers that have already been pumped for the extraction of other critical minerals.
Standard Lithium is well placed to harness existing infrastructure used for bromine processing to achieve a forecasted 20,900 tonnes of annual production.
