Economy
Canada Backs MGX Minerals’ Petrolithium Cleantech
By Dipo Olowookere
The Canadian government has provided funding of up to $8.2 million CAD to support the commercialization of a low energy (i.e. low cost) water treatment system for the oil and gas industry.
A statement issued by MGX Minerals said its engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions was awarded this grant.
This investment not only represents a compelling vote of confidence from highest level but also a major push forward for petrolithium, the firm said.
This funding will allow MGX to bring its petrolithium technology to market with the support of the Federal and Provincial Government in a much faster and bigger way than anyone may have previously imagined.
Because the lithium extraction technology is all based on the core water treatment technology, a large portion of the benefit of the technology development will now directly benefit MGX and advancing its petrolithium technology. The government and MGX are now jointly funding the commercialization of cleantech and petrolithium. That´s a jackpot for MGX going forward.
The governmental investments of up to $8.2 million CAD into MGX´s partner not only provides high-level credibility with immediate effect but also a non-repayable, non-dilutive and relatively large cash injection representing more than 10% of MGX´s current market capitalization of $78 million CAD. MGX owns 34% of PurLucid and has the right to acquire 100%, but more importantly MGX already owns the global rights to PurLucid´s mineral extraction technology. As petrolithium is now being backed by the government in partnership with MGX as matching funding partners, the big winner is clearly MGX.
CEO and Founder of PurLucid, Dr Preston McEachern, explained that, “Treatment of wastewater has always been a challenge and significant cost to oil and gas producers; it is also essential to implement petrolithium recovery.
“We’re grateful to receive support from SDTC and ERA in the form of development contributions, to build the first commercial system at an operating oil production facility in Alberta and to demonstrate the large cost and energy savings that can be achieved with these systems. It is exciting, as this opens the door to further processing of the treated water for petrolithium recovery.”
Starting Shot for Petrolithium
Considering last month´s landmark announcement of solving the magnesium problem of the lithium industry (see here), plus today´s governmental funding and backing, MGX is now perfectly positioned/partnered to push its petrolithium technology to market in Canada, and thereafter globally. What MGX has in hands is a low OPEX (operating costs) and low CAPEX (capital costs) solution that is revolutionizing the lithium industry because it proposes to be much cheaper and much faster, up to 700 times as fast as traditional solar evaporation.
People think solar evaporation is cheap and the way to go into the future but actually it´s highly capital intensive (because the evaporation ponds must be very large) and highly inefficient on operating costs (because of low recoveries of around 40%). Imagine running the brine through an advanced filter in a single day versus flooding a square mile of ponds and canals for up to 2 years just to achieve the same purpose. Solar evaporation just doesn´t compare in terms of efficiency and capital.
MGX partnered and funded PurLucid to advance their cleantech water handling and together they jointly developed MGX´s lithium and mineral extraction technology based on the low energy nanofiltration technology that PurLucid had been working on for years. The paradigm shift is now running at full steam: Low energy nanofiltration versus traditional filters that can´t handle oil and high total dissolved solids or old technologies that use expensive/inefficient evaporation (solar or mechanical methods to remove minerals).
MGX´s first commercial system (750 barrels per day) is nearing completion and is scheduled to be deployed next month. A much larger plant (7,500 barrel per day) is already in fabrication and will be largely paid by the governmental grant.
One of the main purposes of the grant is commercialization of the technology and bringing it into market with the backing of Canada´s Federal and Alberta´s Provincial Government.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s maiden shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has successfully arrived at the Mombasa Port in Kenya.
According to the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office in a statement, the development marks a historic moment for Africa’s trade landscape.
The Senior Trade Expert at the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mr Olusegun Olutayo, said in line with its mandate under the leadership of the National Coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, the office had coordinated the landmark event.
He said the achievement marked a significant milestone for Nigeria in realising the vision of increased intra-African trade and economic integration championed by the agreement in line with the decision of the AU Assembly at the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
“In times of escalating geopolitical tension and looming geo-economic fragmentation, AfCFTA presents a perfect opportunity for Africa to leverage trade as a strategic instrument for enhanced market access among state parties.
“This is a historic moment, a realisation of the vision of our continent’s founding fathers and mothers.”
He also said the first consignment which was a synthetic filaments product of Nigeria’s Lucky Fibres Limited (Lush), a subsidiary of the Tolaram Group, was exported under AfCFTA preferential terms.
Mr Olutayo lauded the bold economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, emphasising their catalytic role in enabling the country’s active participation in AfCFTA, fostering continental economic integration and industrialisation goals.
He also commended the seamless cooperation and commitment from Kenyan authorities, which exemplifies the true spirit of AfCFTA.
He acknowledged the pivotal leadership role of the AfCFTA Secretariat in fostering the success and emphasised the collaborative efforts of the Kenya AfCFTA Implementation Committee and the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs).
According to him, the shipment, exported under AfCFTA preferential trade terms, underscores partnership, shared vision, the agreement’s potential to transform Africa’s economic landscape and pave the way for a new era of trade-driven prosperity.
The AfCFTA seeks to create a single market across Africa by reducing barriers to trade, investment, and labour.
The agreement’s goal is to increase socioeconomic development, reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive globally.
On March 21, 2018, the AfCFTA agreement was adopted and opened for signature in Kigali, Rwanda. The agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019 and officially commenced on January 2021
Former President Muhammadu Buhari established the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) in December 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fixed January 31 as deadline for all Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to renew their operating licence.
In a circular to the operators on Sunday, the apex regulatory agency in the country’s capital market said the annual registration renewal would last between January 1 and 31, 2025.
SEC said the annual registration renewal enforcement for CMOs was aimed at ensuring that only “fit and proper” persons operate in the capital market, warning that CMOs without valid registration will be penalised and may be excluded from capital market activities.
”This is to inform all CMOs and the general public that the annual renewal of registration of CMOs for the year 2025 will commence from January 01.
“All CMOs applying for renewal are required to include their 2025 annual subscription receipt from their respective trade groups as part of their application.
“In line with the commission’s Rules & Regulations, all CMOs are to complete the process of renewal of registration for 2025 on or before January 31 via registration renewal portal at www.eportal.sec.gov.ng,” it said.
The commission added that CMOs desiring to make enquiries or get support to complete the process should contact [email protected].
The regulator said it had in 2021 re-introduced periodic registration renewal by CMOs to create a reliable active operators’ data bank in the country’s capital market.
It said the renewal arrangement aimed at updating operators information on capital market for official use by local and foreign investors, other regulatory agencies and the public.
The agency added that the renewals would drastically reduce incidences of unethical practices by CMOs which may affect investors’ confidence and impact the capital market negatively, noting that the exercise will strengthen supervision and monitoring of CMOs by the commission.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The third trading week of 2025 ended on a positive note at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, with seven equities on the platform inspiring a 1.24 per cent growth.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N21.56 billion during the five-day trading week to N1.075 trillion from the N1.053 trillion quoted in the preceding week (Week 2) as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) expanded by 37.98 points to 3,111.91 points from the 3,073.93 points it ended in the preceding week.
In the period under review, the volume of transactions went down by 42.1 per cent to 9.45 million units from the 16.30 million units in the previous week, as the value of trades declined by 53.1 per cent to N48.4 million from the N104.11 million, with these transactions completed in 122 deals involving 15 different stocks.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 50 per cent in the week to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 34 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc increased by 20 per cent to end at N2.58 per unit compared with the previous week’s N2.15 per unit, and Okitipupa Plc rose by 10 per cent to N39.59 per share from N35.99 per share.
Further, UBN Property Plc grew by 10 per cent to N2.20 per unit from N2.02 per unit, Newrest Asl Plc jumped by 9.9 per cent to N31.38 per share from N28.53 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc surged by 3.7 per cent to N39.65 per unit from N38.22 per unit, and 11 Plc advanced by 0.3 per cent to N256.00 per share from N255.31 per share.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc topped the activity chart last week by value with with N0.030 billion, 11 Plc recorded N0.009 billion, Central Security Clearing System (CSCS) Plc raked in N0.004 billion, IGI Plc followed with N0.002 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc recorded N0.002 billion.
However, IGI Plc was the most traded instrument by volume with 7.5 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc transacted 0.77 million units, UBN Property Plc recorded 0.38 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded 0.37 million units, and CSCS Plc posted 0.16 million units.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN