Famed Canadian Investor Sheldon Inwentash Founder, Chairman and CEO ThreeD Capital praises Loop Insights. Inwentash is extremely impressed with the company’s technology and goes on to say that Loop Insights CEO Rob Anson is the hardest working small cap CEO he knows.
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposits in Sudbury, Canada. The company has an updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate of 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces Inferred. Learn More.
(Kitco News) – Although gold attracted a lot of attention in 2020, especially after hitting an all-time high in August, investors should have been paying attention to platinum group metals (PGMs), according to some analysts.
Like all other assets, the PGM space has been extremely volatile this past year as investors have tried to navigate the massive uncertainty and economic destruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, looking ahead, many analysts are fairly optimistic that platinum and palladium will attract new investor attention due to rising industrial demand as the global economy starts to recover from the effects of the coronavirus.
The two metals are primarily used in autocatalytic converters to reduce harmful exhaust emissions. Palladium is used in gasoline-powered engines, and platinum is used in diesel-powered vehicles. Platinum also has a slight advantage over palladium when it comes to physical demand as it also has a small jewelry market.
Some analysts expect that as the global economy returns to some normalcy, palladium will resume its sharp uptrend from 2019. Before the pandemic decimated the global economy, palladium prices were rocketing higher, hitting an all-time high above $2,700. The price of the precious industrial metal has been driven by a significant supply and demand imbalance. Demand for palladium has risen sharply over the years as automakers use more of the metal to meet tightening emission standards; meanwhile, supply has dropped sharply.
Platinum and palladium saw some renewed interest in November after Democratic candidate Joe Biden solidified his presidential win. Economists and market analysts expect that a Biden administration will lead to tighter environmental regulations and a renewed focus on developing green energy technology.
In a report published last month, Jonathan Butler, precious metals analyst at Mitsubishi, said that one of the first acts of the new government will bw to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.
“Regardless of the ease with which the new administration can pass climate-friendly legislation from next year, rejoining the Paris agreement will be a clear signal of intent and will likely be followed by moves to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and regulate other pollutants as well as promote green energy. This is likely to be generally favorable to PGMs in emissions control, coming at a time when the auto industry is in recovery phase and as the rest of the United States follow California’s lead in addressing regulated pollutants and lowering average vehicle CO2 emissions,” he said.
While analysts expected platinum and palladium to push higher next year, the sentiment is mixed as to what metal will outperform in 2021.
Analysts at Metals Focus said that they see palladium prices pushing to $3,000 an ounce in 2021. The analysts said that the metal is expected to see its 10th annual supply deficit next year.
“Even though global light-duty vehicle production will only return to its 2019 level by 2022, palladium autocatalyst offtake could touch a new all-time high in 2021,” the analysts said. “This reflects the metal’s dominance in the gasoline segment and the trend towards higher metal loadings in response to tightening emission standards.”
Metals Focus is relatively neutral on platinum as it expects prices to average $1,000 an ounce next year.
“Jewelry demand will remain healthy due to platinum’s hefty discount to gold. Overall, the market is expected to become broadly balanced in 2021, keeping above-ground stocks near record levels,” the analysts said.
Analysts at TD Securities are also slightly more optimistic on palladium compared to platinum. The Canadian bank also sees palladium pushing closer to $3,000 an ounce by the end of next year. The bank is an average price forecast of $2,656 an ounce for 2021.
Meanwhile, the TD analysts see platinum prices averaging the year around $1,013 an ounce, with prices peaking in the fourth quarter.
“Overall, the pandemic aftershock’s will likely result in a primary market surplus for platinum, particularly driven by a strong recovery in South African production, yet we expect investment demand for the metal to balance the market when the dust settles. While speculative demand for platinum has not benefited from the surge in appetite for gold and silver, it will likely benefit from speculative interest in the reflationary tailwinds expected for next year as the vaccine deployment helps the global recovery,” the commodity analysts said in their 2021 forecast report.
“At the same time, given that palladium will remain in a deficit, and that expectations for substantial headwinds from substitution may still not materialize as quickly as some anticipate, periods of scarcity and higher prices may still ensue in the New Year.”
However, not all analysts are convinced that palladium will be the biggest winner among PGMs in 2021.
Analysts at Commerzbank gives platinum a slight edge in 2021. In its outlook forecast, the bank sees platinum prices averaging $1,250 an ounce in the fourth quarter of next year, up nearly 17% from current prices. At the same time, palladium is seeing averaging the fourth quarter around $2,500 an ounce, up only 5% from current prices.
For the year, the German bank sees platinum prices averaging around $1,1125 an ounce; they see palladium averaging 2021 around $2475 an ounce.
One major wild card that could have a significant impact on PGM metals and push platinum demand higher is the development of green hydrogen technology.
While many economists are expecting to see surging demand for electric vehicles in the coming years, battery technology has not been sufficient enough for heavy-duty vehicles. Many companies are looking at hydrogen fuel cells to fill the important void.
Platinum is the critical metal used in the process that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen.
“New demand for platinum is definitely creating a compelling investment story for the precious metal and could drive industrial demand.” Said Steve Dunn, head of exchange-traded products at Aberdeen Standard Investments, in a recent interview with Kitco News. “This story can’t be found in palladium.”
Trevor Raymond, head of research at the World Platinum Investment Council, said that he is watching the developing green hydrogen economy very closely.
“For many governments fighting climate change has become a major priority, but fewer funds are available to make broad sweeping changes. The development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source is one of the most cost-effective options we have,” he said in an interview with Kitco News.
“The COVID-19 pandemic gave the world a glimpse of what it could look like. There was clean air where there has never been clean air, and I don’t think we want to go back,” he added. “Green hydrogen gives you short-term cost-effectiveness and a long-term alternative energy solution.”
Not only is new demand from a growing sector increasing interest in platinum, but Dunn added that the precious metal could attract investor interest in 2021 as investors look for more value in the precious metal space.
Source: https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-12-31/Platinum-and-palladium-to-run-higher-as-industrial-demand-picks-up-in-2021.html
Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTC: TRUFF) (“Red Light Holland“) is pleased to announce it has engaged Graham Pechenik to serve as a Senior Advisor to its Advisory Board. Graham is a registered patent attorney, with degrees in Biochemistry and Cognitive Neuroscience. Mr Pechenik gained over a decade of experience representing Fortune 500 companies in the agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech, and technology industries before founding Calyx Law in 2016, the first intellectual property law boutique to focus on cannabis and psychedelics. Graham is also editor-at-large of Psilocybin Alpha, where he tracks patent filings and writes about patent issues in the psychedelics space.
“Adding Graham Pechenik, who is a well-respected lawyer who develops IP strategies, protects IP through patent and trademark filings, and uses IP to generate value and growth, coupled with his strong support and advocacy of responsible use of psychedelics, to Red Light Holland’s Advisory Board, as a Senior Advisor, is another magical moment for the Company,” said Todd Shapiro, the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Red Light Holland. “During the last seven months we have compiled an incredible Advisory Board, including our chair Bruce Linton. Graham was, simply put, another desired piece of the puzzle we were searching for to help round out this very important and active team. We are elated to have Graham join Red Light Holland and our visions of providing responsible legal access of psilocybin, through education and information align tremendously.”
“Having experienced firsthand the benefits of psilocybin mushrooms and microdosing, including for issues involving anxiety, alcohol use, and attention, I’m a strong supporter of making these benefits I’ve seen personally (without making medical claims) available to responsible adults everywhere,” said Graham Pechenik, Founder of Calyx Law. “However, even just discussing the use of mushrooms is heavily stigmatized in most places. I look forward to the day when psilocybin mushrooms and truffles are hopefully more legally accessible, and I am thrilled to help Red Light Holland raise awareness of the magic truffle worldwide. I’m honoured and delighted to work toward this vision with such a stellar team.”
In consideration for his services as Senior Advisor, and subject to all applicable laws (including the rules and policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) (“Applicable Laws“) the Company has granted to Mr. Pechenik 250,000 incentive stock options (the “Options” and each individually, the “Option“). Each Option will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one common share in the capital of Company for a period of three years from the date of issuance, at an exercise price of $0.315 CND. The Options shall be subject to Applicable Laws and the terms and conditions of the Stock Option Plan of the Company.
About Red Light Holland Corp.
The Company is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale (through existing Smart Shops operators and an advanced e-commerce platform) of a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in accordance with the highest standards, in compliance with all applicable laws.
For additional information on the Company:
Todd Shapiro
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Director
Tel: 647-204-7129
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://redlighttruffles.com/
Herzliya, Israel and Calgary, Alberta–(December 31, 2020) – Innocan Pharma Corporation (CSE: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (OTC: INNPF) (the “Company” or “Innocan”) is pleased to announce that it has today closed a non-brokered private placement offering of 10,294,800 units of Innocan (the “Units”) at a price of $0.23 per Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,367,804 (the “Offering”).
All Common Shares and Warrants issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four month statutory hold period commencing from the closing date under applicable securities laws.
Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (“Common Share”) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (“Warrant”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.35 for a period of three years from the date of issuance.
Following the date of issuance of the Warrants, if the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange for any period of 30 consecutive trading days equals or exceeds $0.70, the Company may, upon providing written notice to the holders of the Warrants (the “Acceleration Notice”), accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to the date that is 30 days following the date of the Acceleration Notice.
Innocan intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for general working capital and corporate purposes.
“Our investors continue to show confidence in the Company. We are delighted to complete this private placement” stated Iris Bincovich, Chief Executive Officer of Innocan. “Despite the holiday season and the four months hold period that applies to the Units”.
About Innocan
The Company, through its wholly owned Israeli subsidiary, Innocan Pharma Ltd. (“Innocan Israel”), is a pharmaceutical tech company that focuses on the development of several drug delivery platforms combining cannabidiol (“CBD“). Innocan Israel and Ramot at Tel Aviv University are collaborating on a new, revolutionary exosome-based technology that targets both central nervous system (CNS) indications and the Covid-19 Coronavirus using CBD. CBD-loaded exosomes hold the potential to help in the recovery of infected lung cells. This product, which is expected to be administrated by inhalation, will be tested against a variety of lung infections.
Innocan Israel signed a worldwide exclusive license agreement with Yissum, the commercial arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to develop a CBD drug delivery platform based on a unique-controlled release liposome to be administrated by injection. Innocan Israel plans, together with Professor Berenholtz, Head of the Laboratory of Membrane and Liposome Research of the Hebrew University, to test the liposome platform on several potential indications. Innocan Israel is also working on a dermal product that integrates CBD with other pharmaceutical ingredients as well as the development and sale of CBD-integrated pharmaceuticals, including, but not limited to, topical treatments for relief of psoriasis symptoms as well as the treatment of muscle pain and rheumatic pain. The founders and officers of Innocan have commercially successful track records in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors in Israel and globally.
For further information, please contact:
For Innocan Pharma Corporation:
Iris Bincovich, CEO
+972-54-3012842
[email protected]
NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Caution regarding forward-looking information
Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding the markets, requisite regulatory approvals and the anticipated timing for market entry, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Innocan’s control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Innocan, including expectations and assumptions concerning the anticipated benefits of the products, satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions and satisfactory completion of requisite production and distribution arrangements.
Forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: general global and local (national) economic, market and business conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities; and relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, business partners and competitors. There are also risks that are inherent in the nature of product distribution, including import / export matters and the failure to obtain any required regulatory and other approvals (or to do so in a timely manner) and availability in each market of product inputs and finished products. The anticipated timeline for entry to markets may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary regulatory requirements, or the need for additional time to conclude and/or satisfy the manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this news release concerning the timing of launch of product distribution. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Innocan can also be found in Innocan’s public reports and filings which are available under Innocan’s profile at www.sedar.com.
Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. Innocan does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.
Gratomic Inc. (“GRAT” or the “Company”) (TSXV:GRAT)(FSE:CB81)(WKN:A143MR)(OTCQB:CBULF) is pleased to announce that it has applied to trade its graphite product M97 on a technology metals trading platform that will provide global institutional liquidity in a number of US proclaimed critical metals products including graphite. Product M97 is a grade of graphite that Gratomic is developing and testing as a suitable product for battery grade graphite. The metals exchange, which must remain unnamed until its own launch in the first quarter of 2021, has impeccable corporate governance, and regulatory credentials. The metals exchange is headquartered in the UK and boasts strategic support from a leading globally known securities trading platform. That company provides full security to the underlying stock, in the manner of other international commodities exchanges.
Gratomic has been developing Product M97 from Graphite process in its pilot plant at its Aukam Property and its analysis to date indicates that the grade of graphite can be obtained once its Aukam processing plant is operating. Product M97 will not be listed for trading until the metals exchange is satisfied with the specifications of the product, has accepted Product M97 for trading and sufficient quantities of the product are available for trading.
“In the history of mining or commodity trading, commodities have almost always excelled in their availability for institutional buying on both Wall Street and Bay Street. This step to ultimately institutionalize graphite as a commodity demonstrates the Gratomic team’s ingenuity and advanced thinking,” commented Arno Brand, President & CEO of Gratomic Inc.
“Being ahead of the competition on all aspects of the business is in the DNA of the Gratomic team. Having graphite traded in a similar manner to copper and gold will give our shareholders more transparency about commercial processes. Our unique carbon coded, environmentally friendly graphite is intended to add a brand-new, clean commodity class to the graphite marketplace.” commented COO & Head of Graphite Marketing and Sales, Armando Farhate.
Gratomic wishes to emphasize that no Preliminary Economic Analysis (“PEA”), Preliminary Feasibility Study or Feasibility Study has been completed to support any level of production. In fact no mineral resources, let alone mineral reserves demonstrating economic viability and technical feasibility, have been delineated on the Aukam Property.
The Company appointed Dr. Ian Flint to complete a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Aukam Processing plant. The study, its recommendations, and their subsequent implementation, will provide conclusions and recommendation at a PEA level of comfort relating to the scale up of the existing processing plant to a commercial scale processing facility that will provide the desired concentrate grades and production rates. A preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.
Gratomic wishes to emphasize that the supply of graphite to trade on the metals exchange referred to in this Press Release is conditional on Gratomic being able to bring the Aukam project into a production phase, and for any graphite being produced to meet certain technical and mineralization requirements. Gratomic continues to move its business towards production and as part of its business plan, expects to obtain a National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects technical report to help it ascertain the economics of the Aukam project.
Risk Factors
No mineral resources, let alone mineral reserves demonstrating economic viability and technical feasibility, have been delineated on the Aukam Property. The Company is not in a position to demonstrate or disclose any capital and/or operating costs that may be associated with the processing plant.
The Company advises that it has not based its production decision on even the existence of mineral resources let alone on a feasibility study of mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit.
Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that production will begin as anticipated or at all or that anticipated production costs will be achieved.
Failure to commence production would have a material adverse impact on the Company’s ability to generate revenue and cash flow to fund operations. Failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Company’s cash flow and future profitability.
About Gratomic Inc.
Established in 2014, Gratomic is an advanced materials company focused on low-cost mine to market commercialization of carbon-neutral, Eco-friendly, high purity vein graphite and is set to become a key player in EV and Renewable Resource supply chains. Gratomic Inc. is a leader among peers, anticipating full operational capabilities in late 2020 and aiming to transition to an open pit operation as early as the end of 2021.
Gratomic is in the process of solidifying its development plans for micronization and spheronization of its clean Aukam graphite. This significant milestone is a small, additional step in the Company’s existing Eco-friendly processing cycle and will allow its naturally high purity graphite to meet ideal North American battery grade standards for use in Li-ion battery anodes.
The Company promises to deliver mine-to-market traceability and guaranteed quality control. This will be accomplished by providing documented tracking on all graphite generated at its flagship Aukam Graphite Project. The tracking will begin at Aukam and will be verified at every stage during transport.
Two off-take purchase agreements are currently held for lump-vein graphite sourced from Gratomic’s Aukam Graphite Project in Namibia, Africa. Fulfillment of the contracts is slated to begin in 2021. The agreements exist with TODAQ and Phu Sumika.
TODAQ is an innovative tech company and will partner with Gratomic on its mine-to-market commodity tracking.
Phu Sumika is a large global graphite supplier to battery and lubrication companies.
Gratomic Inc. is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GRAT.
For more information: visit the website at www.gratomic.ca or contact:
Arno Brand
[email protected]
(416) 561-4095
OTTAWA, ON / December 31, 2020 / betterU Education Corp. (TSXV:BTRU)(FSE:5OGA) (the “Company” or “betterU”) is pleased to provide an update on the development of the Company and the advances made over this last year. The following is a summary of the updates and agreements closed with individual press releases to follow in the new year.
Announced early 2020, betterU launched their beta version of their Enterprise SaaS Skills Development Platform called ‘Ready-To-Go’. While the Company was also impacted by the pandemic and many deals slowed in their development, betterU continued to push forward with Ready-To-Go and the beta clients with great success. The Company has advanced the platform from approximately 300 hosted courses in early 2020 to now over 3,700 courses across 200 categories. Combined with 800+ job role and 1,000+ subject based assessments, operating through a robust Learning Management System, betterU’s Ready-To-Go platform has gained a lot of interest around the world as the easiest all-in-one corporate solution for skills development and helping support job readiness.
While betterU’s beta program took a little longer to advance due to the slowdown in the market, the feedback from their clients provided valuable insight into finalizing a scalable, flexible, customizable, adaptable, multilingual solution that supports not only companies and governments, but also students, employees, underemployed and unemployed.
“I am so proud of the dedication and hard work of our team, board, advisors and partners that have worked closely with myself and betterU over this year to accomplish all that we have considering the circumstances. While there is still much work to do ahead of us, we now have proven solutions to achieve great results in 2021.” said Brad Loiselle, CEO betterU
In addition to the business update, the filing of the audited financial statements, MD&A and other related materials have been completed by the Company and DNTW and are in process to being made available on SEDAR. The delay in completion of the Audit was primary due to lack of responses from third-party confirmations with no material changes over last years audit. betterU is also currently working with their corporate legal team, Denton LLP and the Company’s Board of Directors to finalize the set-up of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) as well as working to ensure all disclosures are properly filed with TSXV and regulatory bodies to support trade resumption. The timelines and process are unknown at this time and the Company will provide updates after receiving notification from TSXV.
The following are the advancements that company has been making over 2020:
betterU has many more growing opportunities in the pipeline including three completed RFPS for opportunities in the USA, Africa and Morocco. betterU has already been short listed for two of the RFPs and if successful will be announced. In addition, the Company has also received requests for additional strategic partnerships and resellers opportunities for organizations in Thailand, UAE and the USA.
The company has plans to increase their IR team to support more frequent public disclosures and business updates. Over this last year, betterU remained solely focused on the business to ensure the product pivot announced late 2019 was accomplishing the growth and validating the opportunity we expected would come.
“We were very pleased with the results achieved over this last year, despite the global challenges faced by many. Many companies local and abroad have been forced to close their doors, make pivots themselves to also overcome the challenges of this pandemic. betterU doubled down on our efforts to push forward for our shareholders and our vision. We thank all the people that have stayed supportive and we appreciate your patience. We are expecting great results and growth in 2021. Stay tuned!” said Brad Loiselle, CEO of betterU.
About betterU Education Corp.
betterU is an education-to-employment technology company offering an end-to-end solution leveraging business intelligence to automate skilling, reskilling, and upskilling for companies operating on domestic and global scales. The company supports all industries by providing them with everything an organization needs to launch and manage proper skills development programs, student work integrated learning and employee development, so that they can focus on what really matters: the growth of their people!
betterU’s Ready-To-Go platform provides access to a white labelled all-in-one skills platform that includes access to a library of 3,700 curated and developed skills courses, 800+ job role assessments, 1,000+ subject base assessments and a robust learning management system all hosted and supported by betterU. betterU also provides additional services to include a fully white labelled marketed program, in partnerships with betterU that includes a website that promotes the Company’s strategic partners Ready-To-Go program across their territory.
For more information, please visit https://corporate.betteru.ca
On behalf of the Board of Directors:
Brad Loiselle, CEO
1-(650) 267-8398
Email: [email protected]
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility
SOURCE: betterU Education Corp.
TORONTO, Dec. 31, 2020 — Kontrol Energy Corp. ( CSE:KNR ) OTCQB:KNRLF ) FSE:1K8 ) (” Kontrol ” or ” Company “), a leader in smart buildings and cities through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology, is pleased to announce that Emerging Markets Consulting, LLC (EMC) has been retained to provide investor and public relations services. EMC specializes in helping small and mid-sized public companies establish brand awareness and increase market share to its customer base while improving visibility to the institutional and retail investment community.
“With our anticipated stock exchange uplisting in 2021 and the recent launch of BioCloud, we believe this is an opportune time to share our story with a global investor audience,” says Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol.
James Painter, President of EMC, said, “We are pleased to represent Kontrol during the coming year. We have conducted our due diligence on the Company and have been very impressed with the management, share structure and overall business strategy.”
About Emerging Markets Consulting LLC
Based in Orlando, Florida, Emerging Markets Consulting, LLC (EMC) brings over 40 years combined experience in the investor relations industry. EMC is an international investor relations firm with affiliates around the world. EMC is relationship-driven and results-oriented with the goal of seeking attractive emerging companies and concentrating its resources and efforts to serve a limited number of high-quality clients. For more information, visit EMC’s website at www.emergingmarketsllc.com
About Kontrol BioCloud TM
BioCloud is a real-time analyzer designed to detect airborne viruses. It has been designed to operate as a safe space technology by sampling the air quality over time. With a proprietary detection chamber that can be replaced as needed, viruses are detected, and an alert system is created in the Cloud or over local intranet. BioCloud has been designed for spaces where individuals gather including classrooms, offices, retirement homes, hospitals, mass transportation and others. Additional information about Kontrol BioCloud can be found on its website at www.kontrolbiocloud.com
BioCloud is an air quality technology and not a medical device. The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus). Safe Space Technology is a Kontrol Trademark.
About Kontrol Energy
Kontrol Energy Corp., a Canadian public company, is a leader in smart buildings and cities through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology. Kontrol Energy provides a combination of software, hardware, and service solutions to its customers to improve energy management, air quality and continuous emission monitoring.
Additional information about Kontrol Energy Corp. can be found on its website at www.kontrolenergy.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
For further information, contact:
Paul Ghezzi, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or [email protected]
Kontrol Energy Corp.
180 Jardin Drive, Unit 9, Vaughan, ON L4K 1X8
Tel: 905.766.0400, Toll free: 1.844.566.8123
Emerging Markets Consulting, LLC
James S. Painter, CEO
390 North Orange Ave Suite 2300
Orlando, Florida 32801
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.emergingmarketsllc.com
Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “likely”, “should”, “would”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “proposed”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” happen, or by discussions of strategy.
Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that sufficient capital will be available to the Company and that technology will be as effective as anticipated.
However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, that sufficient capital and financing cannot be obtained on reasonable terms, or at all, that technologies will not prove as effective as expected, that customers and potential customers will not be as accepting of the Company’s product and service offering as expected, and government and regulatory factors impacting the energy conservation industry. In particular, successful development and commercialization of the Kontrol BioCloud Analyzer are subject to the risk that the Kontrol BioCloud Analyzer may not prove to be successful in detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 effectively or at all, uncertainty of timing or availability of any regulatory approvals and Kontrol’s lack of track record in developing products for medical applications.
Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and are based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations, and opinions of management on such date. Kontrol does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required under applicable securities law. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties, and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.
On December 29th, Loop Insights issued a press release titled “Loop Insights Reviews Its Most Successful Year in Its History ….” and rightfully so given the number of contracts and partnerships Loop has signed with the likes of TELUS, NTT DATA, Vend, VenueNext and so many others.
With all of this under his belt, you would expect CEO Rob Anson to gloat just a little bit during our interview today (December 30th), so we pitched him the softball he earned to give him a chance to beat his chest and he answered with ….
“When we look back at 2020 this time next year … what we’ve done is very little in my opinion to date.”
WAIT …… WHAT?
Whereas most companies would dream of Loop’s 2020 if it happened to them over 5 years, Anson is telling investors that 2020 was just a set up year.
“This year (2021) will see major major growth and expansion …. We’re about to reap the rewards from all the groundwork and that is exciting to me … This will be our biggest year by a country mile”
Watch this great interview with Loop Insights CEO, Rob Anson.
Gratomic Inc. continues to reach out to graphene partners around the world as its value-add focus. The company will continue to send graphite products to various potential graphene partners for evaluation and potential strategic alliances/joint ventures.
Perpetuus Carbon Technologies has received significant investment from Gratomic in the research and development of graphenes as a nanofiller material in tires, energy storage, polymers and carbon fibers. In the early stages, the results were staggering as presented in the company’s latest corporate presentation, released on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020.
Gratomic has also worked extensively on graphene-enhanced concrete fillers and graphite additive solutions into brick moulds. The research on this is continuous and is now finding its way into pilot testing at Aukam. The expected result Gratomic seeks to achieve from this additive to brick and concrete solutions is to create a superior concrete product that could potentially outlast its existing counterparts in the market.
The company endeavours to advance its Aukam graphite asset and has been focusing most of its resources on completing construction on the Aukam processing plant, while the development of its graphene-related activities continues at a more moderate pace.
Arno Brand, president and chief executive officer, said: “We believe the leading strategy for success in the graphene space is to partner with the most successful graphene producers in different applications, as they would have already perfected their processes in these areas. All successful companies must have a strategic and focused plan for growth. This is no different for Gratomic. Our world-class, versatile team has conscientiously planned every step and phase of the growth process in order to optimize value for shareholders over the life of the project.”
“Graphene will be a game-changing, advanced material and Gratomic has been focusing on the best graphite predecessor grade for this application,” commented Armando Farhate, chief operating officer and head of graphite marketing and sales.
About Gratomic Inc.
Established in 2014, Gratomic is an advanced materials company focused on low-cost mine to market commercialization of carbon-neutral, eco-friendly, high-purity vein graphite, and is set to become a key player in EV and renewable resource supply chains. Gratomic is a leader among peers, anticipating full operational capabilities in late 2020 and aiming to transition to an open-pit operation as early as the end of 2021.
Gratomic is in the process of solidifying its development plans for micronization and spheronization of its clean Aukam graphite. This significant milestone is a small, additional step in the company’s existing eco-friendly processing cycle and will allow its naturally high-purity graphite to meet ideal North American battery-grade standards for use in lithium-ion battery anodes.
The company promises to deliver mine-to-market traceability and guaranteed quality control. This will be accomplished by providing documented tracking on all graphite generated at its flagship Aukam graphite project. The tracking will begin at Aukam and will be verified at every stage during transport.
Two off-take purchase agreements are currently held for lump-vein graphite sourced from Gratomic’s Aukam graphite project in Namibia, Africa. Fulfilment of the contracts is slated to begin in 2021. The agreements exist with TODAQ and Phu Sumika.
TODAQ is an innovative tech company and will partner with Gratomic on its mine-to-market commodity tracking.
Phu Sumika is a large global graphite supplier to battery and lubrication companies.
Gratomic is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GRAT.
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The End Game
Dear Investors:
Markets are cyclical. Today, stocks trade at record high valuations while commodities are historically undervalued in relation. The setup is in place for a macro pivot in the relative performance of these two asset classes. Comparable conditions were present with the 1972 Nifty Fifty and 2000 Dotcom bubbles as we show in the chart below.
As capital seeks to redeploy towards the highest growth and lowest valuation opportunities, we expect analytically minded investors will soon be rotating, if not stampeding, out of expensive deflation-era growth equities and fixed income securities and into cheap hard assets, creating a reversal in the 30-year declining trend of money velocity.
Today’s Modern Monetary Theory world with its double barreled fiscal and monetary stimulus is crashing head on with an accumulation of years of declining investment in the basic industries such as materials, energy, and agriculture. In our analysis, the “end game” for the Fed’s twin asset bubbles in stocks and bonds is inflation. We can already see it developing on the commodity front.
The scarcity of jobs and abundance of debt were factors preventing the economy from reaching its full growth potential even before Covid-19. Such have been the concepts underlying the output gap, the theoretical paradox that is thought to have held inflation in check over the course of the last business cycle. But based on comparable historic periods, the macro setup for inflation is more likely to be kicked off by an input gap, i.e., shortages in the primary resources needed for both a strong reserve currency and economic growth at the same time as policy makers pull out their biggest bazookas yet to boost aggregate demand. We expect a new wave of rising commodity prices, set up by past underinvestment in basic resources, to soon ripple through the global supply chain creating a headwind for real living standards. Welcome to the Great Reset.
The global economy is at risk of commodity supply shock inflation, something we have not experienced since the 1970s. Both the Bloomberg Commodities Index and the US 30-year inflation expectations are now re-testing a 12-year resistance line. A significant breakout from here would be a big shift in the macro investing landscape. Yes, the aging demographics problem and significant technological advancements are deflationary tailwinds. But in our view, the key reason why consumer prices have not gone higher is due to a long-standing period of depressed commodity prices, a trend which we think is about to change.
The Constrained Supply for Gold
When it comes to scarce commodities, at Crescat, we have an affinity first and foremost for gold and silver, the monetary metals that are among the most supply constrained resources on the planet. Coincidentally, they are facing a new surge of investor demand.
On the supply side, in the disinflationary environment since the precious metals mining industry’s prior peak in 2011, gold and silver miners have been criticized by investors as being capital destroyers. As a result, the industry’s spending discipline in the last decade has swung completely the other way. The majors have underinvested in replacing their reserves creating a supply cliff for the industry while also substantially boosting free cash flow.
Contributing to the supply shortage, the number of major new gold discoveries by year, i.e., greater than 2 million Troy ounces, has been in a declining secular trend for 30 years including the cyclical boost between 2000 and 2007. At Crescat, we have been building an activist portfolio of gold and silver mining exploration companies that we believe will kick off a new cyclical surge in discoveries over the next several years from today’s depressed levels.
Gold mining exploration expense industrywide, down sharply since 2012, has been one of the issues adding to the supply problems today. Crescat is providing capital to the industry to help reverse this trend.
Since 2012, there has also been a declining trend of capital expenditures toward developing new mines. From a macro standpoint, gold prices are likely to be supported by this lack of past investment until these trends are dramatically reversed over the next several years. Credit availability for gold and silver mining companies completely dried up over the last decade. Companies were forced to buckle up and apply strict capital controls to financially survive during that period. Investors demanded significant reductions in debt and equity issuances while miners had to effectively tighten up operational costs, cut back investment, and prioritize the quality of their balance sheet assets.
It is important to consider that the last times this industry had been acting in a similarly conservative fashion, metal prices were at historically low-price levels. This time, however, we are seeing corporate discipline with gold prices remaining near all-time highs. As a result, the major producers today have surprisingly swung into being cash flow machines. They are enjoying more free cash flow than they had in the past 25 years, an incredibly bullish setup for the entire industry, especially the smaller exploration focused players that Crescat is overweight in today. The majors are in a great position to harvest cash for the next few years. But they are also facing a supply cliff because they have not replaced their reserves. Over the next several years, they will need to make acquisitions in the exploration segment to rebuild them.
The Demand Side for Gold
On the demand side, the first key macro driver for the price of gold is central bank debt monetization, which drives increasing inflation expectations and investor demand for inflation protection for accumulated savings. Today, money printing through central bank balance sheet expansion is widely accepted and embraced. It is the only viable policy as a way out of the otherwise deflationary global debt burden, at a historic high of 365% of worldwide GDP. With deficits at World War II levels in the US, we expect money printing to be the path of least resistance among policy makers towards easing debt burdens and reconciling many of today’s economic imbalances, though it will likely come at a cost to savers who are invested in overvalued traditional financial assets.
As we show in the chart below, gold underperformed the pace of global money printing from 2011 to 2018. But since the Repo Crisis in 2019 and the coronavirus led recession that followed, global QE has been accelerating to the upside once again. Gold is being pulled up with it. Our near-term target price for gold is north of $3,000 per Troy oz. based on our macro model shown below that plots the price of gold vs. the aggregation of the top eight central bank balance sheets. This target will almost certainly be rising in the near-term with $5.8 trillion just in US Treasuries alone maturing in 2021 and much of that needing to be rolled over and funded by the lender of last resort.
The Fed, the printer of the world reserve currency, has given itself, and by extension its central bank counterparts around the world, the green light to err on the side of inflation. The US central bank has declared that it can exceed its 2% inflation target temporarily abandoning one side of its dual mandate to favor the other side of it which is full employment. So, err on the side of inflation, the Fed almost certainly will.
Inflation is a toothpaste that sovereign Treasuries and their central banks throughout history have struggled putting back in the tube once they have let it out. In practice, inflation is driven in large part by the expectations and actions of consumers and investors which are hard to predict and occur with lags and unknown multiplier effects in relation to monetary policies. When consumer and investor psychology shifts toward recognizing and acting upon rising inflation, it becomes highly reflexive, i.e., circular and self-reinforcing.
The second key macro driver for upward trending gold prices on the demand side today is declining real interest rates, which are a combined reflection of central bank interest rate suppression tactics and investors’ rising inflation expectations. The recent plunge lower in real yields (shown inverted in the chart below) has diverged from the price of gold signaling a strong impending move upward again in the metal.
The outlook for gold all ties back to the bigger macro imbalances we see in the US economy today. The Federal Reserve is crippled in its ability to prevent inflation and instead has become the funding mechanism through its massive purchases of US Treasuries that enables the US government to run a large fiscal deficit. The Fed essentially has no independence in the matter. It must fund the government’s fiscal stimulus programs as the lender of last resort. And as the repo crisis showed, the liquidity is also necessary in the short run to prevent the equity and corporate bond markets from collapsing, but this is very shortsighted because rising commodity prices and real-world inflation, that is the byproduct of the newly printed money, is the killer of record overvalued financial assets.
Three Comparable Macro Setups in History
We expect inflation expectations to continue to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates. This is ultimately a self-reinforcing catalyst to drive investors out of overvalued stocks and credit and into scarce commodities including precious metals and oil, which is exactly what happened in three similar macro setups to today:
1. During the dotcom bust at the turn of the century, the NASDAQ Composite declined 78% over two and a half years, a period during which gold stocks diverged to the upside to begin a five-fold march upward over the next seven years, while energy and industrial commodities also caught fire.
2. In the 1974-74 bear market, the S&P 500 declined 50% in two years while gold mining stocks increased five-fold at the same time as oil prices skyrocketed during the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and a decade of stagflation was born.
We showed the supply cliff setup for gold earlier, but it is important to note that there could also be a supply shortage in oil setting up for the next several years after the most drastic capex cuts in infrastructure and exploration we have seen in the history of this industry. In that vein, the rig count cyclicality has been an incredibly reliable contrarian forward looking indicator for oil prices. As shown in the chart, prior historical dips also preceded key market bottoms in WTI prices and the oil and gas industry.
3. The third comparable period, also highly apt for today, was coming out of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919. At that time, the health crisis had severely limited the industrial capacity of the economy, leading to major supply shortages of raw materials and causing commodity inflation at the same time as the world began to heal. The rise in wholesale prices became a global phenomenon. Grocery stores began hoarding inventories to sell at higher prices, forcing governments to intervene and criminalize these actions to avoid an even larger hit to the consumer. The cost of living surged and prompted major labor union protests on the streets demanding higher wages and salaries only exacerbating the problem. Inflation spiked above 20% in 1920 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average began a decline of 47% from peak to trough from 1920 to 1921 while the world emerged from the pandemic. We will not go there in depth now, but this was the same time that a whole different kind of inflation was arising in Germany from newly printed money to pay off accumulated war debts.
The Opportunity for Activist Gold Exploration
As we showed above, the underinvestment in most of the last decade in the gold mining industry will soon send the majors scrambling to invest their near term soaring free cash flow in the most prospective new gold and silver deposits being explored today. These properties are in the hands of the extremely undervalued and ultra-depressed small cap segment of the mining industry, the junior explorers, a group that has been through a brutal, capital starved bear market that effectively lasted ten years. The whole industry completed a double-bottom retest by successfully holding above its 2015 lows and rebounding sharply to lead all industries in stock price performance coming off the March 2020 correction. We think there is much more performance ahead for this industry as it is still in the early stages of a new secular bull market.
We are confident that within the precious metals mining industry, the most value for shareholders will be created from the small cap exploration segment over the next several years. We think Crescat’s Precious Metals Fund and SMA strategies have already started to demonstrate that potential in 2020.
By working with world-renowned exploration geologist, Quinton Hennigh as Crescat’s geologic and technical advisor, Crescat has already created an activist portfolio of over 50 companies where we are among the largest shareholders of a targeted 200 million ounces new high-grade gold equivalent discoveries. We plan to continue to grow these targeted ounces while getting the needed investment capital to our companies to prove out these economic deposits through drilling and discovery.
Crescat’s activist fund is a large and significant capital deployment opportunity. We are currently seeking a select group of right-minded institutional partners who can understand and appreciate the focus, scale, and timeliness of what we have set out to accomplish in this fund.
Our activist portfolio is positioned ahead of a likely major new wave of M&A by the large and mid-tier producers which is still to come as they necessarily must replace their reserves through acquisition. We also have a handful of holdings that we call keepers, the cream of the crop companies that control the unquestionably new world class, high grade gold and silver deposits that will catapult them into the next great mid and large cap gold producers in the industry over the course of the new secular bull market.
To be frank, buying gold or silver is not a contrarian investment position today. There are enough people in agreement with the idea that all government backed fiat currencies are doomed to some level of devaluation through inflation due to the level of fiscal and monetary imprudence and unsustainable debt imbalances in the financial system. Naturally, with a constructive view on precious metals, the next step for most investors is to start dipping their toes into well-known and established mining companies. Despite their past reputation of being capital destroyers, investors today are warming up to the idea of buying the “Newmonts and Barricks” of the world or even ETFs such as GDX and GDXJ. What we see as contrarian, however, is a much bigger opportunity to unlock value through a well targeted activist strategy in the exploration segment of the industry. No doubt, many are skeptical of the gold exploration business, given its poor performance during the last downturn in the industry at large, but the biggest gains today in the industry are likely to come from what are the smaller cap names. Between Crescat and its 21 years of money management experience and Quinton Hennigh with his 30+ years of gold mining exploration experience to serve as Crescat’s geologic and technical advisor, we believe we have the expertise and preparedness to navigate this incredible opportunity before us. We hope you will join us as we seek to exploit the mispriced opportunities on the exploration and discovery side of the Lassonde Curve that is still in the early stages of what is likely to be a new rip-roaring secular bull market for precious metals.
SOURCE: https://www.crescat.net/december-research-letter/