SMALL CAP MOVERS: Tech minerals boosted by Glencore deal

Festive cheer wasn’t hard to come by at Technology Minerals as the company received a boost before Christmas from a deal between subsidiary Refiets and Glencore.

Shares soared 124 percent this week, spurred by Tuesday’s announcement that 48.35 percent-owned Refiets will supply black mass to the mining giant.

About 100 tonnes of the material, sourced from spent lithium-ion batteries containing a range of critical metals, will be sold through an initial trial.

Commercial terms will then be reviewed following the trial, which Robin Brundle, chairman of Technology Minerals, said underlined the potential for international partnerships as the world shifts to electrification.

“This marks another important milestone in our mission to return the critical minerals needed to enable a sustainable transition to the battery supply chain,” he said.

The Glencore deal followed Recylus’ agreement with Indian renewable energy transition metals producer LOHUM, which would see the former open the door to the more directly accessible European market.

It reflected Recycling’s strategy to sell internationally the lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese-containing black mass produced at its Wolverhampton battery recycling plant.

Technology Minerals has consolidated its position as a bright spot in a week that otherwise gave the London markets little reason to cheer.

London’s junior AIM all-share index fell 3.2 percent to 710.11 on Friday morning, while the FTSE all-share tumbled 2.9 percent to 4,405.

Central bank decisions dominated proceedings, with the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday overshadowed by caution for the year ahead.

Lowered expectations for rate cuts across the world’s largest economy took their toll after the Fed’s update on Wednesday, with the Bank of England’s aggressive decision to maintain bank rates on Thursday doing little to change prices.

In response, the FTSE 100 and AIM 100 entered the weekend down 2.9 and 3.7 percent respectively for the week.

That said, a range of companies have successfully dodged the pre-Christmas gloom.

Shares of Hardide soared Wednesday on news of a 10-year deal to supply “a major customer in the aerospace sector” with coatings for cargo door components.

Shares gained 25 per cent on the deal, which the AIM-listed company noted will increase turnover by £0.5m this year and between £6m and £8m over the life of the contract.

New contracts, this time for the export rail market, also put LPA Group among the week’s gainers as shares rose 9.5 percent on Tuesday.

LPA signed a five-year agreement with French national rail operator SNCF for bespoke LED interior lighting in regional and intercity fleet retrofits, extending a 16-year partnership.

LPA also received a contract from Siemens Mobility for the production of LED lighting for the overhaul of the Munich Metro’s rolling stock.

A takeover bid, recently added to a string of offers on the market, saw Intelligent Ultrasound Group post an 18.4 percent gain this week.

Intelligence Ultrasound recommended the offer from Surgical Science Sweden AB to shareholders on Thursday.

At 13p per share, the offer reflected a 16.9 per cent premium to Wednesday’s closing price and valued the AIM-listed medical simulation technology specialist at £45.2 million.

Tiger Royalties and Investments soared to a weekly gain of more than 263 percent, helped by a doubling in its share price on Friday following news of a strategic takeover, a £3 million fundraising and plans to expand its investment footprint.

Tiger Royalties will buy Bixby Technology for £325,000, the microcap said, with a focus on incubating and investing in high-growth technology businesses.

For Headlam, Friday saw the announcement of a series of sales that gave the shares a weekly gain of 8 percent.

Headlam noted that approximately £53.9 million had been raised through property sales as part of wider transformation efforts for the floor coverings business.

Among decliners, Shoezone suffered a 29.7 percent drop after warning about earnings on Wednesday and announcing an unspecified number of store closures.

Neometals traded 30.7 percent lower as it became the latest to outline plans to delist from the AIM junior market.