Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 1:22 PM on Wednesday, June 19th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
Industry bigwigs explain ‘blockchain’ in as few words as possible
The blockchain and cryptocurrency industry is always changing.
At this year’s annual TNW conference, Hard Fork took the opportunity
to ask a number of industry experts to explain blockchain in as few
words as possible. We hoped to get a bit of insight into how the tech is
developing and what the industry currently makes of it.
Here’s what they said:
1. “Blockchain is a chain of blocks. That’s the definition, anything
else is wrong.†– João Almeida, co-founder and CTO of Opennode – the
Bitcoin payments system that recently helped Lil Pump’s merch store accept Bitcoin.
2. “Blockchain is the freedom to trade.†– Kirill Suslov, the CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform TabTrader.
3. “Blockchain is a hash-linked data format.†– Francis Pouliot, CEO of Canadian Bitcoin company Bull Bitcoin.
4. “A new technology enabling us to take the control and governance of information from the few, and to the many.†– Jessi Baker from Provenance, a firm using blockchain to make supply chains more transparent.
5. “Blockchain is simple, take a bunch of transaction, record them as
a unique block, and link all these blocks together.â€â€“ Ricardo Mendez,
the European technical director from Samsung’s emerging tech investment
arm, Samsung NEXT.
The take away?
There is some consistency in what is being described here.
Interestingly though, all the people Hard Fork asked steered clear of
the common buzzwords that tend to accompany blockchain in the media.
Blockchains are often described as being immutable, tamper-resistant, and decentralized. However, with private permissioned systems being the preferred type of blockchain for institutional use, these buzzwords aren’t always so applicable.
It seems too, that blockchain’s definition is, from this small sample
at least, broadening so that it can include all kinds of distributed
databases and applications with varying levels of decentralization.
Baker’s response also highlights the undeniable politic that’s associated with the decentralized tech too.
We’ll have to remember that when someone says blockchain, what they mean specifically, isn’t always that simple or universal.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:50 AM on Monday, June 17th, 2019
Provided an interim report to HPQ Silicon Resources, confirming that the PUREVAP™ process can significantly reduces the cost of making silicon metal by lowering raw material costs.
One of PUREVAP™ process’ unique advantages is its capacity to use low cost highly reactive carbon sources, and convert them into high purity silicon metal.
MONTREAL, June 17, 2019 — PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation†or “PyroGenesis”) that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, today announced that it has provided an interim report to HPQ Silicon Resources (“HPQâ€), confirming that the PUREVAP™ process can significantly reduces the cost of making silicon metal by lowering raw material costs.
PUREVAP™ PROCESS PROPRIETARY ADVANTAGE: USING LOW COST CARBON
One of PUREVAP™ process’ unique advantages is its capacity to use low
cost highly reactive carbon sources, and convert them into high purity
silicon metal. In comparison, conventional processes available on the
market are using expensive higher purity carbon sources. This advantage
allows the PUREVAP™ process to significantly reduce the cost of making
silicon metal.
Depending on the producer, making metallurgical grade silicon metal
(98.0% to 99.5% silicon) in 2018 with a conventional process can cost
between US $1,450-2,000/MT1. More than 40% of that cost2 is directly
attributable to the 6+ metric tonnes of raw material (silicon dioxide
and reductant) needed to produce 1 MT of metallurgical grade silicon
metal 3. The carbon reductant used in those processes accounts for 30%
of total cost3. From that cost, 10% accounts for woodchip, and 20% for
carbon, the latter being twice as expensive.
Therefore, having a process that uses less feedstock to make 1 MT of
metallurgical grade silicon metal and allows the substitution of costly
high purity reductant with readily available lower cost material would
make the process more economically viable, and that is what PUREVAP™
offers.
GEN2 TESTING RESULTS: PUREVAP™ ABLE TO PRODUCE COMMERCIALLY VIABLE SILICON
During GEN2 testing, the Company decided to push the limits of the
project by using only one reductant, a highly reactive carbon source, in
the PUREVAP™ reactor. The results show that GEN2 PUREVAP™ is able to
produce commercially viable 99.73% silicon with 0.166% Fe and 0.0424%
Al, representing chemical grade metallurgical grade silicon metal.4
“Being able to produce chemical grade metallurgical grade silicon
underscores the versatility of the PUREVAP™ process and, as such, we
continue to de-risk the projectâ€, said Mr. Pierre Carabin, Chief
Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis.
GEN3 PILOT PLANT WILL VALIDATE THE COMMERCIAL VIABILITY
Being able to use lower cost raw material represents significant
potential cost savings, however another significant outcome from this is
that, as a result, the PUREVAP™ process should only require 4.5 MT of
raw material5 (lower purity silicon dioxide and cheaper reductant) to
produce 1 MT of metallurgical grade silicon metal.
As more than 40% of the cost of conventional processes is directly
attributable to the 6+ metric tonnes of raw material (silicon dioxide
and reductant) needed to produce 1 MT of metallurgical grade silicon
metal3, it is possible to estimate that the PUREVAP™ process could cut
in half raw material cost, representing a 20% reduction in the cost of
making chemical grade metallurgical grade silicon metal. GEN3 pilot
plant testing will allow us to refine and validate these numbers at
commercial scale.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”,
“plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”,
“expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which
constitute “forward- looking information” within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the
Corporation’s current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited
to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the
market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the
capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research
and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new
product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory
approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the
Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in
the Corporation’s ongoing filings with the securities regulatory
authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual
results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
1 CRU – Silicon Market Outlook – November 14 2018 (Page 17) 2 Ferroglobe_Investor_Day_Presentation__17_Oct_2017 (Page 40) 3 GSM_Investor_Presentation_-_March_2014 (Page 3) 4 Balazs™ NanoAnalysis – ICP OES (Inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry) analysis results 5 PyroGenesis efficiency estimation for the PUREVAP™ process
Tags: PyroGenesis, small cap stocks, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in All Recent Posts, PyroGenesis Canada Inc. | Comments Off on PyroGenesis $PYR.ca Provides GEN2 Testing Report to $HPQ.ca Silicon Resources; Confirms PUREVAP™ Process Significantly Reduces the Cost of Making #Silicon Metal $FSLR $SPWR $CSIQ $PYR.ca $XMG.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:26 AM on Monday, June 10th, 2019
Further to the Press Release dated April 29th, 2019, the company has
been awarded a contract of approximately $20M (first year revenues),
plus a net present value (using a 5% discount rate) of all subsequent
year’s revenues of $35M, giving the Contract a total value of over $55M.
Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis joins us to discuss the contract and exactly what it means for the company.
Sit back and relax, grab a coffee, let us know what you think.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:23 AM on Tuesday, June 4th, 2019
Awarded a contract of approximately $20M (first year revenues),
plus a net present value (using a 5% discount rate) of all subsequent year’s revenues of $35M,
Gives the Contract a total value of over $55M.
MONTREAL, June 04, 2019 — PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation†or “PyroGenesis”) that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, today announced, further to the Press Release dated April 29th, 2019, that it has been awarded a contract (“Contractâ€) of approximately $20M (first year revenues), plus a net present value (using a 5% discount rate) of all subsequent year’s revenues of $35M, giving the Contract a total value of over $55M. For competitive reasons, the client and the business line cannot be disclosed at this time, other than to say it is not military-related. However, we except that both will be announced once the Contract is signed.
What now remains is a site visit under normal due diligence, which
the Company has passed on numerous occasions with other very discerning
clients. Management expects this to be completed shortly.
“This is indeed a watershed moment in PyroGenesis’ history. It is the
single largest contract that the Company has been awarded,†commented
Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. “With the
revenues from this Contract, we do not foresee raising capital for
working capital purposes in the foreseeable future as the Company, with
this Contract, which is cash flow positive from the start, will be
profitable.â€
As previously disclosed, the Company does not need additional infrastructure or personnel to complete this Contract.
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in
the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced
plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing
expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process
equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced
materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental
industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and
technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2
manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage
by remaining at the forefront of technology development and
commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the
way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes,
high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to
the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D
certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded
Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR)
and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com This
press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including,
without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”,
“will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in
the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-
looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws.
Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation’s current expectation
and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding
the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop
new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our
strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, new product development, and
uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such
statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to
future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and
other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation’s ongoing
filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be
found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual
results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:29 PM on Monday, June 3rd, 2019
Further to the Press Release dated April 29th, 2019, that it has been awarded a contract of approximately $20M (first year revenues), plus a net present value (using a 5% discount rate) of all subsequent year’s revenues of $35M, giving the Contract a total value of over $55M.
For competitive reasons, the client and the business line cannot be disclosed at this time, other than to say it is not military-related. However, we except that both will be announced once the Contract is signed.
MONTREAL, June 03, 2019 — PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation†or “PyroGenesis”) that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, today announced, further to the Press Release dated April 29th, 2019, that it has been awarded a contract (“Contractâ€) of approximately $20M (first year revenues), plus a net present value (using a 5% discount rate) of all subsequent year’s revenues of $35M, giving the Contract a total value of over $55M. For competitive reasons, the client and the business line cannot be disclosed at this time, other than to say it is not military-related. However, we except that both will be announced once the Contract is signed.
What now remains is a site visit under normal due diligence, which
the Company has passed on numerous occasions with other very discerning
clients. Management expects this to be completed shortly.
“This is indeed a watershed moment in PyroGenesis’ history. It is the
single largest contract that the Company has been awarded,†commented
Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. “With the
revenues from this Contract, we do not foresee raising capital for
working capital purposes in the foreseeable future as the Company, with
this Contract, which is cash flow positive from the start, will be
profitable.â€
As previously disclosed, the Company does not need additional infrastructure or personnel to complete this Contract.
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in
the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced
plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing
expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process
equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced
materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental
industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and
technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2
manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage
by remaining at the forefront of technology development and
commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the
way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes,
high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to
the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D
certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded
Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR)
and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com This
press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including,
without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”,
“will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in
the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-
looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws.
Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation’s current expectation
and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding
the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop
new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our
strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, new product development, and
uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such
statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to
future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and
other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation’s ongoing
filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be
found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual
results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:54 PM on Monday, June 3rd, 2019
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
Years of underinvestment, long lead times for mine development and a coming surge of electric vehicle demand are all bullish factors for nickel, said Michael Beck, managing director at Regent Advisors.
Beck spoke to Kitco News at Palisade Global’s Hard Asset Conference in Georgia on Jekyll Island held mid-May.
Nickel is a key component of lithium-ion batteries, and Beck said
Tesla’s next generation of lithium-ion batteries uses more of the
element.
“The ramp-up of demand is just beginning,” said Beck.
“Electric vehicles are going to impose a new demand source on nickel
that never really existed before. It takes seven to 10 years to bring on
new nickel projects. So you have the makings I thinkâ??at least this is
our thesisâ??of a perfect storm.”
Interview is edited for clarity.
Kitco: What impact is the electrical vehicle revolution going to have on nickel?
Michael Beck: Nickel is probably the single most
important metal component in battery fabrication. It’s where all of the
energy is stored and increasing the battery chemistries are being
refined to allow the inclusion of as much nickel as possible. The more
nickel, the higher the energy density of the battery. And nickel is
particularly interesting from a supply-demand outlook because of the
collapse of nickel prices in 2007. The commodity has remained relatively
depressed. The current nickel price is US$12,000 a tonne versus the
high in 2007, which was $15,000 a tonne. And in this intervening almost
12 years there was no material investment in new nickel capacity. The
last 12 years has been a draw down of excess inventory, and that’s
coming to an end. The ramp-up of demand is just beginning.
Electric vehicles are going to impose a new demand source on nickel
that never really existed before, particularly for class one nickel. It
takes seven to 10 years to bring on new nickel projects. So you have the
makings I think, at least this is our thesis, of a perfect storm. You
have a baked in structural deficit for the next 12 years. You have seven
to ten years lead time to bring in new capacity, and all of a sudden
you have inventories in the next 18 months going down to almost zero.
You also have this new demand source that never existed for nickel. So
that gets us rather interested as prospective investors. And in the
universe of metals it’s our favorite. We think in the next two to three
years you’re going to see a major up-tick of nickel price, and that’s as
shortages emerge and that’s what’s going to be required to get new
investment in the sector.
Kitco: Why is nickel important for electric vehicles?
Michael Beck: Well it’s interesting. Elon Musk said a
couple of years ago that really lithium-ion batteries was a misnomer.
It should be really called nickel-iron, and that’s because that’s the
energy density of a battery. The energy is stored by the nickel units.
And if you look at an average Model 3, it consumes something on the
order of 30 kilograms of nickel. And increasingly the cathode makers,
which are really the principal components for battery fabrication, are
tinkering with chemistries that use more nickel. The higher the energy
density, the longer range you have on the vehicle. It is the most
important element in in a battery. Without nickel you don’t have the
energy storage.
Kitco: If you have a nickel thesis, how does this play out in the junior space?
Michael Beck: It’s a little bit of a challenge
because the world’s largest nickel producer, at least in the Western
world, is Vale. But Vale is really an iron ore producer. Nickel
represents probably less than 15 percent of the company’s portfolio. So
if you buy Vale, you’re not really getting nickel. You’re getting an
iron ore share. Vale has its own challenges. It has a rather impaired
balance sheet, which is why it trades where it does. Another interesting
nickel producer that we own is Independence Group NL out of Australia.
They have a market cap of about a $1.5B, and the company is growing its
nickel production. But you’re right, there aren’t a lot of opportunities
to invest in existing nickel producers, because they’re few and far
between.
Maybe the most interesting in the larger cap of established players
is Norilsk. They’re the number two nickel producer, and they’re based in
Russia. That’s probably the single best large-cap way to get exposure
to nickel. It has a good dividend yield. It’s a major producer of the
metal, and when nickel goes up, their share price goes up accordingly.
At the smaller cap end of the spectrum, there are a bunch of smallish
nickel explorers and emerging developers.
One that we like particularly is a company called Giga Metals. It’s
listed on the TSX. Even though it has a market capitalization of less
than $10 million, it happens to own the world’s second-largest
undeveloped nickel sulfide deposit. Nickel sulfide is the preferred form
of nickel for the production of class one nickel, which is what is
required for a battery fabrication. We think the company is completely
mis-priced asset, and we look at it as an un-dated call option on
nickel. So if our thesis on nickel is correct and nickel goes from
$12,000 a tonne to $20,000 a tonne and then perhaps beyond to $50,000 a
tonne where it peaked in 2007, then this stock will be
disproportionately re-rated and you have a chance, if your thesis is
right, to make 10 to 20 times your money. If you’re wrong, maybe the
market cap goes from where it is today, from $8 million to $4 million.
So we like to see those kinds of bets. There is another company that’s
sort of similar, and it’s an asset is not nearly as large but it’s
called Grid Metals, and it has a relatively advanced smaller nickel
sulfide deposit in Manitoba and it has a market cap of $3 to $4 million
dollars.
But again any of these companies, whether they’re at the microcap end
of the spectrum or whether they’re big established producers like
Norilsk or somebody in between, will benefit when the nickel price
rises. We’ve got a fair degree of conviction about our thesis: the
adoption rates for EV will accelerate. Nickel shortages will emerge, and
all these companies with nickel exposure will benefit.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:47 AM on Monday, June 3rd, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
Big banks are launching a blockchain trade platform powered by ‘Bitcoin-like’ token
The financial giants have poured over $60 million into the new company, called Fnality International.
The token, which has been in the works for four years now, will function both as a payment device and a “messenger that carries all the information required to complete a trade,†according to the report.
Story by: Mix
The banking industry wants to blockchain too
The banking industry is hell-bent on taking over the nascent
blockchain and cryptocurrency market. A group of financial firms led by
UBS Group AG is eyeing blockchain technology for settling cross-border
trades worldwide with its own “Bitcoin-like†token.
The 14 firms – including Barclays, Nasdaq, Credit Suisse Group, Banco
Santander, ING, and Lloyds Banking Group – have registered a new entity
to control the devleopment of the token, dubbed ‘utility settlement
coin’ (or USC for short), The Wall Street Journal reports
The financial giants have poured over $60 million into the new
company, called Fnality International. The token, which has been in the
works for four years now, will function both as a payment device and a
“messenger that carries all the information required to complete a
trade,†according to the report.
The new permissioned
blockchain system will purportedly make cross-border trades much faster
and less risky. “You remove settlement risk, the counterparty risk, the
market risk,†UBS investment strategy head Hyder Jaffrey told the WSJ.
“All of those risks add up to costs and inefficiencies in the
marketplace.â€
In addition to the previously mentioned institutions, Bank of New
York Mellon Corp., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce , State Street
Bank & Trust Co., Commerzbank AG, KBC Group NV, Mitsubishi UFG
Financial Group Inc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp have also agreed
to use the USC token.
The new platform is expected to take off within the next 12 months, which corroborates past reports suggesting the platform will be fully operational by 2020.
It remains to be seen if USC is more of a cryptocurrency than JP Morgan’s token, though.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:16 AM on Friday, May 31st, 2019
Announced that the CEO, Mr. Photis Peter Pascali, had increased his beneficial ownership in the Company to 52.82% from 50.37%, an increase of approximately 2.5%.
MONTREAL, May 31, 2019 — PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation†or “PyroGenesis”) a Company that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, wishes to clarify today, due to numerous inquiries, the transaction that took place yesterday wherein it was announced that the CEO, Mr. Photis Peter Pascali, had increased his beneficial ownership in the Company to 52.82% from 50.37%, an increase of approximately 2.5%.
As this transaction involved the CEO, a significant investor in the
Company, the Company was obliged to issue an early warning report which
regretfully has caused confusion.
In the transaction, Mr. Pascali acquired 3,385,715 Common Shares, plus Warrants for C$1,862,143.25.
The Company would like to clarify the fact that this was not a
private placement, no money was received by the Company and no new
shares or warrants were issued by the Company.
It was announced that Mr. Pascali acquired the Common Shares and
Warrants for investment purposes and may, from time to time, acquire or
dispose of ownership or control or direction over some or all of the
existing securities or over additional securities of PyroGenesis.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”,
“plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”,
“expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which
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differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited
to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the
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capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research
and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new
product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory
approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the
Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in
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Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:00 AM on Thursday, May 30th, 2019
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The biggest themes in global natural resources today
Ongoing trend towards the electrification of vehicles will likely benefit lithium and other metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt
This is a significant change and is being driven by better technology, legislative restrictions on pollution in cities and consumer demand for more environmentally-acceptable transport
The global natural resources sector, including mining and energy, as well as agriculture, is about four times bigger than the entire Australian equity market. Sifting through this massive and diverse universe for opportunities is Daniel Sullivan, Co-Head of Global Natural Resources at Janus Henderson Investors.
In our recent Q&A, Daniel explains why he thinks this sector will
undergo more change in the next 20 years than the last century and
talks through the big themes investors should have on their radar,
including the seismic shifts taking place in energy.
Daniel also looks at where the rejuvenated mining sector could go
next and shares some of his thoughts on lithium, coal, gold, LNG, as
well as renewable energy and agricultural commodities.
Read on for this fascinating discussion that goes well beyond the
local resource themes to reveal a truly global perspective on this vast
and rapidly evolving global industry.
Q: Please explain what you do in your role as though someone
at a dinner party asked you. What are some of the most enjoyable
aspects of your work?
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I invest
in companies around the world in the mining, energy and agriculture
sectors on behalf of investors. To bring natural resources into a more
relatable context, I ask them to look around – at the clothes they are
wearing, the phone in their pockets, the food on their dinner plate and
even the building over their head and to understand that every component
of every item was derived from natural resources.
Natural resources underpin our society – and for me, that makes the
sector a fascinating place to invest. Ours is a sector with an enormous
variety of companies, with constant changes in market dynamics across
the three sub-sectors giving us a lot to work with and to think about.
Q: What is the big opportunity in your investible universe that the market has not fully appreciated?
We believe the long-term demand for metals, energy and agricultural
output will remain strong as the world continues to grow and urbanise;
billions of people’s needs must be catered for.
The next twenty years will see more change than was witnessed over
the past century, with access to vast numbers of young people and
technology available to help solve incredibly complex problems.
The companies in our investment space that align to these changes
are likely to grow at much higher rates than their peers and become more
highly valued over time. This has begun in earnest in the past few
years and appears to be accelerating. Rapid change is being discussed in
the largest resource companies in the world and this will likely
continue to gain momentum.
Q: Agriculture has seen some major developments in genomics, why is this an interesting theme to watch?
The sequencing of the wheat genome will prove to be a major
breakthrough for food production in more challenging agricultural areas,
boosting incomes and development for many people.
The interaction of genetics, climate, fertiliser and crop protection
to deliver better quality produce and improved farmer/supplier economics
is always being played out. Corteva Agriscience, the agricultural
company being spun out from the merger of Dow and DuPont is an
interesting example of a specialist company in this area.
Q: Changing dietary habits of the surging Asian middle class
is often cited as a driver for increased protein production. Is this an
area you see good opportunities, and if so, how can investors play
this?
While China has the world’s largest rates of pork production and
consumption, they are largely self-sufficient, meaning there is limited
opportunity. That said, we have invested in the leading producers of
high quality agricultural products, including milk powder, berries,
apples and salmon, which have seen strong growth resulting from the
Asian middle class thematic.
Looking at the upstream opportunities from this theme, our
investments in seed and fertiliser companies benefitted from the boom in
soybean production in Brazil and the US. Over the past 10 years, China
has been a major soybean importer.
Q: On a sector basis, mining saw the strongest dividend
growth of all last calendar year, with the local big miners BHP and RIO
certainly reminding us that miners can actually generate a yield too.
Has this return to form of resource stocks as income stocks been a big
factor in your investment strategy, and what are you expecting over the
medium term in this regard?
The mining sector is currently in a very favourable position, having
come through the five-year downturn with reduced capital and operating
costs and much lower debt. As a result, in the upturn of the past three
years, cash flows have been very significant. Coupled with the sale of
non-core assets, cash returns to shareholders have been high. Many of
these businesses are in great shape operationally and financially. We
expect that they will remain disciplined with capital allocation and
continue to drive high returns back to shareholders. This is likely to
result in a re-rating from investors.
Q: I understand you have some exposure to the lithium
majors. How big an opportunity do you think the battery minerals
thematic will be in reality over the next 3-5 years, and where in the
supply chain will the best opportunities be?
The ongoing trend towards the electrification of vehicles will likely
benefit lithium and other metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt.
This is a significant change and is being driven by better technology,
legislative restrictions on pollution in cities and consumer demand for
more environmentally-acceptable transport. However, we do expect
progress to be a little stop-start and significant demand changes may
not occur until post-2025.
Q: How does the M&A current in play among the global
gold majors mean for the rest of the sector, and what does it tell us
about the current state of the industry?
The major gold producers have generally been poor performers and have
failed to deliver the significant cash returns seen in the major
diversified companies. The recent spate of mergers has been
disappointing as they have generally been conducted at low or no
premium. Despite being on the right side of the Barrick-Randgold,
Newmont-Goldcorp and Barrick-Newmont merger proposals, these have not
generated significant performance for our strategy. Where we have
historically seen better opportunities has been in explorer-developers,
with significant value generation through resource discovery and the
successful progression through to development.
Q: Given the recent reversal in Fed policy, it is easy to
take a positive view on the gold price from here; do you have a view on
gold, and does it influence your strategy?
As a team we tend not to have a strong view on commodity prices – and
this includes gold – but we do acknowledge there is a monetary and
safety aspect to gold that could see significant price appreciation in
crises or monetary realignment. Having said that, there has been no
significant value generated from these themes and we are much more
interested in real companies operating on the ground to find and develop
quality gold mines.
Q: Given the chronic underinvestment in exploration and
development assets by the majors since the GFC, how big an opportunity
is there in investing in quality juniors, and in which sector are you
seeing the best opportunities in this regard?
Part of the problem with a significant downturn is the withdrawal of
capital from many junior companies. Many of the promising projects of
the past five years were shut down and are only now re-emerging with
some small capital raisings recommencing this year. Exploration and
development are long term cycles, often seven years or more, so the
world has lost a cycle of projects in this downturn. We do need to be
mindful of liquidity and this means being cautious in taking on juniors.
Q: What was your take on the recent banning of Australian
coal imports at some Chinese ports, and how big a potential risk do you
think it is for the majors; i.e.: should we expect more of this?
China is very complex and the interplay between policy, demand,
pricing and preferences can be hard to understand. Of their total demand
for coal, imported coal is a small component. They have also pivoted
very strongly to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports over the last two
years. Across 2018, the markets worked through the tariff disputes,
continued economic maturation and more recently, the Lunar New year
periods, each of which reduces activity and demand growth.
Q: What is the most interesting theme in energy (including sustainable energy) right now? Please explain why it matters.
For the world’s largest energy companies, gas has become the
transitional fuel. This has been seen with major LNG projects built and
planned by all the large companies. There has also been a pivot to
electricity and trading, and we saw a general sell down away from oil
sands.
The true pivot to renewables will be difficult for companies of this
size, but they are increasing investment into wind and solar projects.
More interesting are the smaller companies that are still discovering
and developing high quality, low cost and growth projects.
We have a favourable view of the long term growth of renewable
energy and the storage of electricity, but these opportunities are not
as common in listed markets.
Q: While Australia only makes up a small part of your
investable universe, what do you see as the globally significant themes
within the Australian resources sector?
It’s true that our global natural resources investable universe is
many times the size of the Australian resources sector, in fact, the
market cap of the global resources sector is about four times the market
cap of the entire Australian equity market. That said, Australia has a
very strong mining heritage and has also grown its energy industry in
recent years to become the world’s second largest LNG exporter after
Qatar. With a good entrepreneurial culture in Perth, Australia continues
to contribute to mineral exploration and development of global
significance. With the recent lithium demand growth and price boom,
Western Australia has delivered six new mining developments.
Q: What was the last thing you read that really blew you away, and why?
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:47 AM on Wednesday, May 29th, 2019
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Debunking the Top 5 Blockchain Myths
Satoshi Nakamoto’s seminal paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,†published in 2009, which took cues from “How to Time-Stamp a Digital Document,†published by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta in 1991, sparked a feeding frenzy of accolades for blockchains
which inscribed an urban legend about trusted public decentralized
blockchains, a historical departure from the mediation of brokers and
third parties. The first paper sought to create trust in digital
currencies by solving the decades-old “double spend†problem associated
with digital currencies with applied cryptography and the second by preventing the tampering of digital documents with time stamping.
The information, documents, transactions or digital coins are mathematically protected with hard-to-crack hash functions
that create a block and interconnect it to previously created blocks.
To validate the new chain of blocks, it is then broadcasted and shared,
to a distributed network of computers, to collectively agree about the
authenticity of the transactions, using additional mathematics of a
consensus algorithm.
The entire cryptographic proof of transactions is stored as an
immutable record on a distributed and shared ledger, or the blockchain.
“In effect, this is triple entry accounting which includes the two
entries of the transacting parties and a third record for the public,
registered on a public distributed ledger, which cannot be tampered
with,†Ricardo Diaz, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based founder of Blockchain CLT and management consultant for commercialization of enterprise blockchains, told us.
Rising from the trough of disillusionment, the myths around public
centralized blockchains have been reexamined and we will now assess the
controversy. (Blockchain is being used for much more than just
cryptocurrency. Learn more in Why Data Scientists Are Falling in Love with Blockchain Technology.)
Myth #1: Private permissioned blockchains cannot be secure.
Private permissioned blockchains are a contradiction in terms and
public blockchains are the only secure and viable option. Public
blockchains gain trust by consensus, which is not possible when private
blockchains need permission for a small group of people.
In actual implementations, centrally controlled private or federated
permissioned blockchains, albeit distributed, are common. Federated
blockchains focus on specific verticals
such as R3 Corda for banks, EWF for energy and B3i for insurance
companies. The motivation to keep a blockchain private is
confidentiality and certainty of regulatory compliance as in banking,
unique needs such as in renewable energy
where small producers need to connect with consumers, or the fear of
cost overruns or underwhelming performance of unproven technologies as in insurance.
The jury is still out whether private blockchains will last beyond their pilot programs. TradeLens is one private blockchain which IBM created with Maersk,
the largest container company in the world. According to press reports,
the project has gotten off to a slow start as other carriers, which
could be potential partners, have expressed skepticism about the
benefits they will realize from joining.
Steve Wilson, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research,
cautioned against a rush to judgment. “IBM is moving slowly because it
is bringing together a group of partners who have not worked together
before. They are also transitioning from a world where trades were
mediated by brokers to an unfamiliar world of direct trading. The trade
documentation is convoluted, and IBM is trying to avoid errors,†he told
us.
Fundamentally, Wilson does not see a well-defined use case for public
blockchains. “Public blockchains overlook the plain fact that any
business solution is inseparable from people and processes. The double
spend problem does not exist when transactions in physical worlds are
tracked at each stage,†he concluded.
By contrast, private blockchains, such as Corda in financial services,
are solving real problems. “The supervision of private blockchains by
credible stewards narrows down the problem of trust. Private blockchain
realize efficiency gains from a common and secure distributed ledger
which takes advantage of the cryptography, time-stamping, and smart contracts which were prototyped in public blockchains,†Wilson explained.
Myth #2: Hybrid blockchains are an incompatible mix of private and public.
Public, permissionless decentralized blockchains and private
centrally controlled permissioned blockchains are mutually exclusive.
They seek to create a trustworthy environment for transactions in
entirely different ways which are not compatible. It is not possible to
have a combination of the private and the public in a single secure
chain.
Hybrid combinations emerge as the market matures and dispel the
skepticism about the early forms of new technologies. Just like the
precursors to the internet were intranets and extranets which evolved into the internet with sites searchable with browsers; the cloud followed a similar path and hybrid clouds are widely accepted these days.
In the crypto community, there are two camps: the public,
permissionless blockchains and private, permissioned blockchain.
According to Diaz:
The private blockchain side has historically presumed to require miners and a cryptocurrency
financial incentive to validate the blockchain was unnecessary. Today,
new blockchain projects support private and public distributed ledger
technologies. Ternio.io, an enterprise
blockchain platform, leverages Hyperledger Fabric (a permissioned
blockchain technology) AND Stellar (a permissionless blockchain). Veridium.io, a carbon credit marketplace blockchain project, also has a similar DLT architecture.
Diaz also noted:
Jaime Dimon, CEO of JPMC, who dismissed bitcoin as a fraud, has not only invested in building a popular, secure, private blockchain called Quorum, but also introduced an enterprise stable coin (a type of cryptocurrency token) called the JPM Coin. It was built using the Ethereum
blockchain code base, a public blockchain protocol, and the privacy
technology from ZCash, another public but more secure blockchain
protocol. Security on Quorum is reinforced by secure enclave technology
which is hardware-based encryption.
Quorum is not a hybrid blockchain that has public and private
blockchains working together, but it incorporates the code from public
blockchains and cryptocurrencies that are normally integral to public
blockchains. It creates a fork on Ethereum to create a private
blockchain. There are other hybrid blockchains in which private and
public blockchains play complementary roles.
Hybrid blockchains have a compelling value that is driving skeptical
enterprise clients to progress from private blockchains to hybrid ones
that incorporate public blockchains and token economics on an as-needed
basis. The bridges between the private and the public chains in the
hybrid blockchain ensure that the security is not compromised, and
intruders are disincentivized by requiring them to pay to cross the
bridge.
Hybrid crypto networks of the future will be more secure than anything the internet, Web 2.0, has today. Diaz explained:
Crypto mesh networks that are supported by crypto routers, like the wireless router
in your home, will only process transactions that are cryptographically
secured not only with blockchain technology but also true crypto
economics. Imagine a crypto router or device that requires a small
amount of cryptocurrency to process a transaction like an email between
two parties. This one key difference will drastically impact hackers across the planet who are used to freely hacking computers and networking them together to launch a massive denial of service attack on some business. On the Decentralized Web, Web 3.0, the hacker would have to pay upfront for his/her bot army to launch the same attack. That is token economics crushing a major cybersecurity issue.
Myth #3: Data is immutable in any circumstance.
A cornerstone of public blockchains is the immutability of the pool of the data for all transactions that it stores.
The reality is that public blockchains have been compromised either
by an accumulated majority, also known as a “51% attack†of the mining
power by leasing equipment rather than purchasing it, and profit from their attacks or by bad code in poorly written smart contracts.
Rogue governments are another cybersecurity risk. “Private
individuals respond to incentives for keeping the data honest. My worry
is governments who have other non-economic objectives immune to
financial incentives,†David Yermack, Professor of Finance at the Stern
Business School in New York University, surmised.
Public blockchains have to come to grips with the fact that human error is possible
despite all the vetting — it happens in any human endeavor.
Immutability breaks when corrections are made. Ethereum was split into
Ethereum Classic and Ethereum following the DAO attack which exploited a vulnerability in a wallet built on the platform.
“The Bitcoin blockchain network has never been hacked. The Ethereum
blockchain has suffered attacks but the majority of them can be
attributed to bad code in smart contracts. Over the last two years, an
entirely new cybersecurity sector has emerged for the auditing of smart
contract code to mitigate the common risks of the past,†Diaz told us.
Auditing of software associated with blockchains, including smart
contracts, helps to plug the vulnerabilities in supporting software that
exposes blockchains to cybersecurity risks. (For more on blockchain
security, see Can the Blockchain Be Hacked?)
Myth #4: Private keys are always secure in the wallets of their owners.
Blockchains rely on public key infrastructure (PKI) technology for security, which includes a private key to identify individuals. These private keys are protected by cryptography and their codes are not known to anyone except their owners.
The reality is that in 2018 over $1 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen.
The myth about the privacy and security of private keys rests on the assumption that they cannot be hacked. Dr. Mordechai Guri
of the Ben-Gurion University in Israel demonstrated how to steal
private keys when they are transferred from a safe location, unconnected
with any network, to a mobile device for usage. The security vulnerability is in the networks and associated processes.
“Today there are many best practices and technologies that reduce the
risk of this perceived weakness in basic cryptography to protect
private keys. Hardware wallets, paper wallets, cold wallets and
multi-signature (multi-sig) enabled wallets all significantly reduce
this risk of a compromised private key,†Diaz informed us.
Myth #5: Two-factor authentication keeps hot wallets secure.
My private keys are safe on a crypto exchange like Coinbase or Gemini. The added security of two-factor authentication (2FA) these sites provide in their hot wallets can’t fail.
A crypto hot wallet cybersecurity hack that is becoming more and more common is called SIM hijacking, which subverts two-factor authentication. Panda Security explains how hackers receive verification passcodes by activating your number on a SIM card
in their possession. This is usually effective when someone wants to
reset your password or already knows your password and wants to go
through the two-step verification process.
“If you must purchase cryptocurrency through a decentralized or
centralized crypto exchange, leverage a third-party 2FA service like
Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, NOT SMS 2FA,†Diaz
advised.
Conclusion
Distributed ledger technologies and blockchain technologies are
evolving, and the current perceptions about their risk are more muted as
new innovations emerge to solve their inadequacies. Although it is
still early days for the crypto industry, when Web 3.0 and decentralized
computing become more mainstream, we will live in a world that will put
more trust in math and less in humans.
