Evion Group welcomes Madagascan Government commitment to mining industry

Evion Group NL welcomes confirmation by the Madagascan Government of the importance of the mining industry, including the company’s Maniry Graphite Project, to the nation’s development. The Implementation Procedures for a new revised Mining Code have been officially decreed and enacted by Parliament which Evion said would provide a solid framework for the development of all graphite and other mining projects in Madagascar. Also providing encouragement has been the Mines Minister again formally endorsing the conversion of Evion’s remaining Exploration (PR) licences to Exploitation (PE) licences that permit it to develop and mine graphite. The formal conversion of these remaining PR licences is a major development and the local government has advised the company that formalisation of this is a short-term priority. Evion’s managing director David Round recently attended a series of high-level meetings with various senior Malagasy government officials in relation to the development of the Maniry graphite mine in the country’s south. Meetings were held with the Mines Minister of Madagascar Dr Olivier Rakotomalala and his advisers with agreement reached on an effective development pathway for the Maniry Graphite Project. Round met with regional leader Princess Zoendreniny who confirmed her region's unequivocal support for the development of the project. Meetings were also held with the CEO of the Office of National pour l’Environnement (ONE) with agreement reached on the final pathway for the confirmation of the Maniry Project Environmental approval. Evion MD David Round (right), with Evion general manager Lydia Boarlaza (centre) and La General de Brigade of ONE Michel Marie Jocelyn Rabemanantsoa (second from right). Managing director David Round said: "My meetings with Dr Rakotomalala and other advisers and dignitaries in Madagascar were all extremely positive and it is clear to me that the government views the mining industry as critically important to the development of Madagascar. "I was pleased to hear that the Mines Minister has now instructed the Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar (BCMM) to move forward with the conversion of our PRs to PEs and do all things necessary, in the short term, to assist to move toward the construction stage of our project. "My meeting included extensive reviews of our completed definitive feasibility study (DFS) and we outlined to the Mines Minister and Princess Zoendreniny the many benefits that the development of Maniry can bring to the south of Madagascar. "The meetings also provided a framework for short-term development actions, and we look forward to working with the government and local officials over the forthcoming months as we move forward with our development.” The authorisation by the Mines Minister to the BCMM, that manages the issuance of permits, will shortly result in formal conversion documentation being signed off as a priority by both parties. The conversion of these tenements will result in all project areas within Evion's defined DFS being approved as Mining (Exploitation) Licences which allows the company to immediately move toward the mines development phase. Final official conversion of the PRs to PEs will occur following a series of site visits from ONE officials planned for February and March 2025. Evion’s proposed Maniry Graphite Mine adjacent to NextSource Materials’ Molo operation in Southern Madagascar. The Evion in-country management team in Madagascar is actively finalising the terms of the final environmental permits with submission to ONE imminent. A series of final community meetings are also scheduled for the next few weeks to reach agreement on community development plans. The MD and in-country general manager Lydia Boarlaza held a series of meetings with Princess Zoendreniny and other regional officials during which Princess Zoendreniny confirmed her community’s support for the development of the project. Round outlined Evion’s plans for the community which includes extensive infrastructure development, employment opportunities and the implementation of a health care and education centre for all local employees and their families. Part of the Community Development Plan (CDP) will see Evion make a substantial investment in the community including: Evion said: "The culmination of our CDP is an exciting opportunity for this region of Madagascar, and we are committed to assisting the community with improved living standards and progressive employment opportunities and training." Further formal meetings are scheduled for February and March 2025 with government officials, where agreements will be signed between all community representatives and Evion. Following this, Madagascan officials are expected to approve the CDP, which will provide local support and encouragement to fast-track development. Next steps The Evion team anticipates a number of key milestones to be confirmed over the short term: Prescient Therapeutics Ltd has resolved the technical difficulties facing its OmniCAR program by creating a new generation of improved variants of the next-generation CAR-cell platform. OmniCAR is designed to provide modular, controllable and reprogrammable CAR-cell therapies, offering a new level of flexibility and accessibility for cellular immunotherapy. Some of the OmniCAR T-cells generated by the program were behaving unexpectedly, prompting the company to engage in a period of troubleshooting, a complex effort requiring multidisciplinary inputs including bioinformatics, protein engineering, immunology and cell biology. The technical effort – achieved via collaboration with Peter McCallum Cancer Centre and the CSIRO – has been a success, overcoming the problems involved in previous OmniCAR constructs. “We are pleased that these technical issues have been resolved, and the OmniCAR program can once again move forward,” Prescient Therapeutics CEO James McDonnell said. “The expertise and persistence of our team and collaborators have been instrumental in overcoming these challenges. “OmniCAR has the potential to offer flexibility and optionality for cell therapies, and we are pleased that we are again on a path forward with this platform.” To offer a more specific explanation of the technical success PTX has achieved, the T cells expressing the new OmniCAR variants demonstrated greatly improved safety when unarmed in both in vitro and in vivo studies. When armed with binders, these new OmniCAR variants demonstrated highly effective tumour-killing activity in mice with Her2 positive tumours, with duration of efficacy exceeding that of the previous version of OmniCAR. Prescient will undertake further validation studies over the next 12 months, providing guidance on the OmniCAR development plan as those studies progress.

Jan 23, 2025 | www.proactiveinvestors.com