New Gold’s New Afton mine, west of Kamloops, B.C., produces twice as much copper than gold, in dollar terms.
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
New Gold Inc. (NGD-T) provided 2018 guidance including gold production of 525,000 to 595,000 ounces, an increase of 30 per cent relative to 2017 gold production. It said copper production would be 75 to 85 million pounds, "with the decrease relative to 2017 primarily due to the sale of Peak Mines."
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Sherritt International Corp. (S-T) announced a proposed $100-million offering of units. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant linked to the price of cobalt, the company said.
"The offering is being made on a best efforts basis and final pricing terms will be determined in the context of the market," the company stated in a release. It said the net proceeds will be used to reduce debt, "for general corporate purposes and to fund future growth initiatives."
Sherritt said it plans to use up to $75-million of the proceeds of the offering and its existing cash balance to repurchase a portion of one or more of its senior unsecured debentures.
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Ur-Energy Inc. (URG-N; URE-T) and Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU-A; EFR-T) say they jointly submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce for relief under a section of the Trade Expansion Act from imports of uranium products that threaten national security.
In a release, the companies said imports of uranium from state-owned and state-subsidized enterprises in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan "now fulfill nearly 40-per-cent of U.S. demand, while domestic production fulfills less than 5 per cent." They also said increasing levels of nuclear fuel are expected to be imported from Russia and China in the coming years, "which will compete directly with U.S. uranium production."
"The petition filed today is a response to this threat to U.S. energy and national security," the companies stated. "The petitioners urge Commerce Secretary Ross and President Trump to act decisively to help restore the long-term viability of the U.S. uranium mining industry. Without a viable nuclear fuel cycle, the commercial and nuclear capabilities of the U.S. will be diminished, and the nation is likely to become 100-per-cent dependent on foreign parties that compete with the U.S. for geopolitical influence and commercial advantage to fuel a majority of our clean, baseload electricity."
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Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (LHS-CN) says it has signed a licensing agreement with Colorado-based MC Brands LLC d/b/a incredibles, a producer of cannabis edibles, wellness products and extracts. The agreement is to "provide a complementary suite of medical cannabis products to patients in Florida," the company stated.
Under the terms of the agreement, Liberty will be the exclusive producer and provider of incredibles cannabis products in Florida, subject to receipt of all required approvals.
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Freshii Inc. (FRII-T) says it has released an open letter to Subway offering a "sincere proposal ... that aims to reignite their franchise partners' entrepreneurial spirits."
"The solution proposed to Subway seeks their assistance in transitioning select Subway franchise partners to the Freshii brand – which represents the next generation of healthy food – while allowing both Freshii and Subway to continue delivering on their missions to provide healthy food, globally," the company stated.
It said the letter is in response to recently reported Subway franchise partner frustrations.
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Points International Ltd. (PTS-T; PCOM-Q) released preliminary financial results for the full year ended Dec. 31 and says it expects gross profit to be at the high end of its 10-per-cent growth expectation.
"Further, due to continued partner growth combined with expense management during the fourth quarter, we expect Adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] to also be near the top end of our prior guidance of an up to 10-per-cent increase," stated Rob MacLean, CEO.
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