Castillo Copper announces expanded drilling campaign at Big One Deposit

Liam Roche
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Castillo Copper announces expanded drilling campaign at Big One Deposit

Castillo board ‘optimistic’ value can be created for all stakeholders

Castillo Copper (LON:CCZ), the base metal explorer, confirmed on Monday that its geology team completed the drilling campaign for the Big One Deposit which will consist of 26 drill-holes for 2,828m.

Th campaign includes 108m of HQ diamond coring in two drill-holes to collect detailed assay, density, and geotechnical measurements. The drilling programme from the year before totalled 21 RC drill-holes for 1,467m.

“The programme, which factors in the recent geophysics survey that comprised six 500-700m lines
across the 1,200m strike event, is designed to extend known mineralisation and build on previous drill
results,” Castillo said in a statement.

Highlights

  • – Castillo’s geology team have finalised a new 26 drill-hole campaign for 2,828m to extend known mineralisation:
    • A key focus is to build on the stellar results derived from previous programmes which included the following best intercepts
      • 303RC: 40m @ 1.64% from (fm) surface incl: 11m @ 4.40% fm 24m, 5m @ 7.34% fm 28m & 1m @ 16.65% fm 29m
      • 301RC: 44m @ 1.19% Cu fm surface incl: 14m @ 3.55% fm 27m, 3m @ 10.88% fm 37m & 1m @ 12.6% fm 37m
      • BO017: 34m @ 1.51% Cu from surface incl: 21m @ 2.25% Cu fm surface, 12m @ 3.44% Cu fm 3m, 6m @ 4.79% Cu fm 3m and 1m @ 9.4% fm 9m
  • – Through reconciling legacy drilling and geochemical data against the 2D and 3D geophysical models, the geology team have optimised and expanded the campaign to target several newly identified bedrock conductors:
    • This includes a large, interpreted anomaly north-west of the line of lode that suggests extensive underlying copper mineralisation is potentially located along fault structures rather than constrained within the trachyte dyke.
  • – Logistical support for the upcoming campaign is now in place, while the drilling crew is slated to arrive and commence work within the next one-to-two weeks.
  • – In readiness for the next phase of the campaign, which will see drilling move on to the Arya and Sansa Prospects, the geology team are reviewing all key data points to ensure optimal results:
    • Notably, there are several bedrock conductors across these two prospects that are prime drill-test targets including EG01 – which is interpreted to be 130m thick, 1,500m by 450m, and circa 430m deep.
  • – In line with the Castillo’s strategic intent to evolve into a mid-tier copper group, the Board remains optimistic 2021 will be a transformative year.

Simon Paull, Managing Director of Castillo Copper, said: “Reconciling geophysics findings with legacy drilling and geochemical data should enable Castillo’s geology team to design effective drilling campaigns for the Big One Deposit, Arya and Sansa Prospects with a high degree of confidence. Consequently, as we progress through several phases of exploring the Mt Oxide Project over the balance of 2021, the Board is optimistic value can be created for all stakeholders.”

New AIM admission: Belluscura

Andrew Hore
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New AIM admission: Belluscura

Medical devices developer Belluscura has gained FDA clearance for its portable oxygen concentrator (POC) and it is on course to start selling the POC device in the next few months. The oxygen market is worth billions of dollars and portable oxygen concentrators are the fastest growing part of the market. Covid-19 has accelerated demand for oxygen, although not as much at the portable end of the market.
There are other products that use the same basic technology that are being developed and could generate further revenues in a few years.
There was £17.5m raised - the company was originally seek...

New AIM admission: Trellus Health

Andrew Hore
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New AIM admission: Trellus Health

Trellus Health intends to provide personalised care for people with chronic conditions with the initial focus being inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The service offered is what the company calls resilience-driven connected health, which is about digital care delivery and patient monitoring.
There is no cure for IBD, but Trellus Health can help to reduce the related problems. The total financial burden of IBD in the US is up to $50bn a year, including work missed due to illness. There are three million adult patients.
There was a total of £28.5m raised at 40p a share. The restricted offer to E...

New standard listing: African Pioneer

Andrew Hore
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New standard listing: African Pioneer

African Pioneer has identified and is acquiring assets in Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. The Botswana assets are likely to be sold, even though they have just been bought, and the focus will be on the first two countries.
African Pioneer first floated in November 2012. That time it joined ISDX (now Aquis) at 1p a share and it left on 1 July 2016. At that time, cash was used to invest in a portfolio of resources companies and the company did not identify its own project. There were net assets of £93,000 at the end of 2015.
The copper assets in Zambia and Namibia are in existing areas of producti...

Revolting shareholders: Aston Martin’s Stroll loses support

Andrew Hore
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Revolting shareholders: Aston Martin’s Stroll loses support

Not all Aston Martin Lagonda Global (LON:AML) shareholders appear happy with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, who led the Yew Tree consortium that invested in the luxury car maker as part of a £500m refinancing in spring 2020.
Stroll is the largest shareholder with 21.6%. At the 2020 AGM, 5% of the votes were cast against his appointment to the board. This year the vote against has increased to 16.7%. Shareholders are not keen on executive chairs, although a separate chief executive has been employed during most of the financial year year. Stroll receives a nominal salary of £1.
Stroll also...

US inflation gauge sees sharp rise on speedy recovery

Liam Roche
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US inflation gauge sees sharp rise on speedy recovery

Fed says price rise is temporary despite biggest year-on-year rise since the 1990s

The US inflation gauge, a measure followed by the Federal Reserve to monitor price levels, showed the largest year-on-year rise since the 90s in April.

The news has created further speculation about inflationary pressures.

The personal consumption expenditure index, which avoids using more volatile energy and food prices, is up by 3.1% in April year-on-year.

Compared to a 1.9% increase in March, it is a sharp rise, and also surpassed the consensus forecast by 0.2%.

Month-by-month, the personal consumption expenditure index rose by 0.7% in April and 0.4% the month before.

This puts the core price index significantly beyond the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

The Fed has reasserted its view that the figures show a short-term trend, including the stimulus packages and supply-chain bottlenecks.

Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, says the Federal Reserve is expected to view the jump in PCE prices as temporary, rather than being spurred to raise interest rates.

“Core PCE, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, jumped to 3.1% YoY in April, up from 1.8% in March and ahead of the 2.9% forecast.”

“The futures were already trading higher ahead of the release and barely reacted to the high inflation numbers.”

“Fed officials have been consistently reassuring the market that they are willing to look through a period of high inflation, which they consider to be temporary. This was particularly the case after CPI hit a 13 year high of 4.2%.”

“This strong rise in PCE inflation could make it more difficult for the Fed to defend its dovish policy, but for now the market doesn’t appear concerned. High growth tech stocks which are usually dragged lower by fears of the Fed moving early have held onto gains. The US Dollar also remains elevated.”

Energy prices surged by 24.8% year-on-year while food prices increased 0.9% over the year.

Burberry Share Price: growth in China despite prior backlash

Liam Roche
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Burberry Share Price: growth in China despite prior backlash

Burberry Share Price

If not for a backlash from China over alleged human rights abuses, the Burberry share price (LON:BRBY) could be a lot closer to its all-time-high of 2,329p, reached in January 2020. Nonetheless, the Burberry share price has rebounded impressively despite the unusual challenges of the past year and beyond. Since 16 March 2020, it is up by 72.6%, while it has gained 19.8% since the beginning of the year. The Burberry share price has moved up by nearly 2% at the time of writing, buoyed by Chinese demand. However, investors will remain curious about its prospects in a key market, as well as its wider performance.

Results

The Burberry share price dived, as seen above, following the release of its financial results. Like any other retailer, Burberry was disrupted as stores were closed down across the world.

Regardless, Burberry reinstated its dividend to its level prior to the pandemic, as the luxury fashion group said its revenues were slowly beginning to recover. The dividend is set to be priced at 42.5p per share, which means the yield stands at just over 2%.

Despite its suggestion that the luxury fashion brand will perform well during the second half of this year, Burberry’s overall sales fell to £2.3bn, a drop of 11%, for the year to March. Furthermore, while Burberry’s Q4 revenues rose by 32%, they were down by 5% compared to the same period in 2019.

On the other hand, rivals, including Hermès and LVMH, posted revenues that returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Burberry warned that its profit margins will take a hit due to planned investment. This does not bode well for investors with a shorter-term outlook, while it could bolster the company’s already solid foundations over the longer-term.

China

The middle class is growing at a rapid rate in China, which means the country is of high importance to Burberry.

Compared to two years ago, Burberry’s Q4 sales were up in China by more than 53%. Having said that, it remains unclear what the future holds for Burberry in the country. Julie Brown, the FTSE 100 fashion brand’s head of operations and finance, omitted details over the brand’s results after March, when it was disrupted by the Chinese boycott of a number of major western brands.

Marco Gobbetti, chief executive, told analysts on call that the impact from the boycott “has been relatively limited”, the Financial Times reported.

As the Burberry share price moved up today, led by the Chinese recovery, the company’s long-term outlook may be bullish. But that could be dependent on the company staying on the right side of the authorities.

ESG Investing with Will Goodhart, Chief Executive, CFA Society of the UK

UK Investor Magazine
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ESG Investing with Will Goodhart, Chief Executive, CFA Society of the UK

The UK Investor Magazine Podcast is joined by Will Goodhart, Chief Executive, CFA Society of the UK, for in depth discussion around ESG Investing.

CFA Society of the UK is the local member society of CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, and represents 12,000 investment professionals in the UK.

ESG Investing has exploded in popularity over the past two years and we begin by looking at what sparked this, before moving onto whether momentum in ESG themed investing can continue.

There is attention paid to the need for all investing to become ESG investing, not only because of the positive outcomes of doing so, but the long term alpha ESG investing will provide.

With Green Energy investing and climate change undoubtedly the most pressing issue for the world currently, we explore subjects such as diversity and governance and their role in responsible investing.

We finish by breaking the E,S and the G in Environment, Social and Governance and which of the three are set for the greatest level of interest among the investment community over the next five years.

Rolls-Royce unveils £90m indoor engine test lab

Liam Roche
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Rolls-Royce unveils £90m indoor engine test lab

Rolls-Royce testbeds will simulate flying conditions at high altitude

Rolls-Royce has confirmed that it opened a new indoor testbed at the cost of £90m, which took three years to construct.

The new equipment, that goes by the name of Testbed 80, will measure the performance of the FTSE 100 aviation company’s engines for long-haul passenger aeroplanes.

It will also develop the newest generation of UltraFan engines, evaluate the impact of sustainable fuels and aid the development of electric and hybrid systems for future planes.

Warren East, Rolls-Royce chief executive, commented: “Testbed 80 is the largest facility of its type in the world. It is not only big — it is also smart, and features the most advanced testing technology we have ever used.”

“This incredible piece of infrastructure is a very visible sign of our commitment to this site and secures the future of Derby as the home of large-engine development, continuing a history that began in the late 1960s with the RB211 [forerunner of the current family of Trent engines].”

The purpose of testbeds are to simulate flying conditions at high altitude and test the performance of engines under normal circumstances and in the event of a hazard.

Because it is located in a residential area in Derby, the facility must be sound-proofed, so as not to disturb residents.

Opening the site, Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, said: “This testbed shows the UK remains a global leader in aeroengine technology [and] will create high skilled, well-paid jobs for decades to come.

“The innovation of great British companies such as Rolls-Royce and the entire aerospace sector are central to our plans to build back better from the pandemic and end our contribution to climate change by 2050.”

At lunchtime on Friday the Rolls-Royce share price (LON:RR) is up by 1.33% to 108.48p. Since the beginning of the year the Rolls-Royce share price is down by 2.45%

Increase in UK coronavirus cases puts reopening in doubt

Liam Roche
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Increase in UK coronavirus cases puts reopening in doubt

Johnson thinks restrictions will be lifted but adds that “we may need to wait”

Up to 75% of all new Covid-19 infections involve the Indian variant according to UK health secretary Matt Hancock.

Hancock confirmed that cases were on the rise across the UK, as more than 3,500 new cases were identified on Wednesday.

There are increasing doubts over the probability of the government lifting all restrictions as initially targeted on June 21.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that he suspects restrictions will be lifted, judging by the data, but added that “we may need to wait”.

Data from Public Health England is showing different case across across various regions of the UK.

Focused and rapid testing is being carried out in the areas most affected by the new variant, according to Hancock. Over 17,000 vaccines have been distributed in Bolton over the past week.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, addressed the briefing, saying that a lot of the outbreaks were centred around “focal points”, such as schools or faith buildings.

Harries added: “The cases actually do look as though they are starting to plateau out but the spill-over into community transmission in local areas is an important one.”

Increasing cases numbers were not “generally translating into increased cases of hospitalisation and definitely not into deaths,” she said.

“So the key message there is… if we can hold it while the vaccination programme gets rolled out, we stand a much better chance of getting through this session.”

Joshua Mahony, Senior Market Analyst at IG, discussed rising Covid cases delaying reopening plans:

“Joe Biden is expected to announce an impressive $6 trillion budget today, but much of that may never come to fruition. France has dropped into recession after a downward revision to Q1 growth. UK reopening plans could be hampered by the rise in the Indian Covid variant.”

“European markets are on the rise in early trade today, with traders anticipating the announcement of a huge spending plan from Joe Biden today. Plans for a $6 trillion budget will bring many winners, although it makes sense to take any of today’s announcements with a pinch of salt.”

“Despite Biden enjoying a slim majority across congress, the ability to get his original plan across the line is doubtful. Thus while markets will likely enjoy an optimistic end to the week, it could be just a matter of time before we see a heavy dose of reality over just how much of that $6 trillion will see the light of day.”

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