VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (“Teck”) today released its third TCFD-aligned climate change report, Climate Change Outlook 2021, outlining how Teck will continue to create shareholder value by producing metals and materials that are essential for a low-carbon future while also taking steps to reduce emissions to achieve the goal of being a carbon-neutral operator by 2050.

“Teck is taking significant steps to address climate change risks because we know all sectors, including mining, need to play an active role in contributing to solving the challenge of climate change,” said Marcia Smith, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs. “We are working to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, while at the same time rebalancing our portfolio towards copper, which is an essential metal for low-carbon technology and infrastructure.”

Portfolio Resiliency Analysis
Teck’s 2021 Climate Change Outlook Report outlines three different climate-related scenarios looking forward to 2040, helping to identify the range of future risks and opportunities to inform corporate strategy and risk management.

In all scenarios we see continued demand for the core minerals and metals Teck produces — copper, zinc and steelmaking coal — which are some of the basic building blocks of a low-carbon future. In particular, copper demand growth is directly tied to decarbonization, driven by growth in low-emissions vehicles, energy storage and transmission, improved energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. As a significant copper producer in the Americas with a strong pipeline of copper projects, Teck is well positioned to benefit from additional demand. Our QB2 project in Chile, currently under construction, will double our consolidated copper production when production starts in 2022.

Climate Action and Progress
Climate Change Outlook 2021 outlines Teck’s climate change strategy which includes producing the metals and minerals essential for a low-carbon future; reducing the carbon footprint of our operations and value chain; supporting broad-based and effective carbon pricing; and enhancing our resiliency to climate risks.

Teck has more than 10 years’ experience setting and achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and is committed to reducing our operational GHGs in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In 2020, we set an ambitious, long-term goal to become a carbon-neutral operator by 2050, with a shorter-term goal to reduce the carbon intensity of our operations by 33% by 2030. To realize this vision, we have set an initial roadmap with corresponding 2025 and 2030 goals, including procuring 50% of our electricity demands in Chile from clean energy by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

Teck is already among the world’s lowest carbon intensity producers for copper, steelmaking coal and zinc and lead production and has taken steps to further reduce carbon emissions. In 2020, we switched to 100% renewable power at our Carmen de Andacolla operation and entered into a power purchase agreement to procure over 50% of operational power needs at QB2 from renewable sources. In total, these will avoid approximately one million tonnes of GHG emissions annually, equivalent to the emissions from about 210,000 passenger vehicles.

For more information on our approach to reducing carbon emissions while remaining competitive in a low-carbon world and to download a copy of the report, visit our Taking Action on Climate Change page.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information as defined in the Securities Act (Ontario). These statements relate to future events or our future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: Teck's ability to create shareholder value; Teck's goal to be a carbon neutral operator by 2050; Teck’s rebalancing of its portfolio towards copper; Teck’s expectation of continued demand for the core minerals and metals Teck produces; the statement that Teck has a strong pipeline of copper projects and is well positioned to benefit from additional demand for copper; plans and ability to reduce the carbon footprint of Teck’s operations and value chain; Teck’s plans and ability to enhance resiliency to climate risks; Teck’s commitment to reduce operational GHGs in line with limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius; Teck’s expectation and ability to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency; statements relating to Teck's sustainability and climate action strategy goals and achieving reductions in GHG emissions and implementing renewable power generation. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on assumptions regarding our ability to achieve our climate goals and the impacts on our business, as well as the availability of technology on reasonable terms, among other matters. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Events or circumstances could cause actual results to vary materially. Factors that may cause actual results to vary include, but are not limited to, actual climate-change consequences, adequate technology not being available on adequate terms, changes in laws and governmental regulations and enforcement thereof that impact our operations or strategy, and alternatives displacing our commodity products. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under securities laws. Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements can be found in our Climate Change Outlook Report for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as our annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F, as well as subsequent filings under our profile.

About Teck
As one of Canada’s leading mining companies, Teck is committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, zinc, and steelmaking coal, as well as investments in energy assets. Green metals and high-quality steelmaking coal are required for the transition to a low-carbon world. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Teck’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TECK.A and TECK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TECK. Learn more about Teck at www.teck.com or follow @TeckResources.

Investor Contact:
Fraser Phillips
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis
604.699.4621
fraser.phillips@teck.com

Media Contact:
Chris Stannell
Public Relations Manager
604.699.4368
chris.stannell@teck.com

Not for Distribution to United States Newswire Services or for Dissemination in the United States

TORONTO, July 14, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sherritt International Corporation ("Sherritt" or the "Corporation") (TSX:S) will release its second quarter 2021 financial results after market close on July 29, 2021. Senior management will host a conference call and webcast on July 30, 2021 at 10:00 am ET to review Sherritt’s second quarter financial and operational performance.

Dial-in and Webcast Details:
North America dial-in number: 1 (888) 500-2295
International dial-in number: (438) 801-4078
Webcast and slide presentation: www.sherritt.com

Please dial in 15 minutes before the start of the conference to secure a line and avoid delays. Alternatively, listeners will be able to access the conference call via the webcast available on Sherritt’s website.

A copy of the webcast and replay of the conference call will be available on the website following the presentation.

About Sherritt
Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt – metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technologies Group creates innovative, proprietary solutions for oil and mining companies around the world to improve environmental performance and increase economic value. Sherritt is also the largest independent energy producer in Cuba. Sherritt’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "S".

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210714005095/en/

Contacts

Joe Racanelli, Director of Investor Relations
joe.racanelli@sherritt.com
(416) 935-2457

Grocery stores used to employ their own delivery drivers, paying unionized workers dependable wages; with DoorDash and Instacart signing deals with chains, those drivers see the end in sight.

TORONTO, July 14, 2021 /CNW/ – Adventus Mining Corporation ("Adventus") (TSXV: ADZN) (OTCQX: ADVZF) and Salazar Resources Limited ("Salazar") (TSXV: SRL) (collectively the "Partners") are pleased to announce that a binding letter of intent has been issued for the purchase of a worker housing facility for the future construction of the El Domo project in Ecuador.

In anticipation of the El Domo feasibility study completion in the fourth quarter of 2021 (the "Feasibility Study"), the Partners are continuing to advance detailed planning for the final engineering design and mine construction commencement beginning in 2022. The opportunity to advance-purchase construction camp facilities aligns with the El Domo development strategy and will provide housing for personnel during the construction and commissioning phases of the mine. The camp is a previously-owned facility, having most recently been used for the construction of a bridge near the Fruta del Norte mine in southeastern Ecuador.

The El Domo Feasibility Study continues to progress on budget and on schedule for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021. Adventus' Vice President of Projects, Dustin Small, commented, "We are very encouraged by the work completed on the Feasibility Study to date, and look forward to sharing the final results later this year. We are putting in significant effort now to enable Adventus to be in a position to immediately proceed with the execution phase of the project upon successful completion of the study."

Following finalization of the purchase contract expected in July, the camp facilities will be disassembled and warehoused in Quito until such time as it is required for the construction of the mine. The labour strategy for the construction phase of the project is to maximize the employment of skills and labour in the communities surrounding the El Domo deposit and greater Curipamba project area in central Ecuador. This approach was chosen to develop and support the local economy, and also provides logistical benefits to the project such as minimizing the camp size required to house non-local members of the workforce.

Following are some highlights of the work completed on the Feasibility Study to date:

• Environment & Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") contract awarded – The contract to prepare the ESIA for the project has been awarded to Ecuadorian environmental engineering consultant Cardno Entrix, who have been involved in the only three large scale mining ESIAs in Ecuador to date. Work on the ESIA commenced in June and is expected to be completed in September for submission to the government of Ecuador. As the primary permitting requirement for the project, this is a major step towards the ability to begin construction in 2022.

• Community consultations – In May, the first round of official community consultations were held about the upcoming construction and operational phases of the El Domo project, with a second consultation planned shortly. The first consultation was very well attended by over 300 community members in 11 different communities, and it was confirmed that employment opportunities and water management are the two most important topics from those who were in attendance.

• Mineral Resource estimate update – An update to the mineral resource estimate is currently underway and is expected to be completed in July. This will allow finalization of the Feasibility Study life of mine plan, the maiden estimate of Mineral Reserves, and the open pit design. With this engineering work in hand, final mine fleet size will be determined, and the Partners will engage with mining contractors who have affirmed interest for a long-term mining contract for life of mine operations.

• Metallurgical test work program nearing completion – The Feasibility Study metallurgical test work program has been underway since February and is anticipated to be completed in August. The latest program is focused on variability test work and confirmation of metallurgical performance using fresh ore from the recently completed infill drilling program at El Domo.

• Process plant design is complete – The process plant design proceeded in parallel with the metallurgical test work program and is now complete. Based on the test work results to date, it is very unlikely that any significant changes will be required. The facility is expected to have a design throughput capacity of 1,850 tonnes per day, and will be designed to produce three payable concentrates – copper, zinc, and lead.

• Mine site infrastructure – The majority of mine site infrastructure layout design has been completed, including the access road, haul roads, administration facilities, maintenance shops, warehousing, and power distribution system. Engineering work on the proposed tailings and surface water management facilities is in progress, which is expected to be completed in August.

• Early contractor engagement program – The Partners have engaged with several well-established Ecuadorian construction contractors to involve them early in the project, who in turn have provided exceptionally strong support by means of cost estimation, constructability reviews, labour/workforce strategy, and execution planning. Establishing these relationships early will help to streamline the transition from study to construction while also providing more certainty on both cost and schedule estimates for the Feasibility Study.

• Geotechnical drilling complete – All geotechnical drilling for the Feasibility Study has been completed, and the results are being used in the engineering design. No further drilling is required to complete the Feasibility Study.

• Execution plan development – A detailed project execution plan is under development that goes beyond the typical requirements for a feasibility study. The Partners are taking this approach to allow for a quick transition into execution once the Feasibility Study is complete and a construction decision is approved by the Adventus board. The Partners also intend to implement a detailed operational readiness program to ensure preparedness for eventual mine operations.

Qualified Persons
The technical and scientific information of this news release has been reviewed and approved as accurate by Mr. Dustin Small, P.Eng., Vice President of Projects for Adventus, a non-Independent Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101.

The previously published NI 43-101 Technical Report summarizing the results of the El Domo PEA is available on SEDAR with an effective date of June 14, 2019. A summary of the PEA results is also available in a news release dated May 2, 2019.

About Adventus
Adventus Mining Corporation is an Ecuador focused copper-gold exploration and development company. Its strategic shareholders include Altius Minerals Corporation, Greenstone Resources LP, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., and the Nobis Group of Ecuador. Adventus is advancing the El Domo copper-gold project through a feasibility study, while exploring the broader Curipamba district. In addition, Adventus is engaged in a country-wide exploration alliance with its partners in Ecuador, which has incorporated the Pijili and Santiago copper-gold porphyry projects to date. Adventus also controls an exploration project portfolio in Ireland with South32 Limited as funding partner as well as an investment portfolio of equities in several exploration companies. Adventus is based in Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ADZN and trades on the OTCQX under the symbol ADVZF.

About Salazar
Salazar Resources Limited is focused on creating value and positive change through discovery, exploration, and development in Ecuador. The team has an unrivalled understanding of the geology in-country and has played an integral role in the discovery of many of the major projects in Ecuador, including the two newest operating gold and copper mines. Salazar Resources has a wholly owned pipeline of copper-gold exploration projects across Ecuador with a strategy to make another commercial discovery and farm-out non-core assets. The Company actively engages with Ecuadorian communities and together with the Salazar family it co-founded The Salazar Foundation, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable progress through economic development. The Company already has carried interests in three projects. At its maiden discovery, Curipamba, Salazar Resources has a 25% stake fully carried through to production. At two copper-gold porphyry projects, Pijili and Santiago, the Company has a 20% stake fully carried through to a construction decision.

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 news release.

This press release contains "forward -looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that Adventus and Salazar expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future. Although Adventus and Salazar have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Adventus and Salazar undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Adventus Mining Corporation

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/14/c9938.html

KELOWNA, BC, July 13, 2021 /CNW/ – Cantex Mine Development Corp. (TSXV: CD) (the "Company") has released an update on the work program at its 100-percent-owned 14,077 hectare North Rackla claim block in the Yukon.

Dr. Charles Fipke reports

North Rackla Massive Sulphide Drilling Update

To date seven drill holes have been completed from pads MZ30 and MZ51 (refer to Figure 1 for pad locations and Figures 2 and 3 for the respective cross sections). Six of the seven holes intersected semi-massive to massive sulphides consisting of galena and sphalerite (lead and zinc containing minerals, respectively) which in holes YKDD21-184 and YKDD21-185 were oxidized. The longest logged mineralized intercept was 24.35m in hole YKDD21-189.

Core from the first five holes has been cut on site and sent to the labs for preparation and analysis. The next two holes are being prepared for shipment. The analytical results will be released when received.

North Rackla Regional Targets

The highest priority gold, copper and silver-lead-zinc anomalies are G04, G14, G38, G66 and G67 as assessed by geologist, Chad Ulansky. Their locations are presented in Figure 4. Structural mapping has been completed on the high-grade copper showing (anomaly G66) that consistently returned grades of up to 20.8% copper. In addition, anomaly G67 from which rock samples contained gold grades ranging from 1.36 g/tonne to 39.6 g/tonne has been preliminarily mapped.

Over the next week the remaining high priority targets will be reviewed and geologically mapped so that drill targets can be located. The objective will be to drill high priority targets in 2021.

The technical information and results reported here have been reviewed by Mr. Chad Ulansky P.Geol., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, who is responsible for the technical content of this release.

Signed,

Charles Fipke

Charles Fipke

Chairman

Neither 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. Information set forth in this news release includes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks identified in the management discussion and analysis section of the Company's interim and most recent annual financial statements or other reports and filings with Canadian securities regulators. Forward looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the respective companies undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Cantex Mine Development Corp.

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2021/13/c2526.html

GOLDEN, Colo., July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Golden Minerals Company (“Golden Minerals”, “Golden” or the “Company”) (NYSE American and TSX: AUMN) is pleased to report payable production for the second quarter 2021 of 3,634 gold equivalent ounces (“AuEq””) consisting of 3,452 gold ounces and 12,323 silver ounces from the first full quarter of production at its Rodeo gold-silver mine located in Durango State, Mexico. Compared to the first quarter 2021, payable AuEq production increased by 2,075 ounces or 133%. Gold equivalents are calculated at the realized metals prices shown below. Average Au grade processed during the second quarter increased to 3.6 g/t Au from 3.0 g/t in the first quarter 2021.

Golden Minerals’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Warren Rehn, added, “We are very pleased to report the first full quarter of production data from Rodeo. We completed the planned ramp-up of production during the second quarter, and after the regrind mill was installed at the end of April, plant throughput averaged over 500 tonnes per day in May and June combined. The Company remains on track to achieve our production guidance of between 12,000-14,000 oz gold and 25,000-30,000 oz silver for full year 2021.”

(1) Includes all mined material transported to the plant, stockpiled or designated as waste

(2) Includes mined material stockpiled at the mine or transported to the plant awaiting processing in the plant

(3) Material grading between 2 g/t (current cut-off grade) and 1 g/t Au held for possible future processing

(4) Gold equivalents based on realized $ Au and $ Ag price

Production began at Rodeo in January 2021, with a second ball mill installed and operating at the end of April which enabled the Company to easily exceed its targeted processing rate of 450 tonnes per day (“tpd”). As production ramped up in the second quarter, the Company saw a temporary drop in gold recovery from 84% in Q1 to 78% in Q2 related primarily to higher than planned throughput, which in turn yielded slightly coarser grind and lower gold recovery. The Company believes it will be able to improve gold recovery as it targets 550 tpd throughput and optimizes the operation of the leach and extraction circuits at the plant during the third quarter. Target recovery for gold as indicated in metallurgical test results is 85%.

About Golden Minerals

Golden Minerals is a growing gold and silver producer based in Golden, Colorado. The Company is primarily focused on producing gold and silver from its Rodeo Mine and advancing its Velardeña Properties in Mexico and, through partner funded exploration, its El Quevar silver property in Argentina, as well as acquiring and advancing selected mining properties in Mexico, Nevada and Argentina.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding projections related to production at the Rodeo operation for the full year 2021 and expectations regarding future improvements in gold recoveries. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the potential future re-suspension of non-essential activities in Mexico, including mining; lower than anticipated revenue or higher than anticipated costs at the Rodeo mine; declines in general economic conditions; changes in political conditions, in tax, royalty, environmental and other laws in the United States, Mexico or Argentina and other market conditions; and fluctuations in silver and gold prices. Golden Minerals assumes no obligation to update this information. Additional risks relating to Golden Minerals may be found in the periodic and current reports filed with the SEC by Golden Minerals, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

For additional information please visit http://www.goldenminerals.com/ or contact:

Golden Minerals Company
Karen Winkler, Director of Investor Relations
(303) 839-5060
SOURCE: Golden Minerals Company

Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the 'long' context, investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.

Even though momentum is a popular stock characteristic, it can be tough to define. Debate surrounding which are the best and worst metrics to focus on is lengthy, but the Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us.

Below, we take a look at Peabody Energy (BTU), a company that currently holds a Momentum Style Score of B. We also talk about price change and earnings estimate revisions, two of the main aspects of the Momentum Style Score.

It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. Peabody Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B outperform the market over the following one-month period.

You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>>

Set to Beat the Market?

In order to see if BTU is a promising momentum pick, let's examine some Momentum Style elements to see if this coal mining company holds up.

A good momentum benchmark for a stock is to look at its short-term price activity, as this can reflect both current interest and if buyers or sellers currently have the upper hand. It's also helpful to compare a security to its industry; this can show investors the best companies in a particular area.

For BTU, shares are up 29.07% over the past week while the Zacks Coal industry is up 1.1% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 20.48% compares favorably with the industry's 0.42% performance as well.

Considering longer term price metrics, like performance over the last three months or year, can be advantageous as well. Over the past quarter, shares of Peabody Energy have risen 172.8%, and are up 278.78% in the last year. In comparison, the S&P 500 has only moved 6.56% and 39.44%, respectively.

Investors should also pay attention to BTU's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. BTU is currently averaging 9,392,166 shares for the last 20 days.

Earnings Outlook

The Zacks Momentum Style Score also takes into account trends in estimate revisions, in addition to price changes. Please note that estimate revision trends remain at the core of Zacks Rank as well. A nice path here can help show promise, and we have recently been seeing that with BTU.

Over the past two months, 1 earnings estimate moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost BTU's consensus estimate, increasing from -$1.91 to -$0.69 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 1 estimate has moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period.

Bottom Line

Given these factors, it shouldn't be surprising that BTU is a #2 (Buy) stock and boasts a Momentum Score of B. If you're looking for a fresh pick that's set to soar in the near-term, make sure to keep Peabody Energy on your short list.

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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

VANCOUVER, BC, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) (TSX: PAAS) ("Pan American") will announce its unaudited results for the second quarter of 2021 after market close on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.

Pan American will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the second quarter 2021 results:

The live webcast, presentation slides and the Q2 2021 report will be available at panamericansilver.com. An archive of the webcast will also be available for three months.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American owns and operates silver and gold mines located in Mexico, Peru, Canada, Argentina and Bolivia. We also own the Escobal mine in Guatemala that is currently not operating. As the world's second largest primary silver producer with the largest silver reserve base globally, we provide enhanced exposure to silver in addition to a diversified portfolio of gold producing assets. Pan American has a 27-year history of operating in Latin America, earning an industry-leading reputation for corporate social responsibility, operational excellence and prudent financial management. We are headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and our shares trade on NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "PAAS".

Learn more at panamericansilver.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pan-american-silver-to-announce-second-quarter-2021-unaudited-results-on-august-10-conference-call-and-webcast-on-august-11-301333029.html

SOURCE Pan American Silver Corp.

Many prominent investors, including Warren Buffett, David Tepper and Stan Druckenmiller, have been cautious regarding the current bull market and missed out as the stock market reached another high in recent weeks. On the other hand, technology hedge funds weren't timid and registered double digit market beating gains. Financials, energy and industrial stocks initially suffered the most but many of these stocks delivered strong returns since November and hedge funds actually increased their positions in these stocks. In this article we will find out how hedge fund sentiment towards Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) changed recently.

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) was in 25 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. The all time high for this statistic is 26. RIO has seen a decrease in hedge fund interest in recent months. There were 26 hedge funds in our database with RIO holdings at the end of December. Our calculations also showed that RIO isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings).

Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Hedge funds have more than $3.5 trillion in assets under management, so you can't expect their entire portfolios to beat the market by large margins. Our research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 115 percentage points since March 2017 (see the details here). So you can still find a lot of gems by following hedge funds' moves today.

Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, economists warn of inflation flare up. So, we are checking out this backdoor gold play that has hit peak gains of 718% in a little over a year. We go through lists like the 10 best battery stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Now let's take a peek at the key hedge fund action surrounding Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO).

Do Hedge Funds Think RIO Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At Q1's end, a total of 25 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -4% from the fourth quarter of 2020. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in RIO over the last 23 quarters. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

More specifically, Fisher Asset Management was the largest shareholder of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO), with a stake worth $971.9 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Fisher Asset Management was Arrowstreet Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $285.7 million. Impala Asset Management, Masters Capital Management, and Impala Asset Management were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Impala Asset Management allocated the biggest weight to Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO), around 5.92% of its 13F portfolio. Impala Asset Management is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 4.68 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to RIO.

Judging by the fact that Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there was a specific group of funds that slashed their full holdings heading into Q2. Intriguingly, Josh Donfeld and David Rogers's Castle Hook Partners sold off the biggest investment of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling about $16.6 million in stock. Andrew Sandler's fund, Sandler Capital Management, also dropped its stock, about $16.5 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds heading into Q2.

Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO). We will take a look at Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY), The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), TOTAL S.A. (NYSE:TOT), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC), and The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD). This group of stocks' market valuations match RIO's market valuation.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SNY,15,1142178,0 SCHW,76,4905041,15 AMAT,78,5711193,17 TOT,17,1163601,3 IBM,41,1355701,-10 HSBC,12,234093,-2 TD,19,212935,-3 Average,36.9,2103535,2.9 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 36.9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $2104 million. That figure was $1597 million in RIO's case. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for RIO is 42.7. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 24% in 2021 through July 9th and beat the market by 6.7 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on RIO, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 10.7% since the end of Q1 (through July 9th) and outperformed the market.

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Point Roberts, Washington and Delta, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – July 13, 2021) – Investorideas.com, a global investor news source covering mining and metals stocks, releases today's edition of Exploring Mining Podcast, featuring an exclusive interview with the President, Chairman and CEO of Aurcana Silver Corporation (TSXV: AUN) (OTCQX: AUNFF).

Listen to the podcast:

https://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Podcasts/2021/071221-Mining.mp3

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Listen to Exploring Mining on Spotify

Investorideas caught up with Kevin Drover, President, Chairman and CEO of Aurcana Silver Corporation (TSXV: AUN) (OTCQX: AUNFF), who explained that the company's flagship Revenue-Virginius polymetallic mine in Ouray, Colorado is making significant headway with great expectations in the coming months.

"We're well on our way to getting ourselves back into production," he said. "We're looking at right around the end of this month for starting back again and being cash flow positive in September. And of course, one of the things that we were all waiting for here is our underground mine development – to be able to access our ore body, or in our particular case, it's a vein system."

Aurcana recently reported results of the first assays after accessing the Virginius Vein. Drover explained how they exceeded the company's expectations.

"We are very pleasantly surprised that the grades are quite good," he said. "We're looking at an average grade on the vein of about 38 ounces per tonne and the vein width is at 2.5 feet. In this particular area of the vein we were expecting about a 1.4 foot width and I think about 24 ounces per tonne of silver, so it's very good to see those higher assays and we're quite excited. Within that 2.5 feet, we also have about 0.6 feet of almost 86 ounces per tonne, so very high grade material."

Drover also affirmed the company's robust cash position, at present.

"[Our] cash position as of today is about $23 million," he said. "We certainly expect that we will not have to go back to the market for any further funding. It looks like we have a very good cushion of somewhere around $12-$15 million."

Drover outlined Aurcana's roadmap toward full production of 270 short tonnes per day (stpd), by this September.

"We're looking at putting first ore through the mill in late July and ramping up production through the month of August," he said. "We said we'd be between 110-115 tonnes per day during the month of August and being at full production – as per our feasibility study – of 270 tonnes per day in September. And at the same time in September, we expect to be cash flow positive as well."

As well as Revenue-Virginius, Drover noted that Aurcana looks forward to activating its Shafter silver project, in Presidio County, southwest Texas.

"Beyond that, we're looking at organic growth," he said. "And of course, in 2023 we hope to have the Shafter project come online and add an additional 2.50-3 million ounces and get us into that mid-tier producer status."

ABOUT AURCANA SILVER CORPORATION http://www.aurcana.com/

Aurcana Silver Corporation owns the Revenue Mine, in Colorado, and the Shafter-Presidio Silver Project in Texas, US. The primary mineral resource at both the Shafter-Presidio Project and the Revenue Mine is silver. Both are fully permitted for production.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced today its plans to host a virtual Investor Day on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

Albemarle CEO Kent Masters and CFO Scott Tozier will present alongside other members of Albemarle's executive management team, providing insights related to strategies and goals for the overall company and specific business units. The presentation will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to conclude at approximately 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Registration for the event can be found here.

A live audio webcast of this event will be available on Albemarle's website at http://investors.albemarle.com and by phone. Further details will be shared as the event date approaches.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company with leading positions in lithium, bromine, and catalysts. We think beyond business-as-usual to power the potential of companies in many of the world's largest and most critical industries, such as energy, electronics, and transportation. We actively pursue a sustainable approach to managing our diverse global footprint of world-class resources. In conjunction with our highly experienced and talented global teams, our deep-seated values, and our collaborative customer relationships, we create value-added and performance-based solutions that enable a safer and more sustainable future.

We regularly post information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, non-GAAP reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding our company, its businesses and the markets it serves.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/albemarle-corporation-to-host-2021-investor-day-on-friday-sept-10-2021-301332954.html

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Standard Lithium Ltd. (“Standard Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSXV: SLI) (NYSE American: SLI) (FRA: S5L), an innovative technology and lithium project development company, is pleased to announce that its common shares have commenced trading on the NYSE American LLC (the “NYSE American”) as of the market open today, July 13, 2021.

The Company now trades on both the NYSE American and the TSX Venture Exchange under the new ticker symbol “SLI”. The NYSE American listing and change in ticker symbol does not require any action by current shareholders. There is no change in the name or CUSIP of the Company, and no consolidation of share capital, in connection with the NYSE American listing.

About Standard Lithium Ltd.

Standard Lithium is an innovative technology and lithium development company. The company's flagship project is located in southern Arkansas, where it is engaged in the testing and proving of the commercial viability of lithium extraction from over 150,000 acres of permitted brine operations. The company has commissioned its first-of-a-kind industrial-scale direct lithium extraction demonstration plant at Lanxess's south plant facility in southern Arkansas. The demonstration plant utilizes the company's proprietary LiSTR technology to selectively extract lithium from Lanxess's tail brine. The demonstration plant is being used for proof-of-concept and commercial feasibility studies. The scalable, environmentally friendly process eliminates the use of evaporation ponds, reduces processing time from months to hours and greatly increases the effective recovery of lithium. The company is also pursuing the resource development of over 30,000 acres of separate brine leases located in southwestern Arkansas and approximately 45,000 acres of mineral leases located in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino county, California.

Standard Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the NYSE American under the trading symbol “SLI”; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “S5L”. Please visit the Company’s website at www.standardlithium.com.

On behalf of the Board of Standard Lithium Ltd.

Robert Mintak, CEO & Director

For further information, contact Anthony Alvaro at (604) 240 4793

Twitter @standardlithium

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-lithium/

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “schedule” and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to future prices of commodities, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, reserves or resources, regulatory or government requirements or approvals, the reliability of third party information, continued access to mineral properties or infrastructure, fluctuations in the market for lithium and its derivatives, changes in exploration costs and government regulation in Canada and the United States, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 13, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp" or the "Corporation") (TSX Venture Exchange: FNC) is pleased to announce that it has closed the Royalty Purchase Agreement with Champion Iron Mines Limited ("Champion"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Champion Iron Limited (TSX: CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX: CIAFF), as previously announced (see news release dated July 8, 2021), relating to the sale to Champion of certain iron ore royalties as well as the exploration property known as Lac Lamêlée (the "Transaction").

The Corporation received cash consideration of $1.3 million at closing and is entitled to receive certain future finite production payments payable once certain iron ore production thresholds have been achieved from the Fermont Properties subject to this agreement. Champion also acquired the Corporation’s ownership interest in the Lac Lamêlée property and a 1.5% Net Smelter Return royalty interest in the Corporation’s O’Keefe-Purdy, Harvey-Tuttle, Bellechasse, Oil Can, Fire Lake North Consolidated, Peppler Lake and Moiré Lake properties.

In addition to the cash payment received by Fancamp, the Transaction is expected to provide Fancamp and its shareholders with greater long-term certainty with respect to future income related to the Corporation’s iron ore properties, as well as greater flexibility and opportunity for earlier development of these deposits.

About Fancamp Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: FNC)

Fancamp is a growing Canadian mineral exploration corporation dedicated to its value-added strategy of advancing mineral properties through exploration and development. The Corporation owns numerous mineral resource properties in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, including gold, rare earth metals, strategic and base metals, zinc, chromium, titanium and more. Fancamp is also building on the industrial possibilities inherent in dealing with some of these materials, notable being the development of its Titanium technology strategy. It has recently announced the acquisition of ScoZinc Mining Ltd., a Canadian exploration and mining corporation that has full ownership of the Scotia Mine and related facilities near Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as several prospective exploration licenses in surrounding regions. The Corporation is managed by a new and focused leadership team with decades of mining, exploration and complementary technology experience.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements which are not comprised of historical facts and that constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Fancamp’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Fancamp or its management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", "foresees" or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on multiple factors, assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Fancamp, Fancamp provides no assurance that actual results will meet the management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially or simply fail to materialize from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information and statements relating to future benefits arising from the Agreement and the development and future production of the relevant mining properties. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Fancamp’s expectations include, among others, uncertainties relating to the development of the relevant mining properties and risks relating to the terms and duration of any government orders suspending or limiting operations that are applicable to Fancamp or the relevant mining properties; the responses of relevant governments to the COVID-19 outbreak and the effectiveness of such responses, political, economic, environmental and permitting risks, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions, environmental and permitting restrictions and liabilities, the inability of Fancamp to raise capital or secure necessary financing in the future, as well as factors discussed in the section entitled "Risks and Uncertainties" in Fancamp’s management’s discussion and analysis of Fancamp’s financial statements for the period ended January 31, 2021. Although Fancamp has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Fancamp considers its assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, but there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713006089/en/

Contacts

For Further Information
Rajesh Sharma, Chief Executive Officer
+1 (604) 434 8829
info@fancamp.ca

Debra Chapman, Chief Financial Officer
+1 (604) 434 8829
info@fancamp.ca

Media Contact
Hyunjoo Kim
Director, Communication, Marketing & Digital Strategy
Kingsdale Advisors
Phone: 416-867-2357
Cell: 416-899-6463
Email: hkim@kingsdaleadvisors.com

Insider Monkey has processed numerous 13F filings of hedge funds and successful value investors to create an extensive database of hedge fund holdings. The 13F filings show the hedge funds' and successful investors' positions as of the end of the fourth quarter. You can find articles about an individual hedge fund's trades on numerous financial news websites. However, in this article we will take a look at their collective moves over the last 6 years and analyze what the smart money thinks of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) based on that data.

Is Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) a healthy stock for your portfolio? Prominent investors were buying. The number of bullish hedge fund bets increased by 4 lately. Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) was in 27 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2021. The all time high for this statistic is 27. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all time high. Our calculations also showed that SCCO isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings). There were 23 hedge funds in our database with SCCO positions at the end of the fourth quarter.

In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at present, Our experts choose to focus on the bigwigs of this group, around 850 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors orchestrate the majority of the smart money's total asset base, and by following their first-class stock picks, Insider Monkey has identified many investment strategies that have historically outperformed the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey's flagship short hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 short ETFs by around 20 percentage points per annum since its inception in March 2017. Also, our monthly newsletter's portfolio of long stock picks returned 206.8% since March 2017 (through May 2021) and beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 115 percentage points. You can download a sample issue of this newsletter on our website .

Michael Gelband of ExodusPoint Capital

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, economists warn of inflation flare up. So, we are checking out this backdoor gold play that has hit peak gains of 718% in a little over a year. We go through lists like the 10 best battery stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Keeping this in mind let's take a peek at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO).

Do Hedge Funds Think SCCO Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At the end of March, a total of 27 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 19 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in SCCO a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

More specifically, Fisher Asset Management was the largest shareholder of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO), with a stake worth $270.7 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Fisher Asset Management was Arrowstreet Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $160.6 million. Millennium Management, D E Shaw, and Capital Growth Management were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Capital Growth Management allocated the biggest weight to Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO), around 2.08% of its 13F portfolio. Quantamental Technologies is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 1.11 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to SCCO.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the most outsized position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO). Millennium Management had $37 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Heebner's Capital Growth Management also made a $22.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint Capital, Ryan Tolkin (CIO)'s Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, and Qing Li's Sciencast Management.

Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) but similarly valued. These stocks are The Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE:BX), Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW), Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC), Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ:VOD), Aon plc (NYSE:AON), and Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG). This group of stocks' market values are closest to SCCO's market value.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BX,49,1626408,-5 MRNA,39,1640099,-2 EW,36,1462451,-2 HMC,12,432850,0 VOD,17,775060,0 AON,72,7767726,9 PHG,11,104193,3 Average,33.7,1972684,0.4 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 33.7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1973 million. That figure was $590 million in SCCO's case. Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for SCCO is 52.1. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 24% in 2021 through July 9th and surpassed the market again by 6.7 percentage points. Unfortunately SCCO wasn't nearly as popular as these 5 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); SCCO investors were disappointed as the stock returned -3.1% since the end of March (through 7/9) and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds as most of these stocks already outperformed the market in 2021.

Get real-time email alerts: Follow Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO)

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Lithium Americas shows rising price performance, earning an upgrade to its IBD Relative Strength Rating from 76 to 88.

TORONTO, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) reports consolidated production for Q2 2021 was 31,700 gold ounces and 611,800 silver ounces, or 40,800 gold equivalent ounces⁽¹⁾(“GEOs”), compared to 19,200 GEOs in Q2 2020. Overall production from our operations is on track with our previously announced 2021 production guidance.

Consolidated Production Summary

Gold Bar Mine, Nevada (100%)

During the quarter, Gold Bar produced 14,100 GEOs, compared to 6,100 GEOs in Q2 2020.

Black Fox Mine, Timmins, Canada (100%)

Black Fox produced 7,100 GEOs during the period, compared to 2,200 GEOs for Q2 2020. Mining at Black Fox has begun transitioning to the Froome deposit, where a progressive ramp-up is planned through Q3, with commercial production expected in Q4.

San José Mine, Santa Cruz, Argentina (49%⁽²⁾)

During Q2, San José produced 9,300 gold ounces and 607,000 silver ounces, for a total of 18,300 GEOs, compared to 9,000 GEOs in Q2 2020. The Company received $2.5 million in dividends during the quarter.

El Gallo Project, Sinaloa, Mexico (100%)

In Q2, El Gallo produced 1,300 GEOs from residual leaching of the heap leach pad.

Financial Results

Operating costs for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 will be released with our 10-Q Quarterly Financial Statements. Liquid assets⁽³⁾ as of June 30, 2021 were approximately $44 million.

Notes:
(1) 'Gold Equivalent Ounces' are calculated based on a gold to silver price ratio of 94:1 for Q1 2020, 104:1 for Q2 2020, 68:1 for Q1 2021, and 68:1 for Q2 2021.
(2) The San José Mine is 49% owned by McEwen Mining Inc. and 51% owned and operated by Hochschild Mining plc.
(3) The term liquid assets used in this report is a non-GAAP financial measure. We report this measure to better understand our liquidity in each reporting period. Liquid assets are calculated as the sum of the Balance Sheet line items of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments, plus ounces of doré held in precious metals inventories valued at the London PM Fix spot price at the corresponding period.

Technical Information
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Peter Mah, P.Eng., COO of McEwen Mining and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects."

Reliability of Information Regarding San José
Minera Santa Cruz S.A., the owner of the San José Mine, is responsible for and has supplied to the Company all reported results from the San José Mine. McEwen Mining’s joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Hochschild Mining plc, and its affiliates other than MSC do not accept responsibility for the use of project data or the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement.

The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by the management of McEwen Mining Inc.

ABOUT MCEWEN MINING

McEwen Mining is a diversified gold and silver producer and explorer focused in the Americas with operating mines in Nevada, Canada, Mexico and Argentina.

Figure 1

Map depicting select mineralized zones at Plata in relation to the Plata Thrust Fault and the Aho Zone

TORONTO, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Honey Badger Silver Inc. (TSX-V: TUF) (“Honey Badger Silver” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it will be initiating a work program at its newly-acquired, 100%-owned, 5,690 hectare Plata Silver Property (“Plata”) located in east-central Yukon.

The Plata Silver Property lies within the Tintina Gold Belt and displays a number of similarities to the world-class Keno Hill Silver Mining Camp, Canada’s second largest primary producer of silver with production from approximately thirty-five vein deposits between 1913 and 1989.

Plata Property Highlights:

• Historic surface trenching and shallow drilling has identified thirty-two (32) known mineralized zones, comprising high-grade silver, gold, lead and zinc-bearing veins and stockwork zones;

• Several areas of the property were mined historically for high-grade silver and yielded 9,020 kg (290,000 oz) of silver from a reported 2,041 tonnes of hand sorted material, equivalent to a recovered silver grade of approximately 4,420 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.

Historic drilling to date has demonstrated potential for continuous mineralization over a strike length of nearly 800 metres at the Aho Zone (Figure 1). This zone is a semi-continuous mineralized system developed within the plane of the Plata Thrust Fault that extends intermittently over a total strike length of 800 metres and to a maximum of 580 metres downdip and remains open to extension along strike and downdip.

Plata Phase 1 Program

The primary objective of the Phase 1 program planned for this summer is to complete detailed mapping and rock and channel sampling at several priority target zones at Plata in order to better understand structural controls of silver mineralization. This will provide valuable insight for eventual drill hole targeting.

The secondary objective of the Phase 1 program will be to better define the full extent of mineralization at Plata. Towards this end, soil grids will be completed in previously unsampled areas to more thoroughly define anomalous geochemical zones and trends.

The Company has engaged Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited, the established leader in Yukon mineral discoveries, to oversee the work program.

About the Plata Silver Property

Historic exploration at the Plata Silver Property from 1969 to 2011 identified thirty-two (32) known mineralized zones, extending over a 2.5 kilometre area, hosting narrow high-grade silver, gold, lead and zinc-bearing veins and stockworks. Mineralization at Plata is believed to be associated with hydrothermal fluids related to the Tombstone intrusive suite and bears similarities to the prolific Keno Hill Silver Mining Camp, Canada’s second largest primary producer of silver with production from approximately thirty-five (35) vein deposits between 1913 and 1989.

High priority target areas at Plata include:

• P-4 Zone: The P-4 Zone has undergone more extensive drilling relative to other targets at Plata and demonstrates continuous mineralization over 200 metres of strike length that remains open in all directions. Average grades and widths from fourteen (14) core drill holes in 1987 were 1.9 metres grading 337 g/t silver, 3.65 g/t gold, 1.59% lead and 1.7% zinc.

• P-3 Zone: At the P-3 Zone, rock samples have returned extremely high gold assays (up to 78.3 g/t) and chip sampling returned 1.96 metres grading 2,383 g/t silver, 9.85 g/t gold and 7% lead.

• P-6 Zone: Drilling in 2011 confirmed the continuity of significant polymetallic silver mineralization at depth and laterally over a strike length of 150 metres. Highlighted drill intercepts include 1.0 metre grading 1,655 g/t silver and 1.09% zinc, and 6.63 metres grading 164 g/t tonne silver and 2.34% zinc. Veining mapped at surface and anomalous soil geochemistry suggest the P-6 structure may extend for 500 metres to the northwest.

• P-2 Zone: Detailed trenching of the P-2 Zone returned a weighted average of 812 g/t silver, 24.48% lead and 17.02% zinc across an average width of 1.93 metres for a strike length of 85 metres. Drill holes targeting the P-2 Zone yielded intercepts of up to 1,060 g/t silver and 3.86% zinc over 0.87 metres and 110 g/t silver and 39.77% zinc over 0.93 metres.

Importantly, drilling from 2008 to 2011 has demonstrated that the P-3 and P-4 veins are part of a larger, semi-continuous, mineralized system referred to as the Aho Zone, which is developed within the plane of the Plata Thrust Fault and varies from 0.3 to 3.0 metres in width. This zone extends intermittently over a total strike length of 800 metres and to a maximum of 580 metres downdip and remains open to extension along strike and downdip (Figure 1).

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Heather Burrell, P.Geo., a geologist with Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited and qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.

For more information, please visit our new website at http://www.honeybadgersilver.com.
Or contact: Ms. Christina Slater at cslater@honeybadgersilver.com.

About Honey Badger Silver Inc.

Honey Badger Silver is a Canadian silver company based in Toronto, Ontario focused on the acquisition, development, and integration of accretive transactions of silver ounces. The company is led by a highly experienced leadership team with a track record of value creation backed by a skilled technical team. With a dominant land position in Ontario’s historic Thunder Bay Silver District and advanced projects in the southeast and south-central Yukon, Honey Badger Silver is positioning to be a top tier silver company.
The Company’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “TUF”.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required.

Figure 1: Map depicting select mineralized zones at Plata in relation to the Plata Thrust Fault and the Aho Zone is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/18c1d482-4acb-4608-bf86-03b27c21e5cc

We at Insider Monkey have gone over 866 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st. In this article, we look at what those funds think of EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) based on that data.

EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) was in 28 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. The all time high for this statistic was previously 26. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all time high. Our calculations also showed that ENS isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings).

Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by 115 percentage points since March 2017 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.

Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, economists warn of inflation flare up. So, we are checking out this backdoor gold play that has hit peak gains of 718% in a little over a year. We go through lists like the 10 best battery stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Keeping this in mind let's take a look at the key hedge fund action surrounding EnerSys (NYSE:ENS).

Do Hedge Funds Think ENS Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 28 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ENS over the last 23 quarters. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

The largest stake in EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) was held by Hill City Capital, which reported holding $20 million worth of stock at the end of December. It was followed by ACK Asset Management with a $17 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included One Fin Capital Management, AQR Capital Management, and Skylands Capital. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position ACK Asset Management allocated the biggest weight to EnerSys (NYSE:ENS), around 6.77% of its 13F portfolio. Hill City Capital is also relatively very bullish on the stock, designating 6.12 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to ENS.

As industrywide interest jumped, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Engineers Gate Manager, managed by Greg Eisner, created the most valuable position in EnerSys (NYSE:ENS). Engineers Gate Manager had $0.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Karim Abbadi and Edward McBride's Centiva Capital also made a $0.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ENS positions are Parvinder Thiara's Athanor Capital, Minhua Zhang's Weld Capital Management, and Jinghua Yan's TwinBeech Capital.

Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Umpqua Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UMPQ), Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF), Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS), Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR), New Jersey Resources Corp (NYSE:NJR), Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ:LEGN), and Red Rock Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRR). This group of stocks' market values match ENS's market value.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UMPQ,25,245140,2 BHF,28,539727,-5 GKOS,18,47095,5 SR,9,20905,-6 NJR,12,26762,-1 LEGN,12,315484,-1 RRR,28,607053,2 Average,18.9,257452,-0.6 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $257 million. That figure was $120 million in ENS's case. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for ENS is 89. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 24% in 2021 through July 9th and beat the market again by 6.7 percentage points. Unfortunately ENS wasn't nearly as popular as these 5 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ENS were disappointed as the stock returned 7.3% since the end of March (through 7/9) and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds as many of these stocks already outperformed the market since 2019.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

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COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, July 13, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) today announced its preliminary silver and gold production for the second quarter of 2021.¹

HIGHLIGHTS

• Silver production of 3.5 million ounces, an increase of 4% due to full production at Lucky Friday.

• Gold production of 59,139 ounces, a decrease of 1%.

• Zinc production decreased 4% due to lower grades at Greens Creek and lead production increased 29% due to Lucky Friday production.

• Production of all metals was higher than the first quarter of 2021.

• Silver equivalent production of 10.1 million ounces or gold equivalent production of 148,161 ounces.²

• Quarter-end cash position of approximately $181 million.

"With steady growth in silver production at the Lucky Friday Mine and solid operating performance from our Greens Creek Mine, we achieved our second highest quarterly silver production since 2016," said Hecla’s President and CEO, Phillips S. Baker, Jr. "This strong performance combined with steady prices delivered an increase of approximately $41 million in cash, the fifth consecutive quarter of increasing cash reserves and one of the highest increases in Hecla’s history. With the Company’s U.S. vaccination rate higher than the U.S. average including Greens Creek at a nearly 90% vaccination rate, and Casa Berardi vaccinations increasing, we expect to build on these results."

OPERATIONS

Greens Creek

At the Greens Creek Mine, 2.6 million ounces of silver and 12,859 ounces of gold were produced. The decrease in silver production compared to the second quarter of 2020 was due to lower grades resulting from mine sequencing. The mill operated at an average of 2,362 tons per day (tpd).

Casa Berardi

At the Casa Berardi Mine, 31,332 ounces of gold were produced. The increase in gold ounces compared to the second quarter of 2020 was due to higher mill throughput, partially offset by lower grades. The mill operated at an average of 4,117 tpd.

1. See cautionary statement regarding preliminary statements at the end of this release.

2. Silver and gold equivalent calculation based on average actual prices for each metal in the first quarter as follows: $26.70 for Ag, $1,816 for Au, $0.96 for Pb, and $1.32 for Zn.

Lucky Friday

At the Lucky Friday Mine, 913,294 ounces of silver were produced in the quarter, an increase of 95% compared to the second quarter of 2020 due to the return to full production in the fourth quarter of 2020. The mill operated at an average of 906 tpd.

Nevada Operations

At the Nevada operations, 14,947 ounces of gold and 45,125 ounces of silver were produced from processing previously stockpiled ore, including oxide material processed at the Midas mill and a bulk sample of refractory material processed at a third-party facility. With the completion of processing the oxide material, the Fire Creek Mine and Midas mill were placed on care and maintenance during the quarter. In the second half of 2021, approximately 10,000 tons of refractory material is expected to be processed as a test at a third-party autoclave facility. Development for the Hatter Graben deposit at Hollister and exploration at Midas are ongoing.

PRODUCTION SUMMARY

1. At the Nevada operations, stockpiled ore milled in the second quarter of 2021.

STRENGTHENING THE BALANCE SHEET

Cash and cash equivalents are expected to be approximately $181 million as of June 30, 2021, with the revolving line of credit undrawn.

ABOUT HECLA

Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is the largest silver producer in the United States. In addition to operating mines in Alaska, Idaho, and Quebec, Canada, the Company owns a number of exploration and pre-development projects in world-class silver and gold mining districts throughout North America.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Estimates and Forward-Looking Statements

All measures of the Company's second quarter 2021 operating and financial results and conditions contained in this release are preliminary and reflect the Company’s expected results as of the date of this release. Actual reported second quarter 2021 results are subject to management's final review as well as review by the Company's independent registered accounting firm and may vary significantly from current expectations because of a number of factors, including, without limitation, additional or revised information and changes in accounting standards or policies or in how those standards are applied.

Statements made or information provided in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Words such as "may", "will", "should", "expects", "intends", "projects", "believes", "estimates", "targets", "anticipates" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, without limitations, in the second half of 2021, approximately 10,000 tons of refractory material is expected to be processed as a test at a third-party autoclave facility. The material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information include that the Company’s plans for development and production will proceed as expected and will not require revision as a result of risks or uncertainties, whether known, unknown or unanticipated, to which the Company’s operations are subject.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected, or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price volatility, volatility of metals production and costs, litigation, regulatory and environmental risks, operating risks, project development risks, political risks, labor issues, ability to raise financing and exploration risks and results. Refer to the Company's Form 10-K and 10-Q reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation and has no intention of updating forward-looking statements other than as may be required by law.

Category: Press Release

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005343/en/

Contacts

Russell Lawlar
Sr. Vice President – CFO and Treasurer

Jeanne DuPont
Senior Communications Coordinator

800-HECLA91 (800-432-5291)
Investor Relations
Email: hmc-info@hecla-mining.com
Website: www.hecla-mining.com

The latest sizzling Consumer Price Index (CPI) may not tell the whole story on the inflationary outlook as a rebounding U.S. economy rounds the corner into the second half of the year, but big food makers like PepsiCo do. 

Headline consumer prices rose 0.9% in June compared to May, accelerating from May's 0.6% monthly increase. CPI increased 5.4% from a year ago — marking the biggest rise since 2008. Gains were seen in everything from used cars to women's dresses to food. The core consumer price index for June, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 4.5% over last year. This marked the fastest rise since 1991.

"Price increases stemming from the reopening of the economy and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks will keep the rate of inflation elevated and sticky as supply/demand imbalances are only gradually resolved," said Greg Daco, Oxford Economics' chief U.S. economist. 

But for a truer picture on what may be ahead on the inflationary front, investors would be wise to check out the latest from the country's biggest food makers, as opposed to just relying on the CPI. 

Most food producers are dealing with significant inflation in labor and transportation, and are eyeing new rounds of price increases into year-end in a bid to protect profits. Generally, these price increases are far in advance of the headline readings for the CPI and many of its components.

Here are three of the latest examples. 

PepsiCo

After an impressive second quarter on the back of resurgent demand for beverages and snacks outside of one's home, PepsiCo (PEP) is looking at more price increases to help offset high levels of inflation borne from the pandemic recovery. 

"The way we think about pricing is really a reflection of the investments we make in our brands and the innovation that we have because those are the things consumers are willing to pay more for. We think of it as connected to delivering value to consumers. Obviously with cost pressures it puts that much more pressure on pricing," PepsiCo Vice Chairman and CFO Hugh Johnston told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday. 

[Read more: PepsiCo expects to 'take good, strong price increases' this year because of inflation]

PepsiCo clobbered analyst forecasts for the second quarter and raised its full-year profit outlook, so it does appear consumers have accepted the company's price increases. How they will respond to more price increases later this year is anyone's guess.

Conagra Brands

The king of frozen food is teeing up more price increases of its own after inflation hammered profits in the most recent quarter. Adjusted operating profit margins for the quarter fell 311 basis points from a year ago in large part because of inflationary pressures, Conagra Brands (CAG) said Tuesday. Operating profits fell in all business segments vs. a year ago, save for food service. 

"As the fourth quarter unfolded, input cost inflation accelerated and we now expect fiscal 2022 input cost inflation to be materially higher than we anticipated at the end of fiscal Q3. In response, we have further enhanced the aggressive and comprehensive action plan already being executed, which includes broad-based pricing. While we are pleased with the initial results, there will be a lag between the time we are hit with higher costs and when we realize the benefits of our actions," said Conagra Brands CEO Sean Connolly. 

Despite the price increases, Conagra was still forced to slash its full-year profit outlook. 

For its current fiscal year, Conagra now sees adjusted earnings per share of $2.50. Previously, it forecast full-year earnings of $2.63 to $2.73.

General Mills

The cereal and snack maker has been hesitant to say how much it has raised prices, and by how much it will move forward. But it's being hit by inflation like its food peers, and is prepared to act further. 

"So we're very well aligned with our customers, not only on the demand environment, but also the cost environment," General Mills (GIS) CEO Jeff Harmening told investors on an earnings call in late June. "They see the same cost pressures we do. And we've instituted pricing in the vast majority of our categories and markets throughout the world. And while no one wants to increase prices, we've had to do that because the cost environment is what it is. And we have found them to be understanding because they're in the same kind of boat that we are." 

General Mills' fiscal fourth quarter adjusted operating profits fell 18% year-over-year, quicker than the 10% drop in sales as inflation reared its ugly head. Even with its price increases, General Mills sees full fiscal-year adjusted earnings staying unchanged to falling 2% year-over-year. 

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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For the retail investor, making sense of the markets and finding the right investment is naturally the key to long-term profits. For many such investors, the strategy of choice is following the insiders.

While ‘insiders’ may have a bad sound, suggesting below-board dealing to score dishonest wins, it really means something much simpler, and fundamentally honest. Insiders are corporate officers, in positions of trust with their companies, and their offices give them access to information that ordinary investors haven’t got. It’s human nature for them to trade on that information; to keep a level playing field, the regulators require such insiders to frequently publish their stock trading activity.

That last makes it possible for quick-witted investors to trade like the insiders. By watching the insiders’ stock moves, retail investors can gain the benefit of the insiders’ knowledge – and trade accordingly.

With that in the background, we’ve made use of the TipRanks stock data tools to find stocks that show solid signs of informative buys from the insiders. These are two very different companies – but they both show strong upside potential for the coming year. Let’s take a closer look into the data and the analyst commentary.

Piedmont Lithium, Ltd. (PLL)

we'll open up our look at recent insider trades with Piedmont Lithium. Piedmont is an Australian company that recently re-domiciled to the US, in a move designed to put the company’s headquarters in the same country as the majority of its assets. Those assets are mines, based in a large production area of North Carolina and harboring an estimated 39.2 metric tons of lithium oxide in a 1.09% grade ore. Piedmont is developing the area in preparation for mining activities, with the goal of producing lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient in the production of lithium ion batteries.

Batteries, of course, are a massive industry in today’s world. Everything from the smartphone in your pocket to the laptop on your desk to the electric car or bike in your garage runs on batteries – and lithium ion batteries are the most common type. A company that can fill that need will build itself a solid foundation. And, in addition to the battery market, lithium hydroxide has applications in other fields; it is used in Portland cement, carbon dioxide scrubbing technology, and lubricating grease.

As part of Piedmont’s re-domiciling, the company put 1.75 million American Depositary Shares on the NASDAQ during the first quarter of the year. Each ADS represented 100 of its ordinary shares, and the offering brought in gross proceeds totaling $122.5 million.

In recent weeks, Piedmont has been expanding operations. On June 8, the company announced increased activity in production of mineral resources, including quartz, feldspar, and mica. Mining activity in these minerals targets a 40% increase in output. Later in June, Piedmont and its partner – Sayona Quebec, in which Piedmont owns a 25% stake – received approval from Quebec’s Superior Court to acquire North American Lithium. The acquisition will cost Piedmont C$23.5 million, in proportion to its share of Sayona. And finally, in the first week of July, Piedmont announced that it will acquire more than 9% of IronRidge Resources, and 50% interest in that company’s Ghana-based lithium production. The goal is to become the largest American producer of lithium hydroxide.

Turning to the insider moves, we see that the insider sentiment is positive. This is based on two recent informative buys, by board members Susan Jones and Jeffrey Armstrong. Jones purchased 4,000 shares of PLL, for $292,240, while Armstrong picked up 2,500 shares for $174,025. For Armstrong, the purchase added to his existing holdings, and his stake in the company now totals over $1.42 million.

Covering PLL for Evercore ISI, analyst Stephen Richardson thinks the company is well-placed to succeed, writing, “Piedmont is an early-stage project company positioned to address the pending supply gap facing the battery materials market. Core to value is a well-defined, domestic, hard rock lithium hydroxide mine + chemical plant in a proven and historically important supply basin (North Carolina)… Our view is steady progress towards major milestones (+ additional commercial clarity surrounding hydroxide sales / partnerships) should see the stock narrow the gap to NAV over time (and the NAV grow). The fundamental backdrop for lithium hydroxide price is strong, and we see PLL as a call on higher prices."

In light of these comments, Richardson puts an Outperform (i.e., a Buy) rating on PLL, and his $95 price target suggests an upside of 30% for the next 12 months. (To watch Richardson’s track record, click here.)

Based on Buys only – 3, in total – Piedmont has a Strong Buy consensus rating, showing agreement on the Street regarding the company’s forward outlook. PLL shares are trading for $72.95 and have an average price target of $88.33, implying a one-year upside of 21%. (See Piedmont’s stock analysis at TipRanks.)

FG New American Acquisition (FGNA)

The next stock we’re looking at couldn’t be more different from Piedmont. FG New American Acquisition is a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). SPACs are companies formed for the express purpose of raising capital, locating a target company, buying it out – and taking it public. SPACs offer a route to the public stock markets for smaller firms that may not otherwise be able to conduct an IPO on their own. The popularity of SPACs can be seen in the huge sums they have been raising; last year, SPACs raised over $83 billion, while so far this year they have raised $100 billion.

FG New America formed for the purpose of seeking out a fintech or insuretech company with which to merge. Last month, FGNA announced that it has selected Opportunity Financial (OppFi) as its target. The merger between the two companies will result in OppFi entering the public stock markets with the ticker symbol OPFI. Pending FGNA shareholders’ approval – a meeting is slated for July 16 – the merger should be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

OppFi is a fintech platform providing consumer credit access, which has facilitated over 1.5 million loans for more than 500,000 customers. The company’s potential customer base is impressively large; over 60 million American consumers lack access to the traditional financial product market.

As the last set of financial results, OppFi’s most recent quarterly report is of deep interest to potential investors. OppFi reported a 1Q21 net income of $24.4 million, up 44% year-over-year. Adjusted Net Income came in at $19.3 million, a 48% increase from the same period last year. In a note that bodes well for OppFi in Q2, April’s net originations were up 23% from March and more than doubled year-over-year.

In insider trades, the key transaction from an investor perspective was made at the end of June by Larry Swets, President, CEO, and board member of FG New America. Swets bought 20,000 shares at a price of $229,600, making his total shareholding in the company more than $5 million.

Ahead of the proposed SPAC merger, D.A. Davidson analyst Christopher Brendler has been looking at OppFi and he believes the company offers a “unique opportunity.”

“OppFi is reinventing nonprime credit, and we believe the company is poised to deliver dramatic EPS growth, yet the stock is quite cheap,” the analyst said. “Although it does have significant credit and funding risk, we believe OppFi is fundamentally better positioned than prior alt-lending peers, and we are especially bullish here given the valuation against a strong near-term macro outlook.”

As the merger has not yet occurred, Brendler puts his rating on the current FGNA shares. He rates these as a Buy, and sets a price target of $13.50, implying an upside of 32% for the year ahead. (To watch Brendler’s track record, click here.)

There are two analyst reviews on record for FGNA stock, and both are Buys, giving the stock a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Shares are priced at $10.21 and the average target of $13.75 indicates room for 34% upside going forward. (See FGNA’s stock analysis at TipRanks.)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2021 / GREAT ATLANTIC RESOURCES CORP. (TSXV:GR) (the "Company" or "Great Atlantic") is pleased to announce it has completed the first hole (GP-21-149) of the 2021 diamond drilling program at its Golden Promise Gold Property, located in the central Newfoundland gold belt. The hole, completed at the Jaclyn Main Zone, intersected multiple quartz veins. Visible gold is evident in one vein.

Quartz Vein with Visible Gold in GP-21-149

Drill hole GP-21-149 is an in-fill hole, drilled between 2019 drill holes which intersected high grade gold mineralization. GP-21-149 was drilled within the west region of the Jaclyn Main Zone (JMZ). It was drilled to a length of 96 meters. The current drilling is part of the Company's Phase 2 diamond drilling program at the gold bearing Jaclyn Zone. Drill core from GP-21-149 is currently being geologically logged and sampled at the Company's secure facility in central Newfoundland. Multiple quartz veins were intersected in GP-21-149. Visible gold is evident in a 0.30-meter long (core length) quartz vein intersected at 50.10-50.40 meters. Drill core samples from GP-21-149 will be submitted to a certified laboratory for gold assay and multi-element analysis.

Drilling is underway on GP-21-150, also an in-fill hole in the western part of the JMZ.

The current Phase 2 drilling will include up to 33 drill holes at the gold bearing Jaclyn Zone with holes planned at the JMZ and Jaclyn North Zone with total planned drilling of approximately 5,000 meters. The objective of drilling at the JMZ is to further define the zone and provide information for an updated resource estimate of the JMZ. The Company is continuing the drill hole numbering system from previous drilling programs. Most of the planned holes at the JMZ are within the central to west region of the zone, testing above 200 meters vertical depth. Two holes are planned in the east part of the JMZ to test the zone at 200-350 meters vertical depth.

Quartz Vein with Visible Gold in GP-21-149

Great Atlantic reported a National Instrument 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate during late 2018 for the JMZ of 357,500 tonnes at 10.4 g/t gold (119,900 ounces of gold – uncapped).

The Company confirmed high-grade gold at the JMZ during 2019 drilling, including near surface intercepts (core length) of 113.07 grams / tonne (g/t) gold over 0.55 meters, 61.35 g/t gold over 2.04 meters and 15.8 g/t gold over 2.70 meters plus an interval of multiple gold bearing veins in one drill hole averaging 2.30 g/t gold over 25.25 meters.

The Golden Promise Property is located within a region of recent significant gold discoveries. The property is located within the Exploits Subzone of the Newfoundland Dunnage Zone. Within the Exploits Subzone, the property lies along the north-northwestern fringe of the Victoria Lake Supergroup (VLSG), a volcano-sedimentary terrane. The northwestern margin of the Golden Promise Property occurs proximal to, and, in part, contiguous with a major (Appalachian-scale) collisional boundary, and suture zone, known as the RIL. The RIL forms the western boundary of the Exploits Subzone. Recent significant gold discoveries within the Exploits Subzone include those of Marathon Gold Corp. (MOZ) at the Valentine Gold Project, Sokoman Minerals Corp. (SIC) at the Moosehead Gold Project and New Found Gold Corp. (NFG) at the Queensway Project. Readers are warned that mineralization at the Valentine Gold Project, Moosehead Gold Project, and Queensway Project is not necessarily indicative of mineralization the Golden Promise Property.

David Martin, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and VP Exploration for Great Atlantic, is responsible for the technical information contained in this News Release.

On Behalf of the board of directors

"Christopher R Anderson"

Mr. Christopher R. Anderson "Always be positive, strive for solutions, and never give up"
President CEO Director
604-488-3900 – Dir

Investor Relations:
Please call 604-488-3900

About Great Atlantic Resources Corp.: Great Atlantic Resources Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on the discovery and development of mineral assets in the resource-rich and sovereign risk-free realm of Atlantic Canada, one of the number one mining regions of the world. Great Atlantic is currently surging forward building the company utilizing a Project Generation model, with a special focus on the most critical elements on the planet that are prominent in Atlantic Canada, Antimony, Tungsten and Gold.

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

Neither 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.

Great Atlantic Resource Corp
888 Dunsmuir Street – Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4

SOURCE: Great Atlantic Resources Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/655228/Great-Atlantic-Completes-First-Hole-of-2021-Drilling-Program-Golden-Promise

MIRAMICHI, New Brunswick, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SLAM Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: SXL) (the “Company”) announces a private placement of 3,199,731 flow-through units (the “FT Units”) at a price of $0.09 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of $287,975.79 (the “Private Placement”). Each FT Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company issued on a “flow-through” basis and one-half of one common share purchase warrant issued on a non-flow-through basis (with two half common share purchase warrants being a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one non-flow-through common share at a price of $0.10 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The FT Units will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period from the date of issuance.

Three insiders of the Company will be participating in the Private Placement and will subscribe for an aggregate of 1,611,110 FT Units. The transaction is exempt from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") by virtue of the exemptions contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in that the fair market value of the consideration for the securities of the Company to be issued to the Insiders do not exceed 25% of its market capitalization.

The Company may pay finders’ fees in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”). Proceeds received from the FT Units will be used to fund exploration on SLAM's gold and base metal projects in Canada with the main focus on the Menneval gold project in New Brunswick.

The Private Placement remains subject to the approval of the TSXV. For additional information call Mike Taylor at 506-623-8960.

About SLAM Exploration Ltd:

SLAM is a project-generating resource company focused on its flagship Menneval Gold project where the 2021 trenching program is underway. The Company intends to conduct preliminary prospecting and geochemistry on the Gold Brook, Birch Lake gold, Wilson gold and Ramsay gold projects in the vicinity of the Millstream Break in northern New Brunswick. SLAM also expects to conduct preliminary programs on the Jake Lee, Mount Victor and other gold properties on the flanks of the Sawyer Brook and Wheaton Bay faults in southern New Brunswick. SLAM owns the Reserve Creek, Opikeigen and Miminiska gold projects in Ontario and the Mount Uniacke gold project in Nova Scotia. The Company owns a portfolio of base metal properties in the Bathurst Mining Camp (“BMC”) that is subject to an option agreement. SLAM holds NSR royalties on the Superjack, Nash Creek and Coulee zinc‐lead‐copper‐silver properties in the BMC.

Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information, including statements that address the Private Placement, the closing of the Private Placement, future production, reserve potential, exploration and development activities and events or developments that the Company expects. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. There are a number of risk factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those described herein. Information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 866 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st. In this article we look at what those investors think of Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS).

Is PAAS a good stock to buy? Hedge fund interest in Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. Our calculations also showed that PAAS isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings). The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren't the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds' perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That's why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as YETI Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YETI), BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL), and Terminix Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TMX) to gather more data points.

In the eyes of most market participants, hedge funds are seen as slow, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, Our experts choose to focus on the elite of this group, about 850 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors manage the lion's share of the smart money's total capital, and by keeping track of their best investments, Insider Monkey has unsheathed a few investment strategies that have historically surpassed the market. Insider Monkey's flagship short hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 short ETFs by around 20 percentage points a year since its inception in March 2017. Also, our monthly newsletter's portfolio of long stock picks returned 206.8% since March 2017 (through May 2021) and beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 115 percentage points. You can download a sample issue of this newsletter on our website .

Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, economists warn of inflation flare up. So, we are checking out this backdoor gold play that has hit peak gains of 718% in a little over a year. We go through lists like the 10 best battery stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. With all of this in mind we're going to take a glance at the latest hedge fund action encompassing Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS).

Do Hedge Funds Think PAAS Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At the end of March, a total of 27 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2020. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards PAAS over the last 23 quarters. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, David Greenspan's Slate Path Capital has the most valuable position in Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS), worth close to $103.5 million, accounting for 6.7% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Sprott Asset Management, led by Eric Sprott, holding a $91.8 million position; 5.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions include Richard Driehaus's Driehaus Capital, Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Slate Path Capital allocated the biggest weight to Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS), around 6.72% of its 13F portfolio. Brightlight Capital is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 5.93 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to PAAS.

Since Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) has experienced a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, it's easy to see that there were a few hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings by the end of the first quarter. It's worth mentioning that Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital said goodbye to the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, totaling about $56.6 million in stock, and Hugh Sloane's Sloane Robinson Investment Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $22.1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS). We will take a look at YETI Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YETI), BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL), Terminix Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TMX), Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SANA), BWX Technologies Inc (NYSE:BWXT), Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. (NASDAQ:REYN), and Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to PAAS's market valuation.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position YETI,30,159366,11 BL,24,271832,1 TMX,27,456007,-3 SANA,15,158923,15 BWXT,16,154661,-3 REYN,19,153098,1 SLAB,18,142253,0 Average,21.3,213734,3.1 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 21.3 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $214 million. That figure was $352 million in PAAS's case. YETI Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YETI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SANA) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for PAAS is 72. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 24% in 2021 through July 9th and beat the market again by 6.7 percentage points. Unfortunately PAAS wasn't nearly as popular as these 5 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on PAAS were disappointed as the stock returned -4.9% since the end of March (through 7/9) and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds as many of these stocks already outperformed the market since 2019.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

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Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – July 13, 2021) – IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) ("IMPACT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed Phase 1 of the Veta Negra drill program located 3.4 km northwest of IMPACT's 535 tonne per day Guadalupe processing plant in the Royal Mines of Zacualpan District, Mexico.

"These results confirm what we have known for the last two years of open pit production at Veta Negra. There is a significant mineralization and prospective grades at shallow depths and expansion potential to the north and south around Veta Negra area. Given the encouraging Phase 1 drill results, we look forward to results from the planned Phase 2 program to start later this month," President and CEO of IMPACT Silver, Fred Davidson, commented.

Veta Negra Drilling

Seven holes (MPZ-308-20 to MPZ-314-20) were drilled with IMPACT's Diamec rig to test the near surface mineralization below and to the north of the operating open pit for a total of 530 meters. Results are listed below:

Thirteen holes (Z21-01 to Z21-10 and Z21-12 to Z21-13) were drilled for a total of 1,406m with IMPACT's recently purchased man portable hydraulic rig to test the mineralization to depth on approximately 50 meter step outs. Results are listed below:

The Veta Negra vein system was mined historically as both an open pit and from underground. Two north-northwest trending parallel veins enclosed by stockwork mineralized host rock are currently being mined by IMPACT over widths averaging 14 metres in the open pit. Mineralization is trucked from Veta Negra to the Guadalupe processing plant and blended with mineral from the Guadalupe and San Ramon mining operations.

IMPACT's man portable hydraulic rig is presently drilling in the San Ramon Mine area testing the southern extension of the Inmaculada Vein system. A Phase 2 drill program is planned to test the Veta Negra vein systems to the north of hole MPZ-309-20 and south of hole Z21-05.

ABOUT IMPACT SILVER

IMPACT Silver Corp. is a successful silver-gold explorer-producer with two processing plants on adjacent districts within its 100% owned mineral concessions covering 211km2 in central Mexico with excellent infrastructure and labor force. Over the past 15 years, IMPACT has produced over 10 million ounces of silver, generating revenues of over $202 million, with no long-term debt. At the Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver District, three underground silver mines and one open pit mine feed the central Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, in the Mamatla District, the Capire Project includes a 200 tpd processing pilot plant adjacent to an open pit silver mine with a mineral resource of over 4.5 million oz silver, 48 million lbs zinc and 21 million lbs lead (see IMPACT news release dated January 18, 2016 for details). Company engineers are reviewing Capire for potential restart of operations in light of current elevated silver prices. With 15 years of exploration successes leading to production cash flows, IMPACT has shown the Zacualpan Silver-Gold District to be endowed with many high grade silver-gold zones and has placed multiple zones into commercial production.

Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com. Follow us on Twitter @IMPACT_Silver and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactsilver

Drill Location Map: Veta Negra

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4729/90098_1d9e9894443cdb49_001full.jpg

Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure

Wojtek Jakubowski, P.Geo. is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has approved the technical information contained in this news release.

On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp.

"Frederick W. Davidson"
President & CEO

For more information, please contact:

Jerry Huang
CFO | Investor Relations
(604) 681 0172 or inquiries@impactsilver.com
(778) 887 6489 Direct

Neither 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.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expected use of proceeds of the Private Placement.

Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and assumptions, including with respect to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI 43-101 the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its production decisions on NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure.

705-543 Granville Street Telephone 604 664-7707

Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1X8
www.impactsilver.com
Twitter
LinkedIn

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90098

SES will debut by year end as GM and other automakers anticipate a battle over battery supplies amid a global EV boom.

BOISE, Idaho, July 13, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) (the "Company") today announced its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend for the second quarter of 2021 of $0.10 per share of Class A common stock and Class A-1 common stock. The cash dividend is consistent with the Company’s dividend policy established in connection with its initial public offering. The cash dividend is payable on August 10, 2021 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on July 26, 2021.

The Company’s comprehensive capital allocation strategy leverages the Company’s strong and consistent levels of free cash flow to drive profitable growth, maintain a strong balance sheet and create value for stockholders, including through the payment of dividends.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. Albertsons Companies operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with more than 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.

Important Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the Company’s expectations, perspectives and projected financial performance, are forward looking statements. The words "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and similar expressions, when related to the Company and its subsidiaries, indicate forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions that actual results could differ materially from the expectations described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, about which there are still many unknowns, including the duration of the pandemic and the extent of its impact. The Company also cautions that undue reliance should not be placed on any of the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no responsibility to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect actual outcomes. Information about certain potential factors that could affect our business and financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements are included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 27, 2021, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and may be contained in reports subsequently filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713005311/en/

Contacts

Melissa Plaisance
melissa.plaisance@albertsons.com |925-226-5115

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – July 12, 2021) – Dynasty Gold Corp. (TSXV: DYG) (FSE: D5G) (OTC Pink: DGDCF) ("Dynasty" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has commenced the exploration program on the Thundercloud gold property (the "Property") announced on July 5. The Property is in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone belt that is 80 kilometers long by 30 kilometers wide, in Western Ontario. Close to 30 million ounces of gold have been discovered in the area in recent years and there are several large-scale mining operations in close proximity to the Property.

Several kilometers of the logging road leading to the Property had been washed-out and are now repaired and restored over the past week by the Company. Equipment and machinery were transported to the Property to begin trenching. A technical team has been mobilized.

The new trenching program focuses on two areas in the West Contact Zone. The first trench site is centered on the Glatz outcrop where previous sampling returned 8.02 g/t over 39 meters. Dynasty confirmed and extended the gold zone with 30 meters of chip sampling from the Glatz outcrop which yielded on average 3 g/t gold. Trenching on this target is to determine the full extent of the mineralization at surface and its trend in order to effectively test the zone.

The second trench site is 400 meters south of the first trench site and it is designed to follow up gold anomalies found in previous soil and rock sampling programs as well as to determine the nature of a property-scale fault that was discovered in past work programs but never tested. The fault terminates the southward trending "Timiskaming-type" sediments on the Property. Similar sediments are known to be spatially associated with large gold deposits elsewhere in the Archean Superior Province including the Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Larder Lake, Malartic and Pickle Lake gold camps.

The new data from trenching and the drone-supported magnetic survey combined with the historical IP, Magnetic and geochemical data should produce new drill targets for the next phase of exploration.

Gold mineralization in the West Contact Zone has an association with the QFP dykes. The mineralized dykes suggest that this mineralization is post felsic volcanic flows and pre late QFP dykes. It is further suggested that this brackets the gold event temporally and spatially to the Thundercloud porphyry.

This press release was reviewed by Andrew Tims, a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

About Thundercloud Property

The Thundercloud Property is located in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone belt in Western Ontario, 47 kilometers southwest of Dryden. The geological setting is comparable to the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Eastern Ontario but the Thundercloud Property is much less explored. The Belt contains numerous gold showings, several deposits and high grade historic past producers. Regionally, exploration results indicate excellent potential to define bulk-tonnage orogenic gold mineralization, as close to 30 million ounces of gold have been discovered in recent years in the area, including several large-scale mining operations nearby.

About Dynasty Gold Corp.

Dynasty Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company currently focused on gold exploration in North America with projects located in greenstone belts in Ontario and the Midas gold camp in Nevada. Currently, the 70% owned Hatu Qi2 gold mine in the Tien Shan Gold belt, Xinjiang, China, is in a legal dispute with Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals Group and its subsidiary Western Region Gold Co. Ltd.

For more information, please visit Company's website www.dynastygoldcorp.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DYNASTY GOLD CORP.

"Ivy Chong"

_________________________________
Ivy Chong, President & CEO

For additional information please contact:
Vancouver Office:
Ivy Chong
Phone: 604.633.2100. Email: ichong@dynastygoldcorp.com

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90055

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

TORONTO, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Melior Resources Inc. (TSXV: “MLR”) (“Melior” or the “Company”) provides the following update on the reverse take-over transaction (the “Transaction”) with Ranchero Gold Corp. (“Ranchero”) pursuant to which Melior will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Ranchero by way of a three-cornered amalgamation in accordance with the terms and conditions of the amalgamation agreement dated February 17, 2021, as amended, between Melior, Ranchero and 1274169 B.C. Ltd. (“Melior Newco”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Melior, as more particularly described in the Company’s news releases dated November 2, 2020 and February 18, 2021.

Pursuant to the Transaction, Ranchero will amalgamate with Melior Newco, and Melior will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Ranchero (the “Ranchero Shares”) from the Ranchero shareholders in exchange for post-consolidation common shares of Melior (the “Resulting Issuer Shares”) on the basis of one Resulting Issuer Share for one Ranchero Share. An aggregate of approximately 47,444,998 Resulting Issuer Shares will be issued to Ranchero shareholders, excluding the Resulting Issuer Shares to be issued pursuant to the Concurrent Financing (as defined below). Following the Transaction, Melior (the “Resulting Issuer”) will continue the business of Ranchero. The completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, as described in the news releases of the Company dated November 2, 2020 and February 18, 2021. Prior to the completion of the Transaction, Melior intends to consolidate its common shares (the “Consolidation”) on the basis of 32.6764 pre-consolidation common shares for one post-consolidation common share of Melior.

The completion of the Transaction remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”).

At least seven business days prior to the closing of the Transaction, the Company will file a filing statement providing comprehensive disclosure regarding the Transaction, as well as the business and assets of Ranchero.

Concurrent Financing

Ranchero intends to close a brokered and non-brokered private placement (the “Concurrent Financing”) of up to 9,090,909 subscription receipts of Ranchero (each, a “Subscription Receipt”) at a purchase price of $0.55 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $5,000,000, subject to an over-allotment option exercisable by Haywood Securities Inc. (the “Agent”) for an additional $1,000,000 of Subscription Receipts on or about Wednesday, July 14, 2021. More details regarding the Concurrent Financing can be found in the news release of the Company dated November 2, 2020.

Each Subscription Receipt entitles the holder thereof to automatically receive, upon satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions, one Ranchero Share, which shall immediately be exchanged for one Resulting Issuer Share upon completion of the Transaction. The Resulting Issuer intends to use the proceeds of the Concurrent Financing for exploration and development of its properties in Mexico and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Ranchero has engaged the Agent as the agent and bookrunner to locate purchasers in the Concurrent Financing on a best-efforts agency basis. In consideration for the services performed by the Agent, Ranchero has agreed to pay the Agent: (i) a cash fee equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the Concurrent Financing excluding the sale of Subscription Receipts to purchasers identified by Ranchero; (ii) issue broker warrants (each, a “Broker’s Warrant”), equal to 6% of the aggregate number of Subscription Receipts sold pursuant to the Concurrent Financing excluding the sale of Subscription Receipts to purchasers identified by Ranchero; and (iii) issue 741,611 Subscription Receipts to the Agent. Ranchero also engaged certain finders to locate purchasers to participate in the Concurrent Financing and in consideration for their services agreed to pay a cash fee and issue finder warrants (each, a “Finder’s Warrant”). Each Broker Warrants and Finder’s Warrant will be exchanged for one warrant of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the Transaction, which will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Resulting Issuer Share at an exercise price of $0.55 per Resulting Issuer Share for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Transaction.

The gross proceeds of the Concurrent Financing less certain deductions and 50% of the cash fee payable to the Agent, applicable taxes and expenses of the Agent incurred in connection with the Concurrent Financing will be held in escrow by TSX Trust Company, the subscription receipt agent, in accordance with the terms of a subscription receipt agreement to be entered into between TSX Trust Company, Ranchero and the Agent, and the remaining portion of the cash fee payable to the Agent and the balance of the gross proceeds will be released to the Agent and Ranchero, respectively, upon the satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions.

In accordance with the policies of the TSXV, the Company also provides the following information regarding the Transaction:

Financial Information Regarding Ranchero

As at December 31, 2020, the most recently completed annual financial period of Ranchero, Ranchero had assets of US$1,289,316 and total liabilities of US$869,144, and during the financial year ended December 31, 2020, Ranchero had a comprehensive loss of US$366,144. The foregoing financial information is derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Ranchero for the financial years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

As at March 31, 2021, Ranchero had assets of US$2,720,308 and total liabilities of US$971,442, and during the financial quarter ended March 31, 2021, Ranchero had a comprehensive loss of US$143,094. The foregoing financial information is derived from the condensed consolidated interim financial statements of Ranchero for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

Principals of the Resulting Issuer

Following the initial announcement of the Transaction on November 2, 2020, there have been certain changes to the planned board of directors and management of the Resulting Issuer. Martyn Buttenshaw, a current director and CEO of Melior, will continue to serve as a director of the Resulting Issuer, and Travis Miller will not be appointed as a new director of the Resulting Issuer. In addition, Ranbir Sall will replace David Miles as the Chief Financial Officer of the Resulting Issuer. The backgrounds of the Principals (as defined in TSXV policies) of the Resulting Issuer are as follows:

William Pincus – President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director

Mr. Pincus was Founder and President of Esperanza Resources that discovered the Cerro Jumil (Mx) and San Luis (Peru) gold deposits. He has worked extensively in Mexico and elsewhere in South America. He is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines with M.Sc. degrees in Geology and Mineral Economics. He is also a fellow of The Society of Economic Geologists and is a Certified Professional Geologist by the A.I.P.G. Mr. Pincus is a “Qualified Person” as defined in NI 43-101. He is also fluent in Spanish. Mr. Pincus is resident in Colorado.

Ranbir Sall – Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary

Ms. Sall is a chartered professional accountant with experience working with manufacturing and mineral exploration companies. Ms. Sall previously served as the CFO of Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. from July 2019 to December 2019 and as a senior accountant with Seabord Services Corp. from July 2007 to January 2018. Ms. Sall is resident in British Columbia.

Martyn Buttenshaw – Director

Mr. Buttenshaw is a senior mining executive and experienced non-executive director with over 20 years of mining experience, and is currently Chairman & CEO of Melior. Most recently, he was an Operating Partner at Antarctica Capital where he was responsible for managing investments in the metals and minerals sector, with a particular focus upon the raw materials supply chain for the non-fossil fuel energy sector. Previously, Mr. Buttenshaw was a Managing Director with Pala Investments Limited (“Pala”). Additionally, Mr. Buttenshaw has held senior roles with Anglo American in business development and as a senior mining engineer with Rio Tinto. Mr. Buttenshaw is a chartered mining engineer and holds an MBA with distinction from the London Business School and a MEng (First Class) in Mining Engineering from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London. Mr. Buttenshaw is resident in Switzerland.

Gustavo Mazón – Director and Control Person

Mr. Mazón is the CEO of the Mazón family group of companies. He is an experienced executive and successful entrepreneur with a strong focus in growth. He is an expert in good management practices and control implementation. He has had exposure in a wide variety of industries and engaged in large-scale infrastructure projects. He is a director of Tonogold Resources. Mr. Mazón holds a Bachelor of Business and Finance from the ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico. Mr. Mazón is resident in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Mr. Mazon will have control or direction over an aggregate of 42,300,000 Resulting Issuer shares held by certain corporations, and a result will be a Control Person (as defined in TSXV policies) of the Resulting Issuer.

Steven Ristorcelli – Director

Mr. Ristorcelli has over 40 years of experience in minerals exploration and development. For the last 29 years, he has been a principal of Mine Development Associates. His primary focus has been in deposit modeling, identifying and correcting sampling problems, conducting geologic evaluations, and directing exploration programs. He is a “Qualified Person” as defined in NI 43-101. He has worked with a wide variety of commodities including but not limited to gold, silver, copper, base metals and cobalt. Mr. Ristorcelli is resident in Nevada.

Pala Investment Limited – Insider

Pala will hold an aggregate of 8,172,949 Resulting Issuer Shares, and a result will be an Insider (as defined in TSXV policies) of the Resulting Issuer. Pala is a metals and minerals focused investment company, responsible for deal origination, mergers and acquisition, strategy development, and project financing across a range of commodities and metals and mining related industry sectors. Pala is based in Zug, Switzerland.

Shareholder Approval

Melior intends to obtain the shareholder approval of the Transaction, of shareholders holding over 50% of the outstanding common shares of Melior, by way of written consent.

Sponsorship

Pursuant to Policy 2.2 of the TSXV, sponsorship is required in a Reverse Takeover (as defined in the policies of the TSXV). The Resulting Issuer intends, subject to the approval of the TSXV, to rely on an exemption of the sponsorship requirements provided in section 3.4(a)(i) of TSXV Policy 2.2. Management of the Resulting Issuer meets the standards contemplated in in section 3.4(a) of TSXV Policy 2.2. In addition, the Resulting Issuer will be a mining company that satisfies the Tier 2 initial listing requirements as provided in TSXV Policy 2.1 and the Santa Daniela property of the Resulting Issuer has a current geological report.

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:

Martyn Buttenshaw
Interim Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Martyn Buttenshaw
Interim Chief Executive Officer
+41 41 560 9070
info@meliorresources.com

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell and is not a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities of the Company and Ranchero have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws unless pursuant to an exemption from such registration.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance. The Transaction cannot close until all necessary approvals are obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

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 news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects” or does not expect”, “is expected”, anticipates” or “does not anticipate” “plans”, “estimates” or “intends” or stating that certain actions, events or results “ may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release may include, but are not limited to, the terms, structure and completion of the Transaction and the completion of the Concurrent Financing.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSXV, liabilities inherent in mine development and production; geological risks, risks associated with the effects of the COVID-19 virus, the financial markets generally, the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions precedent to the Transaction, the ability of Ranchero to complete the Concurrent Financing, and the ability of the Company to complete the Transaction and obtain requisite TSXV acceptance and shareholder approvals. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statement will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipate in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Company Anticipates Development and Product Optionality with Minimal Environmental Impact

Company Undertaking a Strategic Resource Assessment Designed to Maximize Market Potential and Business Opportunity

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., July 13, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), a leading global provider of essential minerals, today announced that it has identified a lithium brine resource of approximately 2.4 million metric tons lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at its active Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation site, including an indicated lithium resource within the ambient brine of the Great Salt Lake.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713006108/en/

Compass Minerals' solar evaporation ponds on the Great Salt Lake near Ogden, Utah (Photo: Business Wire)

For over 50 years, Compass Minerals’ Ogden facility has leveraged the high mineral concentrations within the ambient lake brine from the North Arm of the Great Salt Lake to produce sulfate of potash (SOP), salt and magnesium chloride products. The Ogden facility is the largest operation of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

Compass Minerals is currently undertaking a strategic evaluation to assess development options available to service growing U.S. domestic lithium market demand while maximizing the long-term value of its lithium resource.

"We are aggressively evaluating multiple paths forward for this significant lithium brine resource to optimize shareholder value, in parallel with a reassessment of our current capital allocation strategy," said Kevin S. Crutchfield, president and CEO. "In a market hungry for domestically sourced lithium produced with minimal environmental impact, we believe a sustainable and readily available lithium resource like we have defined at our operations on the Great Salt Lake could be a true differentiator for our company. We look forward to communicating the results of our strategic evaluation and the selection of an extraction technology partner as we identify the most advantageous path forward for Compass Minerals."

Resource Assessment

The company has completed an initial assessment to define the lithium resource at Compass Minerals’ existing operations in accordance with applicable Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, including subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K. The assessment estimates total combined indicated and inferred lithium resources of approximately 127,000 metric tons LCE within the interstitial brine (IB) held in the accumulated salt-mass reservoirs at Compass Minerals’ Ogden solar evaporation site. The assessment has also identified an additional indicated lithium resource of approximately 2.32 million metric tons LCE within the ambient brine of the Great Salt Lake, which can be accessed through the company’s existing infrastructure.

The company sustainably manages 160,000 acres of leasehold on the bed of the Great Salt Lake, together with held water rights, 55,000 acres of existing ponds and active mineral extraction permissions.

The company is evaluating the most efficient and sustainable means of extracting the lithium which accumulates through its current solar evaporation process and can be accessed through its existing leases and permits.

Business Opportunity

After an 18-month assessment of multiple direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology providers, including two separate and ongoing pilot projects to demonstrate successful lithium separation from the company’s existing brine resource, Compass Minerals is in the late stages of selecting a DLE technology partner.

The company is targeting an annual production capacity of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 metric tons LCE of battery-grade lithium, with up to 65% of the future production derived from brine that has already been extracted from the Great Salt Lake and in varying stages of concentration within the company’s existing ponds. Lithium concentrations within the ambient brine of the North Arm of the Great Salt Lake range from 55 to 60 parts per million (ppm), while concentrations in the company’s pond-derived magnesium chloride product reach up to 1,000 to 1,600 ppm after three years in the solar evaporation process. The lithium concentration in the IB ranges from 205 to 318 ppm. As such, the company anticipates being well-positioned to serve the widely forecasted increase in domestic market demand for lithium.

In addition, the company is actively engaged in third-party testing of conversion options to battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The company expects to share more information on a selected DLE technology partner and other milestones as the project progresses.

Ongoing Commitment to Environmental Stewardship

By leveraging existing operational infrastructure, permits and pond processes at its Ogden facility, the company believes it is uniquely positioned to capture the now-defined lithium resource with nominal incremental impact to the beds and waters of the Great Salt Lake. Compass Minerals has contracted with Minviro Ltd. to perform a formal life cycle assessment (LCA) of the company’s lithium development scenarios currently under consideration. Based on internationally recognized LCA standards, the Minviro assessment is expected to help quantify any environmental impacts associated with the development of this resource. Compass Minerals expects to leverage the findings of the LCA to identify ways to further minimize the project’s environmental footprint.

As a longstanding operator and engaged stakeholder on the Great Salt Lake, environmental stewardship is core to Compass Minerals’ culture and success. The company’s Ogden facility is the largest SOP production site in the Western Hemisphere, employing a solar evaporation process to harvest SOP, salt and magnesium chloride from the lake’s naturally occurring brine. This technique involves pumping mineral-rich brine from the Great Salt Lake into large open ponds where the sun and wind evaporate the water leaving beds of naturally occurring, crystallized minerals. By harnessing the power of the sun, the use of carbon-based energy sources is minimized, while also reducing costs and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Jointly serving as strategic advisors in the company’s assessment of how best to optimize its lithium resource value are J.P. Morgan and Perella Weinberg Partners. RK Equity Advisors has advised Compass Minerals on the development of the lithium resource.

A corporate presentation with information on Compass Minerals’ defined lithium resource is available at investors.compassminerals.com.

About Compass Minerals

Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) is a leading global provider of essential minerals focused on safely delivering where and when it matters to help solve nature’s challenges for customers and communities. Its salt products help keep roadways safe during winter weather and are used in numerous other consumer, industrial and agricultural applications. And its plant nutrition business manufactures products that improve the quality and yield of crops, while supporting sustainable agriculture. Additionally, its specialty chemical business serves the water treatment industry and other industrial processes. The company operates 16 production and packaging facilities with more than 2,000 employees throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil and the U.K. Visit compassminerals.com for more information about the company and its products.

Forward Looking Statements and Other Disclaimers

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements about the anticipated development of the lithium resource at the company’s Ogden, Utah, site, including the indicated lithium resource within the ambient brine of the Great Salt Lake. Forward-looking statements are those that predict or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. We use words such as "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "likely," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "forecast," "outlook," "project," "estimate," "target," and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events to identify forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These statements are based on the company’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially. The differences could be caused by a number of factors, including without limitation (i) the company’s ability to convert all or any part of the lithium mineral resource identified by the initial assessment into an economically extractable mineral reserve, including the availability and cost of capital for related capital expenditures and the development of applicable process technologies; (ii) the overall environmental impact of the proposed extraction of the lithium mineral resource, as well as the company’s ability to receive or maintain required operating and environmental permits, approvals, modifications or other authorizations of, or from, governmental or regulatory authorities and costs related to implementing improvements to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements; (iii) the results of the company’s proposed strategic resource assessment regarding the lithium mineral resource; (iv) the company’s ultimate production capacity with respect to LCE; (v) potential weaknesses and uncertainties in global economic conditions, including adverse changes in the overall market for lithium and related products; and (vi) the risk that the company may not realize the expected financial or other benefits from the proposed development of the lithium mineral resource. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s business, see the "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 filed with the SEC, as well as the company’s other reports filed from time to time with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law. Because it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, this list cannot be considered a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.

The company has completed an initial assessment to define the lithium resource at Compass Minerals’ existing operations in accordance with applicable SEC regulations, including Subpart 1300. Pursuant to Subpart 1300, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The company’s mineral resource estimates, including estimates of the LCE mineral resource, are based on many factors, including assumptions regarding extraction rates and duration of mining operations, and the quality of in-place resources. For example, the process technology for commercial extraction of lithium from brines with low lithium and high impurity (primarily magnesium) is still developing. Accordingly, there is no certainty that all or any part of the LCE mineral resource identified by the initial assessment will be converted into an economically extractable mineral reserve.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210713006108/en/

Contacts

Media Contact
Rick Axthelm
SVP and Chief Public Affairs Officer
+1.913.344.9198
MediaRelations@compassminerals.com

Investor Contact
Douglas Kris
Senior Director of Investor Relations
+1.917.797.4967
krisd@compassminerals.com