Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:50 PM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
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Esports gaming platform Skillz hooks users even more than Netflix and Facebook
The esports market is going to be a multibillion-dollar industry.
Competitive gaming platform Skillz is seeing gamer use that surpasses time spent on Facebook and Netflix.
The company hosts about 2 million tournaments featuring online games
of solitaire, mahjong and a number of sports-related mobile titles for
amateur gamers who earn cash prizes.
When Netflix
CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged the streaming media giant’s growing list
of competitors in his latest annual shareholder letter, he didn’t cite
Disney or HBO as the biggest threats. “We compete with (and lose to)
Fortnite more than HBO,†Hastings wrote in January.
Call it the rise of the gamers.
Publisher Epic Games and megastreamers like Ninja turned Fortnite
into a sensation, the esports industry continues to grow, and the
biggest names in tech — Apple and Alphabet among them — revealed their plans to dive deeper into gaming. Apple unveiled its new Arcade subscription gaming service and Alphabet’s Google its own streaming platform for gamers called Stadia.
Amid the changing gaming industry landscape, mobile gaming has taken
an increasingly bigger chunk of the pie. In 2018 the mobile gaming
market, which encompasses smartphones and tablets, grew to $63 billion
in revenue, according to research firm Newzoo. This accounts for almost
half of the global games market. Mobile gaming is getting closer to
overtaking both console and PC platforms, with Newzoo estimating more than 50% market share between tablet and phone-based games in 2020 and 2021, and over $90 billion in annual revenue.
Mobile esports — competitive gaming with mobile-based titles — has
also become more established. Newzoo projects the global esports market
will exceed $1.6 billion in revenue by 2021 and will rake in more than $1 billion in revenue this year. Esports teams are now raising their own venture capital, too, with one team worth $310 million, according to Forbes, and a total of nine esports teams worldwide worth at least $100 million.
‘The most prolific media environment ever’
One of the key leaders of mobile esports growth is Skillz, which ranked No. 31 on the 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 list.
It hosts about 2 million tournaments, featuring online games of
solitaire, mahjong and a number of sports-related mobile titles for
amateur gamers who earn cash prizes based on their performance. Back in
November, Skillz revealed that collectively, players on the platform earn, on average, over $675,000 in daily prizes.
And not only are they earning more, they’re playing more during a
time that Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise calls “the beginning of the most
prolific media environment ever.â€
Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise says the mobile gaming company has doubled revenue over the last five months. Skillz
“Skillz is delivering 65 minutes a day per person,†Paradise told
CNBC. “It’s more prolific than Facebook at its peak, YouTube and
Snapchat.â€
In fact, the average Skillz user is spending more time on the
platform than Netflix subscribers spend watching content, with the
average subscriber for the streaming site clocking in at about 50
minutes per day. The boom in Skillz’ platform, according to Paradise, is
in large part due to the competitive element that results in a higher
engagement number.
The so-called casual gamer is actually engaging the same way a hard-core gamer would.
Andrew Paradise
Skillz CEO
Paradise believes that the increasing focus on mobile is blurring the line between casual and so-called “hardcore†gamers.
“The casual gamer is becoming a hardcore or mid-core gamer, and it’s
reflective of this evolution in media usage,†said Paradise, who
specifies that a Skillz user in the past would spend an average of about
30 minutes a day on the platform.
Many of those users are women — seven of the top 10 earners on Skillz
last year were female players, a group that took home $8 million in
prize money. According to a study released by Newzoo earlier this year,
46% of all gamers are female and it is a market that may include more
than 1 billion women around the world.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:09 AM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
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Cannabis continues to light up Canadian sec finance
Cannabis stocks continue to drive momentum in the Canadian securities finance market.
According to data from IHS Markit, Canadian equity securities lending revenue reached $144.82 million in 1Q19, up 11.5% on 1Q18.
Louise Fordham
Last year was a somewhat challenging one for the Toronto Stock
Exchange (TSX), with the TSX Composite Index down 11.64% at the end of
2018, says Phil Zywot, managing director and Canada regional securities
finance trading head at BNY Mellon Markets. However, 1Q19 experienced a
rebound. “It’s been the best start to any year in the last 19 years,
with the TSX Composite Index coming up 12.42% in the first quarter,â€
Zywot adds.
Cannabis stocks continue to drive momentum in the Canadian securities
finance market. According to data from IHS Markit, Canadian equity
securities lending revenue reached $144.82 million in 1Q19, up 11.5% on
1Q18. Canadian cannabis stocks accounted for $63 million of 1Q19’s
equity lending revenue, an increase of 32% year on year. In North
America, four of the top 10 revenue-generating stocks in the first
quarter of the year were in the Cannabis sector.
Mark Skowron, senior vice president, global securities lending
trading at Northern Trust, says: “In Canada, one of the main themes of
2018, and likely into 2019, was borrower interest in shares of
cannabis-related companies, as the country legalized the use of
recreational marijuana. Ongoing borrower demand and elevated lending
fees should drive good opportunities for holders of these companies’
shares as the sector is broadly viewed as overpriced.â€
While mining and energy stocks have historically been a key driver of
demand for specials in Canada from a short-selling perspective, recent
demand has been more subdued in these areas and cannabis stocks
currently represent the lion’s share of growth in the Canadian market,
explains Sam Pierson, director, securities finance at IHS Markit. “There
are hedge funds that seem to have a long-term view that it is going to
be hard for Canadian cannabis players to grow into their market caps,â€
he says. “As the market caps have grown so have the short balances, as
share price volatility continues to attract a lot of trading on both
sides.â€
Meanwhile, on the fixed income side, there has been continued
strength on the back of Canada’s AAA rating and the need for high
quality liquid assets (HQLA), notes BNY Mellon’s Zywot. This trend is
expected to continue over 2019.
Collateral diversification
The country’s securities finance market has also seen a move towards
greater collateral diversification. Zywot says: “Canada has generally
been a non-cash collateral, sovereign debt market. Now we are seeing
more equities as collateral, other sovereign debt options as collateral,
and an expansion into corporate bonds as collateral. We have even seen
an expansion into different forms of cash collateral and different
currencies.â€
The industry continues to push for broader collateral options for
Canadian mutual funds. The Canadian Securities Lending Association
(CASLA) is advocating for changes to National Instrument 81-102 in order
to allow mutual funds to accept equities as collateral for securities
lending transactions.
Regulatory change
The Canadian Federal Budget, announced on March 19 2019, laid out
proposed reforms with a bearing on the securities lending industry. This
includes changes to the tax treatment surrounding securities lending
transactions where a non-resident lends Canadian stocks to a Canadian
resident, which aim to ‘prevent non-resident taxpayers from avoiding
Canadian dividend withholding tax on compensation payments made under
cross-border share lending arrangements with respect to Canadian
shares’.
“These regulatory changes have been proposed but not yet
implemented,†says Zywot. “If they do pass, they will be retroactive
back to March 19. Participants both globally and here in Canada are
monitoring the situation closely.â€
2019 has already seen the introduction of new rules that provide
retail investors with access to liquid alternatives, which came into
effect on January 3. Zywot says: “This is potentially a new market
opportunity for the Canadian industry. It may be off to a slow start as
the retail sector gains a better understanding of what the product offer
is, but it should be an avenue of growth over the upcoming years for
the Canadian marketplace.â€
Beneficial owner engagement
While Canadian beneficial owners are typically au fait with, and
accepting of, securities lending practices, Zywot believes there has
been a trend towards increased utilisation of securities lending as a
tool to help generate incremental revenue for their underlying funds.
He says: “We have seen more engagement from securities lending
beneficial owners on all fronts, whether that’s getting into a
securities lending programme if there isn’t one, or looking at an
existing programme to see how they can expand it or consider new trading
strategies, ideas or collateral to further increase the incremental
revenue that it can generate.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:58 AM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
The River Valley Project is the largest
undeveloped primary Platinum Group Metal (PGM) mineral resource in
North America. The Project has excellent infrastructure and is within
100 kilometres of the Sudbury Metallurgical Complex. The Project is 100%
owned by New Age Metals.
The Project’s first economic study a
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is underway and management plans
to release the summary press release by the end of the second quarter.
The price of an ounce of Palladium
represents a 35% price increase in the last 12 months. As such, for
2019, precious metals consultancy, Metals Focus believes
that professional investors will eventually return to palladium, with
an annual average price of US$1,490 per oz. in 2019. Rhodium, which is
also present at River Valley, has seen a price increase of over 15% this
YTD at US$2,860 per oz.
For Platinum, a turnaround in investor
sentiment stimulated heavy buying of platinum Exchange Traded Funds
(ETF’s) in early 2019. Investors were motivated by supply disruption
risks and an improving outlook for auto demand.
Drill permits for our Lithium Two and
Lithium One Projects in Manitoba have been applied for and the company
is in the final approval process from the province of Manitoba.
The Company is actively seeking a strategic partner for our Genesis PGM/Polymetallic Project in Alaska
May 28th, 2019 / Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; “We are pleased to update our shareholders and interested parties as to our ongoing activities in both our PGM and Lithium divisions. Specifically, give a progress update on the River Valley Project Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). This update will detail our exploration and development plans for both the PGM and Lithium divisions in 2019. Furthermore, we will highlight the current PGM market and particularly Palladium and Platinum price trends.”
Update on the PEA
NAM commissioned
both P&E Mining Consultants (P&E) and DRA Americas (DRA) to
complete the River Valley Project’s first economic study, a Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) in August 2018.
The company has been informed by its engineering consultants that the preliminary
PEA mine plan, production schedule and financial model is nearing
completion, and we plan to release the highlights of the study in a
press release before the end of the second quarter this year.
At this
stage, the PEA is focused on investigating the mining potential of the
project, including the latest discovery, the Pine Zone and other
footwall mineralization potential. The study will also help define areas
of the project that require additional exploration and development.
The objective of
the PEA would be to create a conceptual mine plan, mine schedule, a
capital cost estimate, and operating cost estimate incorporated into a
financial model to provide total cash flow, net present value (NPV), and
internal rate of return (IRR).
River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives
During 2019, the company’s exploration & development objectives are as follows:
1.Complete the re-stated resource calculation (Q1 2019);
2.Complete the Projects first economic study, PEA (Q2 2019);
3.Complete surface exploration on
additional target areas based on recommendations of the updated 43-101
and the 2017/2018 geophysics (slated for Q3-Q4 2019);
4.Arrange additional funding for continued development of the project (ongoing);
5.Conduct a 5000-metre drill program focusing in the northern portion of the Project;
6.Solicit a strategic partner to aid in
further exploration and development of the Project. Potential major
partners are waiting for the PEA results to complete additional due
diligence on River Valley.
Palladium, Platinum, Rhodium Price & Performance
There are various reasons why the Palladium
(Pd) price movement has occurred and more to suggest that Pd price may
continue to rise. First, there are continued supply deficits forecasted
for Pd and in 2019 alone Johnson Matthey (JM) expects that it could
exceed a million ounces (PGM Market Report – May 2019). Emissions
standards are increasing worldwide as is the preference for larger
vehicles, both of which require more Pd to be used in the catalytic
converters.
The PGM’s Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium
are extensively used in catalytic converters to convert harmful gasses
like hydrocarbon emissions into less harmful substances. The allowable
limits of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) from gasoline
passenger vehicles in China will be reduced by 60% by 2025 (SFA Oxford,
2019).
The Chinese emission standard story alone
tends itself to the increase in Pd demand to grow by 500,000 ounces by
2021. To summarize, the Palladium fundamentals and forecasts align well
with the timeline for development of our River Valley Project.
The platinum market is expected to move
into deficit in 2019, with a resurgence in investor activity outweighing
modest falls in industrial and jewellery demand. Johnson Matthey also
expects a tentative recovery in autocatalyst consumption, as stricter
heavy duty emissions legislation is enforced first in China and then in
India. JM forecasts a modest increase in primary supplies, but this
could be tempered by electricity shortages and, potentially, industrial
action in South Africa, while growth in recycling may be dampened by
processing capacity constraints in some regions.
Both Platinum and Palladium are considered
precious metals, like Gold and are used as a store of value. Rhodium,
which is also present at River Valley, has seen a price increase of over
15% this year at US$2,860 per oz.
2019 Mineral Resource Update
On January 9, 2019 NAM filed its latest
Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project. The May 2018
Resource Estimate presented a global mineral inventory. The January 2019
Resource presents a pit constrained mineral resource that shows
reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The results of
the updated Mineral Resource Estimate are tabulated in Table 1 below
(0.35 g/t PdEq open pit and 2.0 g.t PdEq underground cut-off). This
43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR. See page 4.
Table 1: Results from the January 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate.
Click Image To View Full Size
Class
PGM + Au (oz)
PdEq (oz)
PtEq (oz)
Measured
1,394,000
1,701,000
1,701,000
Indicated
983,000
1,166,000
1,166,000
Meas +Ind
2,377,000
2,867,000
2,867,000
Inferred
841,000
1,059,000
1,059,000
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
2.The 2018 Mineral Resource models used
Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model
with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids.
3.A base cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq
was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a constrained pit and 2.00
g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral Resources under the pit.
6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability
7. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this
estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an
Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral
Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred
Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with
continued exploration.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure
1: The Yellow Band represents the footwall potential area of the River
Valley Deposit based on the results of the Pine Zone where footwall
mineralization was noted to extend 150 metres eastward from the Pine
Zone/ T3 main deposit.
At
present the only area that has confirmed footwall mineralization is in
the Pine Zone (defined from 2015 to 2017 drilling). Geophysics and
exploration continues
to test other areas of the Deposit. Management’s specific focus is to
outline a potentially economic Mineral Resource in the northern portion
of the Project that can be subsequently developed as a series of open
pits (bulk mining), crushed,and concentrate on site, with concentrate shipped to a smelter in Sudbury.
2019 Exploration Plan – River Valley PGM Project
To date an approximate 160,441 metres (481,323 feet) in 710 drill holes have
been conducted by the company as operators on the River Valley Project.
Several independent 43-101 compliant resource estimates have previously
been generated for the deposit through the exploration and development
phases. The River Valley Deposit’s
present resource, with approximately 2.9M PdEq ounces in Measured Plus
Indicated mineral resources and near-surface mineralization, covers a
total of 16 kilometers of strike. The company continues to explore and enhance the River Valley PGM Deposit.
After the ground proofing and surface
exploration program conducted in the Summer/Fall of 2018, (which
followed up on the most recent induced polarization survey by Abitibi
Geophysics) NAM management has designed a 5,000 metre drill programs to
test the new geophysical anomalies. See Figure 2 below, which shows these new geophysical anomalies and potential targets for the next stage of drilling at River Valley superimposed over the upper 4 kilometres of the project map.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2:
Northern portion of the project with superimposed 2018 merged IP at
-100m level. Retrieved from River Valley Geophysical review by
Geoscience North (Alan King, P. Geo., M.Sc.)
2019 Exploration Plans for Lithium Division
The Company has eight pegmatite hosted
Lithium Projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, located in SE
Manitoba. In 2018 NAM conducted surface exploration programs on our
Lithman East, Lithman North, Lithium One and Lithium Two projects. The
programs consisted of reviewing, characterising and sampling the known
surface pegmatites. Samples were taken from the Eagle and FD5 pegmatites
on Lithium Two and returned results of up to 3.8% Li2O. On Lithium One,
samples were taken from the known Silverleaf and Annie pegmatites and
returned significant Li20 assays of up to 4.1%.
In 2019, the Company plans to drill the Lithium Two Project first. Drill
permits have been applied for and the company is awaiting approval from
the province. The application has been accepted by the relevant parties
to date and is in the final stages of the approval process. The first
drill permit is expected to be issued in June 2019.
Genesis PGM / Polymetallic Project
On April 4th, 2018,
NAM signed an agreement with one of Alaska’s top geological consulting
companies. The company’s stated objective is to acquire additional PGM
and Rare Metal projects in Alaska. On April 18th, 2018,
NAM announced the right to purchase 100% of the Genesis
PGM/Polymetallic Project, NAM’s first Alaskan PGM acquisition related to
the April 4th
agreement. The Genesis PGM/Polymetallic Project is a road accessible,
under explored, highly prospective and multi-prospect drill ready
Palladium (Pd)- Platinum (Pt)- Nickel (Ni)- Copper (Cu) property. A
comprehensive report on previous exploration and future phases of work
was completed by Avalon Development of Fairbanks Alaska in August 2018
on Genesis. (available here).
A 2019 sampling program will be conducted to continue to outline
additional mineralization along the 800-metre by 40-metre mineralized
zone. Management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture partner for
this road accessible PGM and multiple element Project using the
Prospector Generator business model.
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If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The contents contained herein that relate
to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information
compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, a consulting
geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Galeschuk is the Qualified Person
as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved
the technical content of this news release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Harry Barr”
Harry G. Barr
Chairman and CEO
For further information on New Age Metals,
please contact Anthony Ghitter or Cody Hunt, Business Development at
613-659-2773, or [email protected]
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking
Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially
from actual future events or results and are based on current
expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact
may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition,
forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses
words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”,
“confident”, “intend”, “strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”,
“project”, “goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similar
expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a
variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’s
ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make
available adequate current public information, additional or different
regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed,
and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the
Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that
identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The
Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts’
expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:55 AM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
Entered into a Binding Term Sheet to license its Random Number Generator to a South Asian online gaming group.
also announced that it signed a binding term sheet to acquire intellectual property and enter into co-development agreements with two non arms-length blockchain developers
Montreal / May 28, 2019 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX)(OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to inform the public that its subsidiary, ZeU Crypto Networks Inc., has entered into a Binding Term Sheet to license its Random Number Generator to a South Asian online gaming group. ZeU is also pleased to announce that it signed a binding term sheet to acquire intellectual property and enter into co-development agreements with two non arms-length blockchain developers. ZeU would also like to disclose the current status of its blockchain email project.
Random Generator Licensing Agreement
ZeU
has signed a binding term sheet with Star Epigone Capital Ltd. of the
British Virgin Islands to provide Star Epigone with a license for ZeU’s
Random Number Generator to be used by Star Epigone in its online gaming
product offering. Star Epigone has access to an already established
clientele through its online gaming business and is planning to
integrate lotteries and other gambling offerings using ZeU’s
technologies solutions.
A long form version of the development and maintenance agreement for the creation of a blockchain lottery and gambling software
will be finalized no later than July 5, 2019. All development and
licensing costs will be covered by Star Epigone, the operator. The
profit-sharing component of the final agreement will distribute profits
along this breakdown:
Star Epigone Capital ltd.
75%
ZeU Crypto Networks Inc.
10%
St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp.
7.5%
Minority Partnership
7.5%
Closing is subject to Regulatory Approval and the approval of the ZeU’s board of directors.
Acquisition of a controlling position in vSekur Network Ltd.
ZeU
has entered into a binding term sheet to acquire 2,100,000 first rank
preferred shares of vSekur Network Ltd. The shares have a redemption
value of $1.00 and bear a 6% annual interest. The preferred shares can
be converted into common shares of vSekur at the current value of $1
each, or at the last equity raise price. ZeU will have the right to
maintain its equity position with a right of first refusal in all future
financing efforts of vSekur. If converted in common shares, this would
represent more than 21% of the company outstanding common shares.
vSekur
is already developing the patient account security component of ZeU
Healthcare SaaS. It will now become the primary provider of
anonymization solutions for the different development initiatives of
ZeU.
Considerations
As
a counterpart to vSekur preferred Shares, ZeU will issue to vSekur
approximately 215,325 convertible debenture units with a minimum floor
conversion of CAD $3.25 for one year. The transaction is planned to
close within 5 days of ZeU listing on a Canadian securities exchange.
Non Arm-Length Transaction
Jean-Philippe
Beaudet, ZeU’s director and CTO, is also a director and major
shareholder of vSekur. He will abstain from any discussion related to
this transaction or future negotiation between the companies.
The
transaction is conditional on regulatory approval and ZeU’s board of
director’s approval and will be subject to an independent valuation. A
long form agreement will be signed at closing.
Acquisition of a controlling stake in Hong-Kong’s Pure Data Tech
In
order to further accelerate the development of its blockchain
healthcare SaaS solution, ZeU management has entered into a binding term
sheet with Pure Data Tech Corporation of Hong Kong. The corporation is
controlled by Dr. Fenglian Xu, a director of ZeU. Pure has received
investment and grants in excess of ?1m up to today. The company operates
a turnkey solution that includes software, hardware and management
services (MIS) for the healthcare industry in South-East Asia with a
focus on Singapore and Malaysia. The companies will partner in certain
aspects of their development. While Pure will leverage ZeU’s blockchain
technology, ZeU will be able to integrate Pure’s machine learning IP
into its Healthcare SaaS solution.
The transaction is expected to close within 5 days of ZeU listing its common shares on a Canadian securities exchange.
Considerations
ZeU will issue 461,540 subordinated debenture units convertible at a floor price of CAD $3.25 for
a total of approximately CAD $1,500,000 and 400,000 three years special
warrants in favor of Pure at an execution price of CAD $3.75.
Pure will issue
approximately ?1,000,000 worth of 1st Rank, Fixed Redeemable and
Convertible Preferred Shares of Pure in favor of ZeU currently
representing after conversion, 42% of Pure’s common shares.
Non Arm-Length Transaction
Dr.
Fenglian Xu is a director of ZeU and also a director and major
shareholder of Pure Data Tech. She will abstain from any discussion
related to this transaction and of any future negotiation between the
companies.
The
transaction is conditional on regulatory approval and ZeU’s board of
director’s approval and will be subject to an independent valuation. A
long form agreement will be signed at closing.
Corporate Update
ZeU’s
management is pleased to inform its shareholders that its Maltese legal
advisors have cleared the way to a beta testing of its blockchain email
marketplace with a slightly altered version of its platform. ZeU will
use tokens with no commercial value and an expiry date for the duration
of the beta testing phase of its email. The tests will be migrated to
the Maltese licensing authority sandbox. Furthermore, ZeU will create a
Maltese wholly owned subsidiary to run the blockchain email marketplace
and request the proper master license allowing all commercial clients of
the email marketplace to fall under the ZeU license when issuing their
own tokens. The initial expectations of the company were that it must
obtain a final license from the authorities before the beginning of its
trial. Management is happy with the recent development on this aspect of
the regulatory framework for its email marketplace platform.
The company is actively
coding a new version of the email platform with limited capabilities
that will be used for its beta testing and for the Maltese Sandbox
trial.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Frank Dumas”
FRANK DUMAS
DIRECTOR & COO, ST-GEORGES ECO-MINING
PRESIDENT & CEO, ZEU CRYPTO NETWORKS.
The
Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this
release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:34 AM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
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What Could Google’s Blockchain Mean For Bitcoin?
A Google led blockchain promises to totally change the way blockchain technology exists in the world.
Of course, Google have not yet confirmed that they are building their own blockchain as such, but we can bet your bottom dollar (or Bitcoin) that Google have employed a team to heavily investigate the use cases of blockchain technology.
A Google led blockchain promises to totally change the way blockchain technology
exists in the world. Of course, Google have not yet confirmed that they
are building their own blockchain as such, but we can bet your bottom
dollar (or Bitcoin) that Google have employed a team to heavily
investigate the use cases of blockchain technology.
Google are of course behind some of
the biggest technological products available in our era, namely Android
and the Google Search network. Combined, this pair makes Google one of
the most prolific tech giants around. This means notoriety, which in
turn means the name of Google gets about a little bit. In fact, you’d
struggle to find a person in the western world that hasn’t already heard
of Google. So, what does this mean? Well Google is clearly huge, they
are a vast company with a truly international reach – this means when
they release new products, they don’t have to work very hard to market
them. Moreover, because they already have a portfolio of products, they
often find ways to link them together, meaning everyone with an android
phone (for example) can automatically get access to the latest Google
updates (again, for example).
If Google created their own
cryptocurrency, called say, Googlecoin, this would be guaranteed instant
world adoption, simply because Google itself is already so widely
adopted. Moreover, people trust Google, it’s a name that people know and
therefore it’s a name that people are happy to buy from. A Googlecoin
would be well greeted within the world and this could have significant
consequences for the growth of the rest of the cryptocurrency market.
When one large coin see’s mass adoption, the entire markets will open up
and cryptocurrency all in all will become far bigger than it already
is.
The production and development of Googlecoin will ensure that more people start to invest in other cryptocurrencies
such as Bitcoin, XRP and Ethereum too. A Googlecoin would no doubt be
tradeable on many exchanges and as a matter of fact, we could also
expect Google to build their very own exchange too.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:25 PM on Monday, May 27th, 2019
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Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange surged nearly $500 in about 10 minutes in the morning, spurred by Chinese investors covering short positions, traders said, continuing the rally in the afternoon.
That sent nickel surging 5 per cent to a peak of $12,495 a tonne, the highest since April 30, before paring gains in closing open outcry activity to a bid of $12,370, a rise of 4 per cent.
Published on: May 26, 2019
Nickel — the key metal mined in Sudbury — spiked to its highest level
in over two weeks last week as bearish investors covered positions,
while other industrial metals gained on a weaker American dollar and
hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal.
World stocks edged higher and oil prices also recovered from bruising
falls last week after U.S. President Donald Trump nurtured hopes of
progress in U.S.-China talks.
“With the stock markets popping up a tad this morning and also the
dollar strength pausing, that’s giving the market an excuse to cover
some shorts ahead of the weekend, which is a long weekend in the UK and
US,†said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in
Copenhagen.
“But we are by no means out of the woods yet, if anything, it may just be the market pausing before we hit the next headline.â€
Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange surged nearly $500 in
about 10 minutes in the morning, spurred by Chinese investors covering
short positions, traders said, continuing the rally in the afternoon.
That sent nickel surging 5 per cent to a peak of $12,495 a tonne, the
highest since April 30, before paring gains in closing open outcry
activity to a bid of $12,370, a rise of 4 per cent.
Put another way, nickel finished At US$5.5980 on Friday, up 0.2161 cents from the day before.
The move higher in nickel gained steam as it broke through its 200-day moving average, a key technical level, traders said.
* NICKEL FORECAST: Fitch on Friday revised down its London
three-month nickel average price forecast for 2019 to $13,250 a tonne,
from $14,500 estimated earlier, on rising global economic risks, an
escalating trade dispute and disappointing refined nickel demand from
China so far this year.
* COPPER: Three-month LME copper (another key metal in Sudbury)
climbed 0.5 per cent to finish at $5,955 a tonne in closing rings, but
on a weekly basis it marked a sixth consecutive decline.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:16 PM on Monday, May 27th, 2019
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NAM: TSX-V
———————
The lithium industry needs a $17b injection to meet 2025 demand – here come the deals
One expert says at least US$12 billion ($17.3 billion) needs to be invested in new lithium projects by 2025 if the industry is to have any realistic hope of matching supply with demand
Corporate deals in the lithium industry are heating up at a time when
there is a predicted multi-billion-dollar cash injection needed to ramp
up supply to meet rapidly growing demand.
One expert says at least US$12 billion ($17.3 billion) needs to be
invested in new lithium projects by 2025 if the industry is to have any
realistic hope of matching supply with demand.
US lithium expert Joe Lowry told delegates at the Latin America
Downunder mining conference in Perth that the ‘Big Four’ global lithium
producers – SQM, Albemarle, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi – could
not alone meet 2025 lithium demand.
“Overall, the industry faces a lack of financing and needs to inject
more than US$12 billion within five years to have a chance of meeting
demand,†he said.
“This requirement is exacerbated further by known and emerging
failures in lithium start-ups which have demonstrated a lack of
necessary skillsets – high profile failures that have discouraged sector
investment.
“There will not be any significant lithium chemical oversupply
anytime soon. While there have been many optimistic supply forecasts,
recent results speak for themselves.â€
He dismissed the forecasts of oversupply as a myth.
“The ‘myth’ is driven by reports from ‘big bank’ analysts and
supported by statements by Chilean regulator, CORFO, after its revised
agreements allowing Albemarle and SQM to produce more material from the
Atacama brine resource,†Lowry said.
“The reality is increasing production quickly is not so easy.”
Last year there was about 270,000 tonnes of lithium demand and Lowry estimates that will rise to about 1 million tonnes in 2025.
“It’s pretty much not argued anymore that e-mobility is happening —
whether it’s EVs or scooters or ferries in Scandinavia, the transition
to e-mobility is on,†Lowry said.
“My numbers are actually some of the lower numbers out there.â€
Battery-related lithium demand in 2018 accounted for 60 per cent, up from 25 per cent five years earlier.
“So this market is becoming a battery-related market. There’s really no question about that,†Lowry said.
But new lithium supply is hard to bring online and SQM, Albemarle,
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi are likely only be able to maintain
their 68 per cent market share, according to Lowry.
“Almost every lithium project that has ever started with optimism has
taken three or four years longer to reach full capacity and that’s what
we’re seeing,†he said.
“That means there’s a lot of juniors or smaller companies around the world that need to get financed and need to get moving.â€
The cash injection gives Galaxy a roughly 11.5 per cent interest, and
a blocking stake, in Alliance, managing director Mark Calderwood told Stockhead.
Galaxy’s investment was part of a larger $32.5m placement at 20c per
share, which also included $10m from a subsidiary of Jiangxi Special
Electric Motor Co.
Jiangxi has about a 9.9 per cent stake in Alliance.
“I guess from [Galaxy’s] point of view it’s stopping us from being a
target for someone else to come and grab, and we were the cheapest
lithium miner in the market,†Calderwood said.
“Both Jiangxi and Galaxy are a lot bigger than we are, they’re both
experts in their sectors so that’s good for us and it enables us to be
cooperative in the future.
“Both parties have either a blocking stake or almost a blocking stake.â€
Australia’s downstream gaining momentum
Right now, Australia has absolutely zero per cent share of the global
lithium chemical market, but the Galaxy-Alliance deal is another step
towards building the country’s downstream industry.
“I think [Galaxy] has desires to go further downstream as well, and
Jiangxi [Ganfeng Lithium] already has that joint venture with Jiangxi
Special Electric Motors, which is downstream, but there’s other things
we can do as well,†Calderwood said.
The research partnership of 58 industry, academic and government
partners will address industry-identified gaps in the battery industries
value chain.
The goal is to expand battery minerals and chemicals production and
develop opportunities for manufacturing batteries in Australia.
Good time to invest
Lowry says rapidly rising demand and the difficulty in bringing new
lithium supply online supports his “thesis†that the market is going to
outgrow supply.
“Anyone who is interested in investing in the lithium market has a
great opportunity now because share prices are very, very depressed,†he
said.
“If you look at the market caps of some of the Australian companies,
even the ‘Big Four’ companies, their market caps are very much down from
where they were a couple of years ago.
“So if you’re interested in lithium, I would tell you now’s a good time to get in.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:35 AM on Monday, May 27th, 2019
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———————–
The First NASCAR Esports League Kicked Off This Weekend At The Charlotte Motor Speedway
This past weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway the first ever NASCAR esports league got underway, with the action taking place alongside the Coca-Cola 600 race.
Players on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 competed at the event,
with Slade Gravitt of Wood Brothers Racing taking the win on PS4 and
Brian Tedeschi of Team Penske taking the win on Xbox One.
This race was the opening of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, a major
esports league that features 30 drivers from 15 race teams, which are
owned by prominent NASCAR race teams. The league will feature 16 races
across a variety of tracks, with the league concluding at the 2019
NASCAR playoffs later this year. It was streamed on the NASCAR Facebook
page, along with the 704Games Twitch livestream.
“Charlotte Motor Speedway was the perfect venue and environment to
drop the green flag on the eNASCAR Heat Pro League season,†said Ed
Martin, managing director of esports at 704Games. “Our drivers fed off
the energy of the crowd and the thrill of competing on the busiest day
in Motorsports, delivering incredible action to fans in attendance and
watching around the world through our livestreams. It was exciting to
see the best players from across the country capture the NASCAR drama
and excitement through the NASCAR Heat 3 game before transitioning to
Coca-Cola 600 action. When 704Games, the Race Team Alliance and NASCAR
set out to create the first-ever eNASCAR league on consoles, this is
what we had envisioned.â€
Gravitt, who won the PS4 competition, is just 16 years old, and
decided to try and compete in the league after playing with friends who
wanted to see how well they could do in the qualifiers. He quickly
noticed he was pretty good, and went on to earn a spot in the
competition before going on to win it.
After the opening race in the competition Team Penske Esports are at
the top of the team standings with 78 points. Just below them is Wood
Brothers Gaming with 73 points and then JR Motorsports and Petty Esports
are tied for third with 70 points. Nine of the remaining teams are
within 10 points of third place, meaning the standings could easily
change very quickly.
The next race in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League takes place on
Wednesday, May 29, with the action being broadcast on the NASCAR
Facebook page and the 704Games Twitch livestream.
Indian government is reportedly
planning a national policy for skilling and reskilling of the nation’s
youth in advanced technologies such as machine learning, artificial
intelligence, and internet of things (IoT).
“Reskilling and upskilling is big on
the incoming government’s agenda. There will be renewed focus on
reskilling,†a government official told ET.
The idea behind such a policy is to create a workforce that can tap
into new emerging opportunities and help prevent technological shocks to
the country’s technological infrastructure.
“We would like to ensure that
individuals have access to economic opportunities by remaining
competitive in the new world of work and that businesses have access to
the talent they need for the jobs of the future,†the official added.
The government is said to have
identified six sectors for which a dedicated reskilling curriculum will
be developed based on sector’s demand. These selected sectors might
include financial services, Information technology, manufacturing, ecommerce, logistics, healthcare, and telecommunications.
The official also noted that
government might incentivise youth to undergo reskilling programmes and
might also introduce a dedicated annual allocation for this.
Earlier this year, IIT Kanpur professor had told Inc42 that
“Blockchain and data science are the most sought skills in jobs today.
However, over 99% of the Indian universities and conventional institutes
don’t have blockchain in their curriculum.â€
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“Although there is increased
awareness, the educational curriculum in our universities at large does
not fulfil the job demands.†he added.
Post the launch of 2019 interim finance budget, edtech startups have also emphasised on the need to focus on job-oriented reskilling
in education. Ishan Gupta, MD of edtech startup Udacity India had said
at the time, reskilling has become a necessity for people to hold
gainful employment in the face of the automation revolution.
According to World Economic Forum, over half of the workers in India will need reskilling by 2022, to meet the future talent demands.
Narendra Modi government has launched
Skill India initiative in 2015. The programme had aimed to train more
than 400 Mn people in different skills by 2022. However till June 2018,
only 40 Mn people were trained, wherein 25 Mn people were trained under
the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry. In the 2019
election manifesto, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had proposed the use of deeptech to aid the development of the agricultural sector.