Empire Metals Limited (), the resource exploration and development company, lost a quarter of its value at 2.3p following an announcement by Aussie miner Artemis Resources.

Empire has previously announced its intention to acquire from Artemis a 58.6% interest in Munni Munni, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Artemis that holds a 70% interest in the Munni Munni Palladium Project.

Platina, Artemiss 30% joint venture partner in the Munni Munni Project, has started legal proceedings against Artemis because it claims the proposed sale of a controlling interest in its Munni Munni subsidiary breaches the joint venture agreement.

AstraZeneca PLC () was the best performing blue-chip, up 2.8% at 9,255p, after promising developments on an experimental coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccine, which is being developed by Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca, has proved safe with some signs of efficacy in its first human trial.

More than 1,000 people took part in the trial, with signs that the vaccines boosted both antibodies and cells to fight the virus.

1.00pm: Pensana Rare Earths surges after finding potential partner for its Longonjo Project

(LON:PRE) climbed 12% to 24p after entered into a heads of agreement with China Great Wall Industry Corporation.

The two will cooperate on Pensanas rare earths Longonjo Project in Angola.

China Great Wall is a company with expertise and experience in international engineering that is actively engaged in a range of engineering projects in Africa.

(), up 311% at 150p, was easily the top riser in London after it announced heartening results of a potential coronavirus treatment.

Chief executive Richard Marsden said positive results from a clinical trial of its drug to tackle the severe symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) could signal a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised patients.

People who received SNG001, an inhaled formulation of interferon beta had a 79% lower risk of developing a severe disease compared to those given the placebo, the data revealed. They were also more than twice as likely to recover from the illness than those receiving the substance with no therapeutic value.

UK Mortgages Limited (LON:UKML) advanced 14% to 63p after it emerged it had rebuffed several bid approaches from M&G Investment Management Limited.

The most recent approach was made on July 15 and proposed a cash offer at 67p per share.

M&G said the board of UkMortgages has declined to enter into discussions that might lead to a firm offer being made and has, therefore, made the bid approaches public to allow shareholders to decide for themselves on the merits of the possible offer.

() has been granted vehicular access to its Lahtojoki diamond deposit, sending the shares 35% higher at 2.85p.

The granting of vehicular rights of way by the National Land Survey of Finland will facilitate the company in its technical assessment of the Lahtojoki diamond deposit over which it has been granted a mining concession.

The two-hectare Lahtojoki diamond deposit is located in the Kaavi region of Eastern Finland and lies in the Karelian Craton which extends across north-eastern Russia and northern Finland. The world-class Lomonosov and Grib Pipe diamond deposits have been discovered in the Russian sector of the Craton.

Sealand Capital Galaxy Limited () sank 6.1% lower to 1.55p in early trade on Monday despite announcing a contract win for its ePurse subsidiary.

Epurzse has signed a 24-month strategic partnership with JM International, the Hong Kong company behind the Qiaohuajiao brand, which includes a variety of fish maw products, used in numerous industries, such as health, cosmetics and food production.

ePurse has successfully helped JM International to enter Tmall International, an online marketplace that is part of the .

Haydale Graphene PLC (), however, climbed 6.3% higher to 4.2p after it signed an exclusive distribution agreement with US-based Zirconia Inc.

The agreement is for 30 months and allows Haydale full distribution rights of Zirconias CeramycShield geopolymers in the UK water infrastructure sector. The plan is to address previously unsolvable water infrastructure problems in the UK.

Zirconia's patented Ceramic Surface Treatment technology is a new, advanced material technology, in a new class of inorganic ceramic polymers, that uses Haydale's silicon carbide microfibre as a reinforcement. This technology has now been commercialised by Zirconia in the US where the products are readily available.

() chief executive Richard Marsden said positive results from a clinical trial of its drug to tackle the severe symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) could signal a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised patients. People who received SNG001, an inhaled formulation of interferon beta had a 79% lower risk of developing a severe disease compared to those given the placebo, the data revealed. They were also more than twice as likely to recover from the illness than those receiving the substance with no therapeutic value. A total of 101 people took part in the clinical assessment at nine sites between March 30 and May 27.

s () Cascadura project has been confirmed as a significant discovery in a new independent reserves report. Consultant GLJ Ltd has estimated Cascadura hostsbetween 241.2 and 571.5 billion cubic feet of discovered natural gas in place, with the best estimate pitched at 398.5bn. GLJ gives the project some 73,19mln barrels of oil equivalent (boe) reserves in the 3P (proved, probable, possible) category, with 2P (proved and probable) reserves set at 45.03mln boe and theres 23.62 boe of proved reserves. The reserves are valued by GLJ in a range between US$802.9mln and US$287.7mln, with 2P reserves valued at US$519.2mln.

Shanta Gold Ltd () produced 22,216 ounces of gold from its New Luika mine in Tanzania during the second quarter of 2019, up on the 20,167 ounces produced in the first quarter. Free cash flow amounted to US$15.5mln, up from US$3.9mln in the first quarter. The company said it has also been working up the resource at Singida, which now stands at 243,000 ounces.

() said a decision to focus in-house activities on its retinal disease and exosome-based programmes will provide significant near-term opportunities to deliver value-enhancing data and commercial partnerships as it updated on the progress of its various treatments. In its results for the year ended March 31, 2020, the cell-based therapeutics firm said its hRPC stem cell therapy candidate for the retinal disease had delivered positive and sustained top-line efficacy data in an ongoing US Phase 1/2a clinical trial, with further readouts from an expanded study expected over the next 12 months, leading to intention to file an application in the second half of 2021 to commence a pivotal clinical study. The company also said it has received regulatory approval in the US and UK to expand the Phase 2a study to allow for a subsequent potential single pre-approval clinical study and shorter route to market.

MTI Wireless Edge Ltd () said its Mottech Water Solutions subsidiary has launched a new wireless irrigation solution developed for the French wine market. The system, dubbed Tethys, already has a customer list of 200 French vineyards since it is used by four water associationswho provide irrigation services to the wine producers. The Tethys water management system enables accurate water distribution and irrigation management, resulting in a 30% increase in crop yields while reducing costs by around 30% from efficient use of water, fertiliser, energy and labour, MTI Wireless noted.

Alien Metals Limited () has said finalisation of the geophysical review for the Donovan 2 copper-gold project in Mexico is essentially complete. The company is hoping to finalise the upcoming drill programme at Donovan 2 at the end of next week. The independent review confirms the company's internal work, providing some priority targets that have the potential to delineate hidden copper-gold mineralisation. The company said it will push ahead with drill planning in the third quarter of this year.

() said the first half of 2020 saw all of its divisions make progress towards its goal of being profitable this year. The functional fibres division reported a profit during this period, the ProBiotix division was profitable in three of the six months, and the consumer health division was profitable in one of the six months, OptioBiotix told investors. Total invoiced sales of LPLDL and SlimBiome as an ingredient or final product shot up by 398% to 741,504 from 148,818 in the first half of last year.

() said its first-half trading was in line with forecasts with momentum continuing into the second six months of the year. The software group, which has developed and sells packages used to record R&Ddata, said revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2020, were up 20%, or 12% on a like-for-like basis. Cash generation was strong, leaving Instem with 9.1mln, which when added to the 15.75mln raised earlier this month leaves it with significant capital to accelerate its acquisition strategy. It said it has many potential compelling opportunities for bolt-on deals, with more substantial targets havealso been identified.

() has welcomed legal changes to allow battery projects larger than 50Mw in England and 350Mw in Wales. The new legislation removes energy storage, except pumped hydro, from the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime in England and Wales, said the fund. This will allow larger projects to receive planning permission without government approval.

() said the results of a new study from the University of Southern California (USC), published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, have highlighted the key advantages of its Parsortix liquid biopsy system compared to a standard of care tissue biopsy. The AIM-listed firm said in addition to the known advantages of a non-invasive, repeatable and low-cost procedure, the USC study showed that potential actionable therapeutic targets were found in the Parsortix biopsy that were missed in the tissue biopsy of a single metastatic site.

() has been granted rights of way over the entire Naviskangas private forest road, together with a side road, giving vehicular access to the companys Lahtojoki diamond deposit, the adjacent Lahtojoki South exploration permit area and the surrounding reservation in the Kaavi region of Finland. The granting of vehicular rights of way by the National Land Survey of Finland will facilitate the company in its technical assessment of the Lahtojoki diamond deposit over which it has been granted a mining concession. The two-hectare Lahtojoki diamond deposit is located in the Kaavi region of Eastern Finland and lies in the Karelian Craton which extends across north-eastern Russia and northern Finland.

() has updated on its operations, revealing that drilling of the Duff well at the Greater Stanley projectwill start in the fourth week of July. Additionally, the group said, results of a workover in the Stanley-1 well are expected shortly and preparations are underway for the Falcon-1 well with site works due in late August ahead of drilling in September.The project operator is also planning the proposed Stanley-4 well.

() has booked A$903,215 in second quarter royalty payments from the Koolyanobbing iron ore project in Australia. The increased payment is a result of strong iron ore prices, as well as the continued ramp-up of operations at Koolyanobbing. The iron ore price increased significantly over the second quarter, rising by 19% to US$99.4 per tonne from US$83.3per tonne, with an intra-month peak of US$105.7 per tonne. Whats more, that price trend has continued into the third quarter, with spot prices reaching US$112 per tonne in mid-July.

() has completed its due diligence concerning the Hope copper project in Namibia, and the parties are now proceeding to the administrative process of completing the acquisition. As announced onJune 19, 2020, theacquisition of 100% of Virgo Resources Ltd and its interests in the Hope copper-gold project in Namibiawas subject to certain conditions precedent, including completion of due diligence, regulatory consents for Bezant to proceed, and execution. "The completion of our corporate and technical due diligence on the acquisition of Virgo and its +70% interest in the Hope gold-copper project is an important milestone for Bezant, executive chairman Colin Bird said in a statement.

Bezant Resources also said its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held at 7/8 Kendrick Mews, South Kensington, London SW7 3HG, England, at 10.00am. on Monday, August 10, 2020. In light of current restrictions on public gatherings and to ensure shareholders can comply with the government measures, the company has concluded that shareholders will not be permitted to attend in person and therefore requests that shareholders cast their votes by proxy 48 hours in advance of the AGM.

() said theMinto copper mine in the Yukon, Canada, which it partially owns, produced 6,820 wet metric tonnes of concentrate during the second quarter of 2020. Payments of US$9.8mln were received by Minto from its major customer Sumitomo, itadded. The next shipment to Japan is planned before the end of the third quarter, based on current production levels.

() () (OTCQB:NQMIY) said it has appointed Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Wertpapieranalyse GmbH (DGWA - the German Institute for Asset and Equity Allocation and Valuation), a mining and resource focused European investment banking boutique, as its Investor and Corporate Relations advisor in Europe. With offices in Frankfurt, Berlin and Vienna as well as representatives in Australia and Canada, NQ said DGWA will focus on the growing interest in mining and exploration within the European financial community due to Europe's considerable investment commitments in the clean energy, electric vehicle and energy storage systems industry.

() said its BlackOak Alpha Growth Fundhad seen a significant rise in interest since April though there has been an impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19) disruption. Several major US registered investment advisors, or RIAs, havenow moved to the next step of conducting due diligence on the BlackOak fund, it added. Alpha Growth hasalso started discussions with certain proprietary funds to manage the longevity assets within those funds through separately managed accounts. Longevity assets are life insurance policies sold before the maturity date to a third party for cash.

() (CSE:XOP) said it has raised 1.3mln in a share placing and has also reached a debt exchange agreement with creditors. The placing investors comprise two institutions and two high net worth investors. Some 621mln new shares will be issued, at a price of 0.3p each. In the proposed debt exchange transaction, the company will issue around 411mln new shares as settlement of debts to unsecured creditors, along with accrued payments due to employees and management.

Galantas Gold Corporation () (), the gold producer and explorer with a 100% interest in Northern Ireland's Omagh gold mine said its proposed private placement for 2,833,132 common shares for gross proceeds of C$637,454 (376,240), previously announced on June 26, 2020, and July 03, 2020, has now closed and was fully subscribed. A four-month hold period will apply to the common shares issued under the private placement which will expire on November 18, 2020.

(LON: CTEA), the AIM-quoted provider of digital media and technology, has announced that Guy Meyer, its interim chief executive officer, has taken on the role of permanently with immediate effect. The firm also said it has conditionally granted options to certain directors over 15,631,579 new ordinary shares, with all of the options having an exercise price of 3.8p: Meyer has been conditionally granted options over a maximum of 11,578,947 new ordinary shares (representing a maximum of 5.34% of the current issued capital of the company); John Farthing, its chief financial officer, has been conditionally granted options over a maximum of 4,052,632 new ordinary shares (representing a maximum of 1.87% of the current issued capital of the company).

() (), a global, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to treat patients suffering from serious and lie threatening rare diseases has said it will issue its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020, on August 6, 2020, at 12.00pm BST. It added that management will host a webcast for analysts and investors on August 6 at 1.30pm BST.

() has said its annual general meeting will be held at 12.00pm BST on August 5, 2020, at the offices of Novum Securities, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, Belgravia, London, SW1W 0DH. Whilst the UK government's current social distancing rules and guidelines remain in place, no shareholders will be permitted to attend the meeting in person and any shareholder who attempts to attend the meeting in person will have to be refused entry.

Quadrise PLC () announced that its chairman, Mike Kirk, and CEO, Jason Miles, will provide a live presentation at a Shares & AJ Bell investor evening webinar on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. It will be the first of four companies presenting, each having a presentation slot followed by Q&A, with the webinar taking place from 6.00pm BST. The group said no new material information will be disclosed at the presentation and a copy of the company's updated presentation being provided will be available on the Quadrise website on the evening of Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

Hardman & Co Research has issued a research note on (), a long-established specialist in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of allergies. It noted that another reassuring trading update stated that the company has hit new records and has the resources in place to fund its pending R&D investment programme required to get its products approved by the regulators. The research report can be viewed at: https://www.hardmanandco.com/research/corporate-research/record-sales-and-a-covid-19-wildcard/

Read more:

Empire Metals slides as Munni Munni transaction is threatened - Proactive Investors UK