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Cann Confirms Distribution Deal with Symbion

Cannabis Investing News

Cann Group announced the launch of new medical cannabis items to be sold to approved Special Access Scheme patients.

Cann Group (ASX:CAN) announced the launch of new medical cannabis items to be sold to approved Special Access Scheme (SAS) patients.

As quoted in the press release:

Cann has entered into a distribution agreement with Symbion Pty Ltd, which supplies healthcare services and products to more than 4000 retail pharmacies and 1300 hospitals throughout Australia.

Symbion will carry Cann’s full range of imported products, for supply to approved SAS patients in line with each state’s legislative requirements.

Cann CEO, Peter Crock, said the Company is now entering its commercialisation phase, having successfully established a reliable cultivation and production capability.

“We are now operating our existing Southern and Northern production facilities at full capacity, with in excess of 40 harvests now completed, and we are advancing our product manufacturing capabilities with IDT Australia.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Featured

Zelira Launches RAF FIVE Acne Treatment Products Through Its Dermatology Focused Subsidiary

Cannabis Investing News
Zelira Launches RAF FIVE Acne Treatment Products Through Its Dermatology Focused Subsidiary

Zelira Therapeutics Ltd a global leader in the research and development of clinically validated cannabinoid medicines, is pleased to announce the US launch of the Zelira Dermatology Business’ first product line, RAF FIVE ™ through its dermatology subsidiary Ilera Derm LLC . The five-product RAF FIVE ™ line consists of the Wash Away Gel Cleanser Acne Treatment, Spot On Acne Treatment, Kick Off Hydrating Lotion …

Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD) (OTCQB: ZLDAF), a global leader in the research and development of clinically validated cannabinoid medicines, is pleased to announce the US launch of the Zelira Dermatology Business’ first product line, RAF FIVE ™ through its dermatology subsidiary Ilera Derm LLC (“Zelira Dermatology”).

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Peak partners with Boston Beer Company to develop, produce, and distribute cannabis-infused beverages in Canada

Cannabis Investing News

Highlights: Peak Processing Solutions subsidiary of Althea Group Holdings has entered into agreements with BBCCC, Inc., The Boston Beer Company and WeedMD Rx Inc., a subsidiary of Entourage Health Corp. Under the product development agreement, Peak will provide research and development services including laboratory support and the testing of various product formulations and recipes, for the new line of BBC products …

Highlights:

  • Peak Processing Solutions (Peak), subsidiary of Althea Group Holdings (ASX: AGH) (Althea) has entered into agreements with BBCCC, Inc., The Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) (‘BBC’), and WeedMD Rx Inc., a subsidiary of Entourage Health Corp. (‘Entourage’)
  • Under the product development agreement, Peak will provide research and development services including laboratory support and the testing of various product formulations and recipes, for the new line of BBC products
  • BBC will provide Peak with funding of up to USD$2m for capital improvements associated with the development project. In addition, Peak will receive a minimum of USD$285,000 for each year of the Term of the agreement (totalling USD$1.42m )
  • Under the 5 year supply and manufacturing agreement, Peak is the exclusive manufacturer of all cannabis beverages produced or sold in Canada under BBC branding, for the term of the agreement
  • Entourage will be responsible for distribution and sales of the cannabis-infused beverages in Canada

Peak Processing Solutions, a subsidiary of Althea Group Holdings Limited (ASX: AGH) (‘Peak’ or ‘the Company’) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and distributor of cannabis infused edible, topical, and concentrate products is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into agreements with WeedMD Rx Inc., a subsidiary of (TSXV: ENTG) (OTCQX: WDDMF) (‘Entourage’) and BBCCC, Inc., a subsidiary of the Boston Beer Company Inc. (NYSE: SAM) (‘BBC’).

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Medlab Clinical Ltd Executes Master Services Agreement with WEP Clinical Ltd

Cannabis Investing News

Sydney, Australia – Medlab Clinical Ltd an Australian biotech using delivery platforms to enhance medicines is pleased to announce the execution of a Master Services Agreement with WEP Clinical Ltd for the exclusive development and delivery of Named Patient Programmes relating to the unlicensed supply of its proprietary NanaBis and NanoCBD to patients in the UK and Europe. This Master Services Agreement is the first …

Sydney, Australia (ABN Newswire) – Medlab Clinical Ltd (ASX.MDC), an Australian biotech using delivery platforms to enhance medicines is pleased to announce the execution of a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with WEP Clinical Ltd (WEP) for the exclusive development and delivery of Named Patient Programmes relating to the unlicensed supply of its proprietary NanaBis(TM) and NanoCBD(TM) to patients in the UK and Europe.

This Master Services Agreement is the first partnership for Medlab to supply their cannabinoid medications outside of its current Australian Special Access Scheme.

Dr Sean Hall, CEO of Medlab stated, “This is a major milestone for Medlab to begin supplying NanaBis(TM) and NanoCBD(TM) on prescription for the first time to patients outside Australia.”

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uranium investing

Uranium Mines in Australia

Energy Investing
a bowl of U3O8 yellow cake

Australia is the second largest producer of uranium in the world. Here's a look at the mines that are producing today, and the significant ones that are being developed.

Despite sitting on the largest known recoverable resources of uranium worldwide — 1.69 million metric tonnes in 2019 — Australia uses no part of it for energy. Instead, Australia exports the valuable resource, which accounts for one-quarter of its energy exports.

In fact, Australia was the second largest producer of uranium in 2020, producing 6,203 metric tonnes. It was only beaten by Kazakhstan, which produced nearly 20,000 metric tonnes that year.

Australian uranium production has centred around three mines in recent years — Olympic Dam, Beverly Four Mile and Ranger — until the Ranger mine ceased operations in 2021.

Main mines in the country

Here's a closer at these mines and the companies that own them:

1. Olympic Dam owned by BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP)

The Olympic Dam complex is built upon one of the world's most significant deposits of copper, gold, silver and uranium. In fact, it's the world's largest known uranium deposit. It has both underground and surface operations and it has a fully integrated processing facility, which means it is capable of extracting, refining and processing mined commodities.

In 2020, BHP Billiton produced 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium oxide (U3O8), which is nearly half of Australia's output and 6 percent of the world's production. In 2021, their uranium segment accounted for US$249 million in revenue.

Although the company produces a significant amount of global uranium, its production of copper, iron ore, coal and petroleum dwarfs its uranium production by a wide margin.

2. Beverly and Four Mile owned by private company Heathgate Resources

Australia's first in-situ recovery mine at Beverly sits on a uranium deposit about 520 kilometres from Adelaide. Owned by Heathgate Resources, a subsidiary of US-based General Atomics, the Beverly mine itself has all been mined out and production exclusively occurs at the nearby Four Mile mine (owned by Quasar, a subsidiary of Heathgate).

In 2020, Heathgate Resources mined 2,130 tonnes of uranium oxide from Four Mile, accounting for 4 percent of the world's uranium production.

3. Ranger Uranium Mine owned by Energy Resources of Australia (ASX:ERA)

Ranger was the longest serving uranium production mine in Australia at 35 years, located 8 km east of the town of Jabiru. The mine officially stopped processing operations in January 2021 after traditional owners of the land did not support extending the Energy Resources of Australia's (ERA) authority in the area. The company had already stopped mining operations back in 2012 and had been processing stockpiled ore since then.

The ERA, whose parent company is Rio Tinto, produced 1,574 tonnes of uranium oxide for 2020 — accounting for 2 percent of the world's uranium production — before shutting the mine down.

According to their 2020 annual report, continuing mining at Ranger in the future is also unviable. A change in legislation would be required and the company states that monitoring the mine in the gap between ceasing and resuming operations would simply add to its cost burden.

While ERA still holds the lease on the nearby Jabiluka orebody, it has been firm that it will not develop the site without the consent of the Mirrar Aboriginal people, and so the Jabiluka development has been indefinitely deferred.

Future mines in Australia

Australia accounts for almost one-third of the world's uranium deposits and there are several future exploration and expansion uranium projects brewing in the country. With 31 known deposits for uranium including the three discussed above, the list for potential new mines or mines being brought back online is long. Here are a few noteworthy ones.

1. Honeymoon

The deposit was discovered in the 1970s, and in 2015 Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) bought Uranium One Australia and acquired the mine as part of the deal. The project is permitted to export up to 3.3 million pounds (1,496 tonnes) per annum and production is expected soon.

2. Mulga Rock

This polymetallic deposit was first discovered by PNC Exploration in 1979 and is now owned by Vimy Resources (ASX:VMY), formerly Energy & Minerals Australia. The deposit is divided into Mulga Rock East and West, and also hosts scandium, nickel and cobalt.

With approvals from both state and federal governments in 2016 and 2017 respectively, the mine can produce up to 1,300 tonnes of U3O8 per year. Vimy Resources intends to start on the Ambassador deposit with open-pit mining with an 85 percent recovery rate.

3. Angela / Bigrlyi / Obagooma / Thatcher Soak

Elevate Uranium (ASX:EL8), formerly known as Marenica Energy, has acquired or bought stakes in several mining projects in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. While there is no clear timeline on start of operations for any project, managing director and CEO Murray Hill was quoted saying that he expects the price of uranium to increase over the next decade, meaning the company would be well-leveraged as it bought assets at a reduced price.

Hill also expects modular reactor technology to improve in the next decade, allowing nuclear energy to be used across the landscape in rural areas and not just the bigger cities.

Market Outlook

After suffering low prices after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the nuclear energy market is expected to pick up, with generation growing nearly 3 percent annually by 2040, according to the World Nuclear Association's Nuclear Report. As the world continues to pivot to net-zero emissions, nuclear energy will find increasing favour from countries looking to shift their energy generation to cleaner sources.

The report states that uranium production will remain stable until the end of the 2020s and then decrease by nearly half from 2030 to 2040, highlighting the need for increased exploration and production in the space to avoid future supply disruptions.

Many projects are at advanced development stages and are only waiting for improved prices from the market.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Pallavi Rao, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

gold investing

Investing in Gold in Australia

Resource Investing News
Investing in Gold in Australia

Interested in investing in gold in Australia? This guide covers multiple ways to enter the market, from physical metal to ETFs to stocks.

With gold sitting near all-time highs, interest is high and investors are looking at ways to enter the market.

Australian investors may want to turn their attention to their own backyard. Australia is currently the second largest gold-producing country in the world, and its western region is a jurisdiction that is increasingly being sought out by exploration and mining companies.

Read on for a breakdown of the Australian gold market, as well as how and why to invest in the area.

Investing in gold in Australia: A major producer

As mentioned, Australia is currently the second largest gold-producing country. Gold output in the country reached 320 metric tons in 2020, down slightly from 325 metric tons the previous year.

"There's three countries that combine the rule of law with significant gold production: Canada, the US and Australia. Outside of these three, there's not much gold, or there's not much protection for individual investors and companies," said Kevin McElligott, managing director, Australia, at Franco-Nevada (TSX:FNV,NYSE:FNV).

"Australia is very similar to Canada in many obvious ways. Large country, small population, western liberal democracy, high standard of living, high international trade, etc.," he added.

McElligott continued, "The difference for Australia is that gold is 12 percent of exports, versus 2 percent for Canada. So the gold producers are more important to the Australian economy, to maintain that high standard of living. There's higher political and social support for gold mining here."

One of the more prolific gold-mining areas of Australia is Western Australia, which accounts for close to 70 percent of the country's total gold output. In fact, gold mining is the third largest commodity sector in the state, behind iron ore, crude oil and liquefied natural gas, with a value of approximately AU$16.63 billion.

The Fraser Institute recently named Western Australia one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world, fourth on the list after Nevada, Arizona and Saskatchewan. The more than half a million square kilometre area has attracted major miners such as Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) and BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BLT).

Recent exploration activity in the Pilbara region of Western Australia has renewed interest and helped increase the country's consistent gold output. The area is currently in the midst of increased gold exploration thanks to a major discovery in 2017 by Novo Resources (TSXV:NVO,OTCQX:NSRPF) and Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV,OTCQB:ARTTF).

Some geologists have compared the geology of the Pilbara craton with South Africa's Kaapvaal craton and Witwatersrand basin. The similarities are significant considering Witwatersrand is home to the Earth's largest-known gold reserves and is responsible for over 40 percent of worldwide gold production.

Both the Pilbara and Witwatersrand are similar in age and composition, sitting on top of the Archean granite-greenstone basement. The Pilbara area hosts numerous small mesothermal gold deposits containing conglomerate gold — mineralization known to hold large, high-grade gold nuggets.

Following on after Novo and Artemis, a number of gold exploration companies have moved into the Pilbara area, including De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG,OTC Pink:DGMLF), Kairos Minerals (ASX:KAI,OTC Pink:MPJFF), Pacton Gold (TSXV:PAC,OTC Pink:PACXF) and Monterey Minerals (CSE:MREY).

Major mining companies like Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX:KL,NYSE:KL,ASX:KLA) have also invested in the region. Kirkland has committed C$56 million to Novo Resources, and its chairman, Eric Sprott, is a well-known resource investor who owns shares in Novo, as well as several other companies in the Pilbara region.

Investing in gold in Australia: Physical gold

Australians looking to invest in the gold space may want to look first at physical gold, which experts often suggest as a secure starting point for entering the market.

In terms of Australian physical gold, investors are able to buy and sell as much as they want, as the government does not place a minimum or maximum on the amount of the yellow metal in one's possession.

However, it's worth noting that some banks do not technically permit the storage of bullion; this is listed in the terms and agreements that customers must sign when they register. Private investors who reside in Australia should also keep in mind that physical gold can't be insured.

Below are examples of the types of Australian physical gold available for investors at the Perth Mint:

  • Bullion coins — The mint offers the Australian Kangaroo, a gold coin containing 1 ounce of 99.99 percent pure gold.
  • Minted bars — The Perth Mint also gives investors the option to buy minted bars in eight different sizes ranging from 1 gram to 10 ounces. The minted bars are 99.99 percent pure gold.
  • Cast bars — The mint describes cast bars as "one of the most cost effective and convenient ways to buy precious metals." These 99.99 percent pure gold bars range in size from half an ounce to 50 ounces.

Investors who don't want to buy physical gold directly from the Perth Mint can also buy from dealers; Australians may also want to consider reputable products like the American Gold Eagle and the Canadian Maple Leaf.

Investing in gold in Australia: Gold ETFs

Exchange-traded funds, better known as ETFs, are another popular way of getting exposure to the gold space. They trade like stocks on an exchange, which makes them easily accessible, but tend to be less risky.

The ASX is home to a number of gold-focused ETFs; read on to learn about a few of the choices available:

  • ETFS Metal Securities Australia (ASX:GOLD) — This ETF has been listed on the ASX since 2003, with a management fee of 0.4 percent. With this ETF, one share represents about a tenth of the spot gold price. For example, if the physical gold spot price is trading at AU$1,593.10 an ounce, one share, or unit, of this ETF will be roughly AU$153.
  • Perth Mint Gold ETF (ASX:PMGOLD) — The Perth Mint Gold ETF also launched in 2003, but has a much lower management fee of 0.15 percent. This is because its structure allows for lower storage costs. This ETF tracks the gold spot price, but the gold is held by the Perth Mint on the behalf of investors. It also doesn't have the same level of liquidity as ETFS Metal Securities as it trades at about a fifth of its size.
  • BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF (ASX:QAU) — The BetaShares Gold Bullion ETF is unique from the two ETFs listed above as it tracks the US gold spot price, providing "purer" exposure to the US spot gold price. BetaShares units are equal to one-hundredth of the US spot gold price. That means that a movement of a dollar in the US spot gold price is equal to a movement of a cent in BetaShares. The ETF has a management fee of 0.59 percent
  • Van Eck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (ASX:GDX) — Launched in 2015, this ETF provides diversified exposure to gold-mining companies. While only 13 percent of its holdings are ASX-listed stocks, its top 10 constituents include two Australian companies, Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM,TSX:NCM,OTC Pink:NCMGF) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:AST,OTC Pink:NESRF). The management fee is 0.54 percent.

Investing in gold in Australia: ASX-listed gold stocks

Finally, those interested in investing in gold in Australia may want to look at gold-mining and exploration companies listed on the ASX. An easy place to begin is with the biggest gold companies listed on the ASX:

The biggest gainers are another solid point to start from:

Finally, those more interested in particular jurisdictions may want to check out these state-by-state overviews of ASX-listed gold companies:

As with any investment, the key to investing in ASX gold stocks is to keep due diligence front and centre.

This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2019.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.