Month: February 2018

WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground-breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce that the UK’s Human Tissue Authority (“HTA”) has awarded its 100% owned subsidiary, WideCells Ltd, a Human Application Licence.  This licence permits WideCells Ltd to import, export, process, store and distribute for treatment, umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue from the UK and Europe in its state of the art facilities at the Institute of Stem Cell Technology in Manchester, UK.

 

This transformational milestone licence enables the Group, under its brand name BabyCells, to offer umbilical cord blood and tissue storage services to clients in the UK and Europe. BabyCells will be charged at a cost of circa £2,000 per sample for one year’s storage (including collection and processing), with recurring storage revenues of £50-£75 per annum thereafter and alternative multi-year pre-paid storage plans. Clients of BabyCells will be offered one year’s stem cell insurance cover, provided by the Group’s CellPlan division.

 

WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, “The granting of this licence from the HTA marks a significant step in the Group’s end-to-end stem cell service solution. WideCells Group can now store and process umbilical cord blood and tissue, provide financial cover and support for associated treatment through our innovative CellPlan insurance product, and support development and medical advancement within the industry through both our research work, and our education and training division Wideacademy.  This licence enables us to leverage further our significant industry contacts and market presence to position our state of the art facility in Manchester as a leading stem cell storage bank. The Group is now positioned to focus on revenue generation from all three of our divisions.”

 

For further information, please visit the Group’s website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:

 

WideCells Group PLC	CEO – João Andrade	Tel:  +351 919 033 171
WG Partners LLP	David Wilson, Claes Spång and Andrew Craig	Tel: +44 (0)20 3705 9330
Smaller Company Capital Limited	Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams	Tel: +44 (0) 20 3651 2912
Shard Capital Partners LLP	Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9950
St Brides Partners Limited	PR – Charlotte Page & Isabel de Salis	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177

 

Further Information

Following its HTA Research Licence granted in July 2017, WideCells Ltd has now been granted a Human Application Licence, number 22665, to import, export, process, store and distribute for treatment umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue within the UK and within other EU member states.  Accordingly, the Group is now able to launch its BabyCells service, which offers umbilical cord blood and tissue storage, including processing and distribution for treatment.

 

To support roll-out, WideCells will actively look for agents, initially focussing on Europe, to promote its stem cell storage services.  Widecells will provide agents with services including marketing, training, custom designed collection devices, software maintenance and technical support.  Additionally, WideCells offers agents the added benefits of support from CellPlan and Wideacademy; Wideacademy will provide educational and training services to agents and raise awareness of the potential benefits of stem cell treatment to potential storage clients whilst CellPlan will provide financial cover to ensure stem cell treatment is accessible and affordable.

 

Going forward, WideCells intends to add additional stem cell services such as dental pulp processing and storage (TeethCells) and Adipose tissue collection, processing and storage (LipoCells) to increase the Group’s stem cell storage product offering.

 

Notes to Editors

 

WideCells Group PLC

WideCells Group PLC has built an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and affordable.  This is achieved through three divisions:

 

• CellPlan: the world’s first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process.
• WideCells: The Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising in stem cell storage.
• Wideacademy: an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.

 

The Group has built an experienced senior management team that has been integral to the development of its growth and business to date.

 

Stem Cell Fast Facts:

• Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for potentially life-saving future treatment for families.  It is simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow – WideCells will continue to focus on promoting the collection and storage of cord blood.
• Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.
• 82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.
• Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few thousand pounds, actual treatment can cost in the hundreds of thousands.

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Harvest Minerals Limited

(‘Harvest’ or the ‘Company’)

Updated Corporate Presentation

Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed fertiliser development company, is pleased to announce that an updated version of its corporate presentation is now available on the Company’s website at www.harvestminerals.net.

For further information please visit www.harvestminerals.net or contact:

Harvest Minerals Limited

Brian McMaster

(Chairman)

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7317 6629

Strand Hanson Limited

(Nominated & Financial Adviser)

James Spinney

Ritchie Balmer

Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494

Shard Capital Partners

(Joint Broker)

Damon Heath

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9900

Beaufort Securities Ltd

(Joint Broker)

Jon Belliss

Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 8300

St Brides Partners Ltd

Isabel de Salis

Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177

Gaby Jenner

Notes:

Harvest Minerals (HMI.L) is a Brazilian focused fertiliser producer advancing the 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project, which produces KPfértil, a proven, multi-nutrient, slow release, organic fertiliser and remineraliser. KPfértil offers many economic and agronomic benefits and addresses the significant demand for locally produced fertiliser in Brazil, with its abundant agricultural land; currently, the country imports 90% of the potash it uses but has a target to be self-sufficient in fertilisers by 2020. Covering 14,946 hectares and located in the heart of the Brazilian agriculture belt in Minas Gerais, Arapua is a shallow, low cost mine with an indicated and inferred resource of 13.07Mt at 3.1% K2O and 2.49% P2O5. This is based on drilling just 6.7% of the known mineralisation, leaving significant upside potential. This resource is equivalent over 29 years’ production and the known mineralisation expected to support 100+ years’ production at 450,000 tonnes per annum.

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Erris Resources plc, the European focused mineral exploration company with a portfolio of zinc prospects in Ireland and gold projects in Sweden, is pleased to provide an update on its operations in Ireland. At the 100% owned Abbeytown project in County Sligo, Erris Resources has completed in-fill soil geochemistry surveys and started drilling at the Skreen prospect. Drilling at Skreen is part of a programme to test high priority zinc targets in the Abbeytown district.

Additionally, Erris Resources has applied for eighteen new contiguous prospecting licences in an area east of Galway, County Galway (the “Galway Project”). The licence application covers 673km², located in an unexplored setting analogue to and approximately 40km west of the Tynagh deposit.

Highlights

• 292 infill soil geochemistry samples taken at Skreen, Lugawarry and Streamstown
• Phase One 5,000m drill programme started at Skreen to test high priority Zn targets
• 18 new licence applications made over the new Galway Project area

Erris Resources CEO, Merlin Marr-Johnson, said, “We are pleased to report that drilling has started at Skreen, the westernmost target at the Abbeytown zinc project. As part of this Phase 1 5,000m drill programme, Erris Resources will drill approximately 1,500m at Skreen as it hosts a number of high priority targets within the Abbeytown district. 

We have also expanded our land position in Ireland through an application for eighteen licences covering 673km²which make up the new Galway Project. The licence application covers a prospective block of the southwestern continuation of the Carboniferous zinc trend of the Irish Midlands that has been opened up by the release of new data generated by the Government funded Tellus geophysical survey. We have used this new data and integrated it with our inhouse data to identify potential new targets. This type of new project generation is in line with our stated objective to identify low-cost opportunities that have the potential to create shareholder value.”

 

Further Information

Abbeytown, County Sligo, Ireland

Erris Resources has completed in-fill soil geochemical surveys at the Streamstown, Lugawarry and Skreen prospects. Existing soil sampling at 50m was carried out on lines spaced 200m apart and Erris Resources has completed infill lines across the main anomalies to reduce the grid spacing to 100m x 50m.  At Skreen, soil geochemical lines were extended where soil anomalies were previously open-ended.  All 292 samples have been submitted for assay and results will be incorporated into the geological model and will assist drill targeting.

A 5,000m Phase One diamond core drilling programme is underway at the Abbeytown Project.  Erris Resources has four main target areas to be tested as part of this programme: Skreen, Lugawarry, Streamstown and Abbeytown. The table below shows the planned number of drill meters at each area.  Work is currently focused on Skreen where drilling will test the main north-northeast trending historic soil anomaly (>150 ppm Zn) which is approximately 3km long and 1.75km wide at its widest.

Abbeytown Project Drill Programme
Prospect	Meterage Allocation (approximate)
Abbeytown	2,000m
Streamstown	750m
Lugawarry	750m
Skreen	1,500m
TOTAL	5,000 m

 

Galway Project, County Galway, Ireland

Erris Resources has applied to the Exploration and Mining Division for eighteen contiguous Incentive status (as detailed below) prospecting licences in an area east of Galway, County Galway.

The area is prospective for zinc-lead-silver-copper mineralisation. Near Galway there are historic lead workings at Oranmore, soil anomalies at Rinnmore (now an urban area) and two other base metal occurrences. The licences are located approximately 40km west of the Tynagh Mine which hosted 9.4Mt at 3.2% Zn, 3.0% Pb, 0.3% Cu and 1 oz/ton Ag, and they cover similar geology to Tynagh. The Tynagh mine operated from 1965 to 1981 and was the start of a new mining era in Ireland, leading to the development of base metal mines at Silvermines, Gortdrum, Navan, Galmoy and Lisheen.

The area is not well explored, largely due to poor outcrop. New road cuttings and the recently released government funded Tellus geophysical survey provides new data into one of the least-mapped parts of Ireland. Geophysical data shows several major structures extending southwest from the Irish Midlands and complex basin margins with Carboniferous-age lithologies that host all of the Irish zinc deposits. The Erris Resources selection is based on a reinterpretation of the geological potential combining historical and new data sets.  In addition, regional Geochemical data, also part of the Tellus Survey, is due to be released in Q1 2018.

All of the prospecting licences have Incentive status, which under Irish law have reduced fees and minimum expenditure requirements.

Prior to developing drill targets, Erris Resources’ work will comprise integration of new and historic data, soil sampling across structures, rock chip sampling on new road cuts, and application of new models.

Technical Background

Drilling at the Abbeytown Project is being done by Drilling 2000.  Core diameter is NQ (47.6 mm) and after photographing and logging, core intervals averaging 1-2 metre for mineralised samples will be cut in half at Erris Resources’ core facilities in Ballysadare, County Sligo.  Samples for assay will be sent to ALS Global laboratories in Loughrea, Ireland.  Tellus Geophysical data was reprocessed by Williams Geophysics Ltd. in the UK.

 

The technical information in this announcement has been compiled on behalf of Erris Resources by Aiden Lavelle. Aiden Lavelle (BSc (Hons), MSc, MIGI, P.Geo) is Erris Resources’ chief operating officer. Mr Lavelle has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies, which outlines standards of disclosure for mineral projects. Mr Lavelle consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

 

See the Company website (www.errisresources.com/technical-reports) for maps.

 

For further information visit www.errisresources.com or contact:

 

Merlin Marr-Johnson	Erris Resources plc	+44 (0) 7803 712 280
David Hart/Liz Kirchner	Allenby Capital (Nominated Adviser)	+44 (0) 20 3328 5656
Erik Woolgar	Shard Capital (Joint Broker)	+44 (0) 20 7186 9952
Andy Thacker	Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd (Joint Broker)	+44 (0) 20 3621 4120
Isabel de Salis/Gaby Jenner	St Brides Partners (Financial PR)	+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

 

 

Notes

Erris Resources plc (EPIC: ERIS.L) is an AIM quoted, European focused, discovery driven exploration company.  Supported by Canadian mining majors, Osisko Gold Royalties, which has a 18.9% interest in the Company, and Centerra Gold KB Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSX listed Centerra Gold Inc., the Company has an established portfolio of zinc assets in Ireland and gold projects in Sweden, which it is looking to further build on.  Led by a highly qualified team with extensive corporate and sector experience, Erris Resources’ strategy is to create shareholder value through commercial discovery of base or precious metal assets in proven mineral districts and in favourable European jurisdictions.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Keras Resources plc, the AIM listed mineral resource company, is pleased to provide an update following an announcement published by Calidus Resources Limited (‘Calidus’). Calidus has announced the appointment of experienced mining executive Mark Connelly to the Board as an independent, Non-Executive Chairman. Mark has extensive board and leadership experience in companies across a variety of commodities and jurisdictions including Australia, West Africa, North America and Europe.

 

Mark was previously Managing Director of Papillion Resources and was instrumental in the US$570m takeover of Papillion by B2Gold Corp in October 2014. Prior to Papillon, Mark was Chief Operating Officer of Endeavour Mining Corporation, following its merger with Adamus Resources Limited where he was Managing Director and CEO. Mark was instrumental in not only the merger, but procurement of project finance and the development of the Nzema Mine in Ghana into a +100Koz pa mining operation.

 

Mark is currently Non-Executive Chairman at West African Resources Ltd. and Non-Executive Director at Ausdrill Ltd and Tiger Resources Ltd.

 

Mark is a Member at Australian Institute of Co. Directors, (MAICD) a Member of the Australian Institute of Management, (AIMM) and a Member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME).

Calidus’ current Chairman, Mr Keith Coughlan, will continue as Non-Executive Director on the Board.

 

Dave Reeves said, “I am delighted with the appointment of Mark Connelly to the Calidus Board of Directors as Chairman. Mark has an outstanding reputation in the market and an enviable track record of creating significant value for shareholders. Mark’s appointment to the Board has significantly bolstered the corporate and industry experience in Calidus as it continues the expansion and development of its flagship Warrawoona gold project.”

 

To view a full version of the Calidus announcement, which includes figures and maps, please click here:

 

https://www.investi.com.au/api/announcements/cai/6136d459-16e.pdf

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.

 

Keras currently holds a 458.375m shares in Calidus, which will increase to 723.75m shares as and when Calidus issues a successful PFS at Warrawoona.  It is the intention of Keras to in-specie distribute these shares to Keras shareholders at the appropriate time when this is achieved.

 

For further information please visit www.kerasplc.com, follow us on Twitter @kerasplc or contact the following:

Dave Reeves	Keras Resources plc	dave@kerasplc.com
Nominated Adviser
Gerry Beaney/David Hignell/Jamie Spotswood	Northland Capital Partners Limited	+44 (0) 20 3861 6625
Joint Brokers
Damon Heath/Erik Woolgar	Shard Capital Partners LLP	+44 (0) 20 7186 9952
Tom Curran/Ben Tadd	SVS Securities Plc	+44 (0) 203 700 0093

 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services group focused on providing stem cell services and ground-breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, is pleased to announce a number of corporate developments.

 

Highlights

• David Henriques has been appointed to the board as a Non-Executive Director:

o  Mr Henriques has significant asset management and corporate finance experience, and is involved with the digitalisation of insurance products

o  As part of this appointment, Mr. Zakaria Aziz will be stepping down from his Non-Executive position.

 

• Wideacademy, the Group’s 100% owned education and training division, has successfully launched the first stage of www.wideacademy.co:

o  Provides educational content for both the public and medical professionals to raise the profile of stem cell technologies and support the development of the industry.

o  Platform combines free-to-access educational areas with paid for premium digital tools and resources for doctors/medical professionals

 

• With a strengthened board and three active divisions, the Group’s primary focus is now on building its global profile, increasing client reach and driving sales of its stem cell services:

o  Identified new opportunities within Asia-Pacific region

o  E-commerce site now live for INDUS and product development continues with minimal additional capital outlay and management resources

 

WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, “We are delighted to welcome David Henriques to the Board.  His extensive corporate finance experience and knowledge of digitalisation in the insurance industry will be invaluable to us as we continue to build the profile of our company.  WideCells Group was founded to provide an end-to-end stem cell service having early identified a number of market opportunities.

 

“Our sights are now on growth and commercial roll-out.  In support of this, we have identified significant development opportunities in the Asia-Pacific territories, where the stem cell industry is gaining increasing profile.  Furthermore, we are delighted to have launched our Wideacademy platform, which we believe will support both stem cell storage and treatment uptake, and the development of the industry as a whole.  Wideacademy, together with our stem cell insurance product, CellPlan, are the first products of their kind, and it is our ability to recognise industry limitations and find solutions to overcome them, which I believe sets us apart and puts us on the path for significant growth.”

 

Further Information

 

Board Changes

Mr. David Henriques has been appointed to the Board as Non-Executive Director.  His appointment will enable the Group to separate the functions of Group Chairman from that of Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee. Mr Henriques will act as Chairman of the Group’s Audit & Risk Committee, while Mr. Peter Presland will continue as Group Chairman.

 

As an experienced corporate financier who is involved with the digitalisation of insurance products, Mr. Henriques brings a unique skill set to support the continued growth of WideCells Group.   He is a co-Founder and Director of Cairn Capital Ltd , a full-service credit asset management firm, and was formerly co-Global Head of Structured Credit Products with the Royal Bank of Scotland.  Prior to this, he held various senior positions in corporate finance and insurance companies.  He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Azur Group Holdings Limited, an Insurance Managing Digital Agency, which partners with carriers and brokers to build, underwrite and distribute digital insurance products.

 

As part of Mr. Henriques’ appointment, Mr. Zakaria Azis will be stepping down from the Board.

 

Mr Henriques, who is 53 years old, has held the following directorships or partnerships in the past 5 years:

 

Current	Past
Azur Group Holdings Limited	None
The Cruwys Morchard Sporting Society Limited
Sard Limited
Cairn Capital Investments Limited
Cairn Capital Limited
Cairn Investment Managers Limited
Cairn Financial Guarantee limited
Cairn Capital Group Limited

 

Except as disclosed in this announcement, neither the Company nor Mr Henriques are aware of any further disclosures that are required in respect of the appointment of Mr Henriques under Listing Rules 9.6.11 and 9.6.13.

 

Wideacademy

Led by the former director of Apple Education, Alan Greenberg, Wideacademy has created an innovative Software as a Service (‘Saas’) platform – the first stage of which is now live.

 

With a digital library of educational articles, research papers and the beginning of a podcast series, together with real life success stories, Wideacademy has created an educational resource to provide users with everything they need to know about stem cell innovation, insights and treatments and their role in the future of healthcare and regenerative medicine.  Content is populated and verified by reputable medical professionals and key innovators within the stem cell industry and the platform is updated daily.  Alongside this, the platform includes a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section and tagged key search words, such as “leukaemia” or “immunotherapy” to help users find content most of interest to them.   Accordingly, an individual can contextually search the articles and references in a meaningful way and be confident they are receiving trusted and authentic updates and resources in stem cell innovations that are relevant today.

 

The platform will combine free-to-access educational areas with paid for premium digital tools and resources for doctors/medical professionals, including annual membership packages for doctors/medical professionals and the accreditation of educational modular courses that can support Continual Professional Development (‘CPD’).  The Group is currently in discussions with a number of universities / educational organisations to refine its planned course / CPD offering, with plans to add this functionality later this year.  Wideacademy also intends to launch a “Diseases & Treatment” section in H1 2018, to provide more detailed information on specific illnesses.

 

Other Developments

WideCells Group has an active growth strategy and is focussed on the global roll-out of its stem cell services.  Bolstering the Group’s current presence in Europe and Brazil, new commercial opportunities have been identified globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where the stem cell industry is rapidly growing, and stem cell regulation is well advanced meaning there is a clear framework to work in/with.  Discussions are underway with a number of stem cell banks and insurance companies with a view to securing commercial agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, and in light of this focus WideCells Group is in re-negotiation with White Apex regarding its Wideacademy agreements.  Further updates will be made in due course.

 

Whilst the Group’s stem cell services remain WideCells Group’s primary focus, the Company’s storage and research division, WideCells, is also a licensed provider of INDUS, a novel synthetic bone graft that promotes new bone formation, which is primarily used in the dental industry.  To facilitate the sale and promotion of this product, which has a retail price of ~£420, the Group has launched www.indusdental.com, which has full e-commerce capability.  The creation of this site will support sales whilst the Group focusses on the global roll-out of its core stem cell services.

 

For further information, please visit the Company’s website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:

 

WideCells Group	CEO – João Andrade	Tel:  +351 919 033 171
Smaller Company Capital Limited	Broker – Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams	Tel: +44 (0) 20 3651 2912
Shard Capital Partners LLP	Broker – Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9950
WG Partners LLP	Broker – David Wilson, Claes Spång and Andrew Craig	Tel: +44 (0)203 705 9320
St Brides Partners Limited	PR – Charlotte Page & Isabel de Salis	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177

 

Notes to Editors

 

WideCells Group PLC

WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments both accessible and affordable.  This is delivered through three divisions:

• CellPlan: the world’s first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process.
• WideCells: The Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising in stem cell storage.
• Wideacademy: developing an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.

 

Stem Cell Fast Facts:

• Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for families, because it is simple, safe and painless to collect, relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow – WideCells will focus on promoting the collection and storage of cord blood.
• Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.
• 82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.
• Despite initial collection and storage often costing no more than a few £thousands, actual treatment can cost in the £hundreds of thousands – before the development of an insurance product such as CellPlan, the treatment remained largely available only to Higher Net Worth individuals.

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange