Harvest Minerals Ltd wilts as losses mushroom

Harvest Minerals Ltd () shares were among the day’s failures as the Brazilian potash miner posted a larger half-year loss.

The company, which is developing the Arapua fertiliser project in Minas Gerais, reported a US$1.84mln loss before tax for the first six months of 2020, double the amount from a year earlier as revenue from customer contracts tumbled to US$0.3mln from US$1.4mln.

While the period saw encouraging trials on its KPfertil product, Harvest said the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected trading but it had “made significant inroads towards developing and expanding its customer base” and it had “recorded increased sales” in the past three months.

Investors seemed sceptical, with the shares wilting 16% to 2.35p.

12.20pm: High IQ-AI as imaging project advances

IQ-AI Ltd () shares were looking good on Friday afternoon, up 15% to 4.95p, as the artificial intelligence group said its contrast-free medical imaging project was advancing to the penultimate stage before regulatory clearance.

In the validation testing stage, the company’s Imaging Biometrics arm will subject its technology to a varied set of data, where it will be compared to MRI images acquired using contrast.

IQ-AI noted that one in three MRI scans use a contrast medium, such as injected dyes, to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the scan, which in the USA equates to roughly 10mln scans per year.

10.30am: Tekmar tanks as new offshore rivals emerge

() shares tanked on Friday, almost halving to 36.5p, after warning that of contract delays due, increased composition and a change of its financial year-end.

The provider of technology and services for the global offshore energy markets said “short-term delays in contract awards and sales order intake as a result of the COVID-19 disruption” would lead to half-year sales being 10% lower than the same time a year earlier.

The AIM-listed company also said that it was seeing increasing competition for its subsea cable and piping subsidiary’s core market as the “long-term structural growth prospect of the global offshore wind market is now attracting new entrants”.

9am: Arc Minerals flies on Fwiji copper prospects

() shares curved 8% higher to 3.8p in early trade on Friday after the explorer said it has found the first major levels of copper mineralisation after three years of drilling at its Zambia site.

Lab results from samples taken from drilling at the Fwiji prospect confirmed high-grade sulphide mineralisation and oxide mineralisation, which continued across a distance of over 1,000 meters from the first hole drilled.

Thicknesses and grades were the best the project has ever yielded and there are further drill results from Fwiji to be released, with executive chairman Nick von Schirnding saying the company’s expectations have been surpassed and that many more holes will be drilled through to the end of the year.

Surpassing this, () shares rose at an even sharper angle, up 11.4% to 1.95p as it revealed that 12%-owned associate Labrador Iron Mines has started work on a preliminary economic assessment for its Houston project in Labrador, Canada, having received expressions of interest about potential off-take deals.

This is Labrador Iron Mines’ first development since production halted in 2014 because of the low iron ore price, said Anglesey, but with market prices starting to recover over the past two years and with increased inquiries the company is working to advance Stage 2 of its planned direct shipping ore mining operations.

The deposits are estimated to contain a resource of 40mln tonnes grading 57.6% iron, said Anglesey.

Proactive news headlines:

() said its12%-owned associate Labrador Iron Mines Holdings (LIM) has started work on a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Houston project in Labrador, Canada. It is the first development of LIM’s assets since production halted in 2014 because of the low iron ore price, said Anglesey….