• Lithium ion batteries (“LIB”) have key advantages over lead acid batteries in systems designed for use in power grid failure
• State-of-the-art designs in uninterrupted power supply systems depend on lithium-ion battery packs
• Battery technology conference notes that new uninterruptable power supply (“UPS”) systems face lithium supply challenges

While the electrical vehicle market is driving a rising worldwide demand for lithium, another sector is set to push the need for this light metal even higher. At a leading industry event for battery technology this week, participants discussed the growing demand for lithium ion batteries for use in UPS systems in big data centers (http://ibn.fm/8Juh8).

This is good news for Canada-based QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. (OTC: QMCQF) (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ), a company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of natural resource properties containing high-quality lithium, silver, gold, nickel, copper and zinc mineralization. The company recently announced that it has expanded its Cat Lake property holdings as it pushes the Irgon Mine Project forward toward a production decision.

The Battery Show, held September 11-13 in Novi, Michigan, is an event which drew together engineers, executives and other industry specialists. At a workshop titled “Batteries to Support Critical Power Grids,” participants learned how lithium ion batteries have major advantages over lead acid batteries in UPS systems. Such systems are crucial in a number of industries, including health care, transportation, commerce and data processing, where an interruption in the power supply could cause widespread disruption, including loss of life.

Thomas Lynn, technical director of lithium battery producers LiiON LLC, told the workshop that engineers are increasingly using lithium-based batteries in state-of-the-art power backup systems.

The majority of UPS systems are still built on lead acid batteries, but LIBs are beginning to gain ground in a trend that is expected to continue, Lynn said. Lithium ion batteries hold significant advantages in UPS systems in as much as:

• Lead acid battery data systems have a three- to six-year lifespan, while lithium ion systems can last from 15 to 20 years.
• Lithium ion systems are built with battery management systems, which allow engineers to constantly monitor the status and health of the system.
• Lithium battery packs are smaller and lighter in weight than lead acid batteries, which translates into savings in real estate space.

However, the workshop also heard that, while the UPS industry sees enormous advantages in adopting LIBs, it faces the same supply challenges with which the electric vehicle industry is already grappling.

QMC’s wholly owned Cat Lake Irgon Lithium Mine Project is located on a site previously owned by the Lithium Corporation of Canada Ltd., which carried out a large amount of work several decades ago. It is due to this previous exploration and development work (undertaken during the 1950s) that QMC is anticipating starting operations much sooner than expected and is currently working toward bringing the property online for production. Additionally, the company recently announced that it has staked nine additional mineral claims covering 4,784 acres, expanding the Irgon Property’s contiguous footprint to 11,325 acres.

The historic (non NI 43-101-compliant) resource estimates at the site calculated a vast lithium resource of 1.2 million tons grading 1.51 percent lithium-oxide. The company is currently in the process of updating the resource estimate according to current industry standards, and so far, the results have been positive, as they compare favorably with historic assays. Channel sampling on the Irgon Dike has returned 1.59 percent Li2O over 16 meters. Regional results on other dikes in the area returned three grab samples with concentrations over 1.90 percent lithium-oxide, including one that assayed 2.62 percent.

These positive results, alongside the property’s favorable location and well-developed mining infrastructure, offer significant value and positioning for QMC to capitalize on the rising global demand for lithium.

British Columbia-based Quantum Minerals is confident that its Canadian Irgon Mine Project will make a major contribution to the world’s lithium supply. This property is located in Manitoba, one of Canada’s most productive mining regions.

In addition, also located within Manitoba, QMC is exploring its Namew Lake District Project, which consists of two volcanic massive sulphide (“VMS”) properties – the Rocky Lake and Rocky-Namew.  Located in the prolific Flin Flon VMS mining belt, each of these properties has great potential to host additional base metal-rich mineral deposits.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.QMCMinerals.com

• Two-year contract brings company’s CLR Roasters coffee brand to patrons, crews of international cruise line
• YGYI CEO appointed to board of directors of Direct Selling Association, a national trade organization representing direct selling industry
• Q1 2018 revenues rose by 11 percent over Q1 2017 at $43 million, with gross profits increasing to $25 million
• YGYI enters $7.7 billion cannabis market with HempFX product line

Leading omni-direct lifestyle company Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) is making enviable strides among several sectors of the direct selling industry as it expands its brands and offerings in multiple markets. Among the latest highlights is an expansion into the lucrative cruise line industry with the signing of a two-year contract to provide the company’s CLR Roasters coffee to over 60,000 crew members serving on 60 ships, along with passengers of three luxury cruise ships, a company press release states (http://ibn.fm/mlaSV).

“We are very proud of the footprint we have established in the cruise line industry and this new contract establishes us as a worldwide player in the space. We are hopeful that this relationship will lead to other opportunities among this prestigious operator’s other six cruise line brands,” Ernesto Aguila, president of CLR and founder of the Café La Rica Brand, stated in the news release. “We are quite enthusiastic about this opportunity to expose our coffee and custom blends to such a large organization.”

CLR Roasters LLC is a fully integrated coffee business with multiple brands including Café La Rica, the official “Cafecito” of the Miami Marlins, and Jose’s Java House, a single serve consumer brand. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, CLR Roasters owns two coffee plantations and a wet and dry processing mill located in the high mountains of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, that’s able to process over 30 million pounds of green coffee on an annual basis. Coffee produced by CLR Roasters is certified by numerous organizations to ensure that its exquisite quality, phenomenal taste and environmental sustainability exceeds industry standards, as the company notes on its website

Created through the 2011 merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences with Javalution® Coffee Company, today’s Youngevity International Inc. is a virtual worldwide Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity that supports a healthy and empowered lifestyle. Among the Top 100 Global Direct Selling Companies, Youngevity offers products from the six top selling retail categories, including health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry and a range of innovative services.

Youngevity has also introduced a new line of three proprietary blends of hemp-derived cannabinoid products – Soothe, Relax and Uplift – that gives the company a foothold in the $7.7 billion cannabis market. The company expects to introduce the HempFX (Trademarked) product line to the public soon, with the official launch anticipated to take place by October 2018, a news release states (http://ibn.fm/apRnO).

“Hemp-derived cannabidiol aligns with what we do very well,” Steve Wallach, CEO of Youngevity, stated in the news release. “We’ve taken what we know about essential nutrients, along with decades of knowledge specializing in natural, plant-based nutrition and their most beneficial nutrients and put that knowledge to work to develop high-end cannabidiol products.”

As a testament to Youngevity’s success and influence in the direct selling industry, Wallach was recently appointed to the Direct Selling Association (“DSA”) board of directors. With nearly three decades of sales and network marketing experience, Wallach has successfully guided Youngevity from a domestic seller to a worldwide marketer of products and services that support a healthy and empowered lifestyle. Youngevity’s Q1 2018 revenues increased 11 percent over Q1 2017 at $43 million, while total company revenues in FY 2017 were recorded at $165.7 million, according to a July 2018 investor relations fact sheet (http://ibn.fm/Z4Agf).

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve on the DSA Board of Directors,” Wallach stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/iwm6P). “I look forward to helping advance the association’s global membership initiatives and being at the forefront of positive change in our industry.”

The DSA is a national trade association that represents the direct selling industry and advocates on behalf of its 200-plus member companies. Its board consists of 22 industry leaders who serve as officers and directors, as nominated and elected by their peers. In addition to leading and directing the affairs of the association, board members are charged specifically with promoting the DSA code of ethics. Board leadership also carries government relations, education and research responsibilities.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.YGYI.com

• Customer engagement is crucial for online retailers
• Gamification platform employs game elements to engage website visitors
• Stake by Chinese investors provides potential entry to huge Asian market

In the 19th century, the maxim “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door” might have applied, but that was like… two hundred years ago, when consumer choices were rather limited and there was no internet. Marketplaces today are fiercely competitive, and the business that eschews marketing probably won’t survive for very long. Particularly online, marketing tools, like those provided by DeepMarkit Inc. (TSX.V: MKT) (OTCQB: MKTDF), are crucial to attracting customers and converting their visits into sales.

The tech company is developing gamification technology that holds the promise of engaging customers more effectively. Since the launch of its e-commerce toolkit in March, the company has received over 125,000 reviews by email from merchants enjoying high conversion rates, verifiable indication that DeepMarkit’s customer acquisition tools have proven extremely beneficial to merchants (http://ibn.fm/wrDct).

Gamification is the incorporation of game elements into marketing. Games are universally appealing, because they stimulate and uplift our psyches. They are also an essential way of experiencing and learning about the real world. The cub that playfully chases its sibling is developing the speed required to capture antelope, which can do 55 mph. Again, Lewis Hamilton confessed recently “before he became a racer, he used to play F1 on his PlayStation.” Hamilton, who has won the world title four times, is the current Formula 1 champion (http://ibn.fm/5XHlN).

Gamification activates many of the psychological attributes – achievement, competition, collection, collaboration and community – that make us play games. A game that awards points triggers our need for achievement, for example. One with levels fulfils our desire for status, while another that calls for teams fosters our sense of community. This means that cleverly employed game attributes can be used to generate customer leads, promote products and deliver rewards, as well as to build brand awareness and strengthen customer loyalty.

The DeepMarkit platform – Gamify – allows merchants to build branded games that provide incentives to website visitors, motivating them into actions that generate leads and result in sales. The Gamify platform integrates several gaming elements with interactive advertising and powerful visuals, including 3D images. It is flexible enough to fit campaigns of all sizes and is suitable for multi-channel and omni-channel approaches that incorporate web, mobile and social media.

In addition, the platform offers a selection of easily customizable gaming apps featuring a customer’s branded e-store, as well as tailored landing pages, technical support, real-time analytics, data collection and engaging marketing campaigns. The patent-pending app comes complete with unique user incentives that draw consumers in with games and prizes, which in turn engage shoppers, turning them into buyers and building brand loyalty. It is available via free download on major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce, and also as a plugin for WordPress, which opens the door for easy and broad adoption.

The market for tools like those offered by DeepMarkit is expanding rapidly. A recent report by P&S Market Research calls for “the global gamification market… to touch $22,913.0 million by 2022,” driven by the growing involvement of people in social sites, high adoption of gamification in corporate and institutions and growing penetration of gadgets and display devices.  That would mean a CAGR of 41.8 percent during the forecast period; the market was $1,698.7 million in 2015 (http://ibn.fm/8PRa3).

In June 2017, the Gamify platform attracted a $1.5 million investment from Allstate International LLC in Hong Kong. The investment gave Allstate a 10 percent stake in DeepMarkit. It provides an opportunity to bring the Gamify platform into the huge Asian gaming market. Ironically, with so much at stake, DeepMarkit is obviously not playing games.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.DeepMarkit.com

• “Oki” product line includes iced teas and flavored water
• Nutritional supplements to be sold as capsules and tinctures
• Hemp extract market projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2020, according to company officials

Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) (OTCQX: PHVAF), a food and beverage company that produces hemp-infused products, has announced the launch of a new line of drinks and supplements featuring hemp extracts into the mainstream market.

According to a company press release (http://ibn.fm/Qcl9R), the Oki line of products, which includes food supplements and flavored functional beverages containing active hemp extracts, is to be available in up to 2,400 retail outlets across the United States. Oki beverages include two main varieties – iced teas and flavored water – sold in 16oz bottles, each containing 10 mg of hemp extract. The supplements are packaged as capsules and tinctures.

In keeping with the company’s focus on holistic health and nature-based foods, the Oki products are organic and vegan-friendly, containing only non-genetically-modified, plant-based ingredients, and are sold in glass bottles that may be recycled.

“We created the Oki line as a powerful new offering that restores balance and focus to our everyday lives when we need it most – whether during recovery from a workout or getting ready for the day ahead,” Phivida President and CEO Jim Bailey said in a news release. “Following the success of our Vida+ line of full spectrum hemp oil extracts and capsules targeting the clinical market, the Oki launch is the next milestone in our journey to bring premium products to broader consumer and retail audiences.”

Mike Cornwell, Phivida’s Chief Marketing Officer, said that the Oki brand comes to the market at an exciting period of high growth. “The size of the functional beverage market is estimated to be approximately $14 billion and the hemp extract market is poised to explode to $2.1 billion by 2020,” he added. “We’re proud to be able to offer consumers a new line of products that could benefit them, using formats like beverages and supplements, which are relatively unchartered by other companies in our category. We truly are in the midst of very exciting times.”

Phivida conducted extensive consumer research before the Oki product launch, during which it was able to align the product line with the ethos, habits and attitudes of its target market. The research revealed that consumers of active hemp extracts prioritize healthy lifestyles and seek out functional beverages. They are more likely to reject drinks that contain large amounts of sugar and processed ingredients, and value hemp extract for its positive effects on anxiety and its ability to boost relaxation.

The research was paramount in advancing and validating Phivida’s product design, according to Cornwell. Oki beverages are completely aligned with the preferences of functional beverage consumers, as indicated by product testing scores as high as 80 percent with a sample group of 1,200 individuals.

As part of its distribution plan, Phivida has an exclusive agreement with Natural Specialty Sales, through which it has access to several operators in the quality natural products space, including Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market and National Co-op Grocers.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Phivida.com

• Investment analysts recommend a share price of $0.30, more than double last week’s rate
• Sugarmade poised to supply equipment to burgeoning numbers of cannabis cultivators
• Company has expanded into the European market

Independent research firm SeeThruEquity has commenced coverage of Sugarmade, Inc. (OTC: SGMD), a hydroponics supply company. In its initial report, SeeThruEquity (http://ibn.fm/qsInW) noted, “Sugarmade appears well-positioned to target the large and growing opportunity to supply hydroponics equipment and supplies to the cannabis cultivation market in the United States through its master marketing agreement with BizRight.”

In the report, SeeThruEquity recommends a target share price of $0.30 for Sugarmade, which is more than double last week’s price of $0.13. The report continues, “Sugarmade is differentiated from many companies in the cannabis space in that it is generating revenues, which are expected to surpass $30mn in FY2019. If achieved, the target of $0.30 represents potential upside of 130.8 percent from the recent price of $0.13 on September 3, 2018.”

The report highlights several of Sugarmade’s growing revenue streams. The company has expanded its hydroponics supply business into the European market and has entered a marketing and distribution arrangement with BizRight Hydroponics Inc. aimed at creating the world’s largest publicly traded cannabis supply company. In addition, Sugarmade last month announced that it is moving into the hemp industry through a $1 million investment in Hempistry, a company producing ultra-high cannabidiol hemp.

Through its BudLife brand, Sugarmade has developed a storage and packaging system for marijuana that preserves potency, prevents contamination, protects against pathogens and increases the shelf life of products. The system works without refrigeration, since cold temperatures can degrade the active ingredients in marijuana.

Sugarmade CEO Jimmy Chan said that the SeeThruEquity coverage is very important to the company’s management team. He explained that, over the past couple of years, the company underwent a vast restructuring process during which it has managed to enter one of the fastest growing economic sectors, reduce debt, expand personnel, move quarters and position itself for substantial growth.

“Based on our growth rates, we now believe our $30 million revenue guidance for next year is very conservative. We welcome SeeThruEquity’s research coverage and look forward to supplying its analyst a steady stream of news on high quality developments regarding our progress,” Chan said in a news release.

He added that Sugarmade shares SeeThruEquity’s view of its chosen marketplace and sees continued growth in the states that have already opened up to cannabis legalization, with additional growth opportunities as the remaining states and Europe relax regulations.

Sugarmade’s subsidiaries include ZenHydro.com, an online shop that sells hydroponic equipment for domestic and commercial marijuana cultivation. The retailer’s products include grow lights, bulbs, nutrients and pest control supplies.

In addition to its ancillary services to the marijuana industry, Sugarmade supplies food and drinks containers for fast service restaurants through its CarryOutSupplies subsidiary. CarryOutSupplies produces a wide range of generic and branded products, including cups for hot and cold beverages, ice cream and yogurt, spoons and soup products. The company has a share of between 30 and 40 percent of this market.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Sugarmade.com

• Company fills the cash-free gap left by banks and financial institutions reluctant to work with the medical marijuana industry
• Provides complete compliance to federal anti-money laundering laws and laws regulating financial crimes
• 60 million transactions processed monthly and over 100 applications already received from state-sanctioned medical marijuana establishments

Financial technology company Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) announced, in a recent press release (http://ibn.fm/pQTeD), that it is accepting applications for depository accounts for any state-sanctioned medical marijuana establishment. While most banks and financial institutions are still reluctant to work with those in the medical marijuana industry, this company is excited to fill the gap. With end-to-end management, REFG is solving the fragmentation problem by identifying tools that are important to dispensaries and customizing those tools to the industry. These depository accounts represent one more step toward meeting the challenges faced in a once cash-only industry.

The difficulty lies in maintaining compliance with laws regulating federal money laundering and financial crimes. REFG provides a complete banking solution that documents every stage of transactions. In a news release, Jeremy Roberts, CEO of REFG, stated, “We’re making all of the federally required disclosures, the accounts are insured and deposited in a licensed institution, we’re doing exactly what the federal and state governments have directed. We believe compliance is best.” The company has found a way to do what most traditional banks and financial industries have been unable to do for the industry.

The company offers ‘Green’, the first and only comprehensive card processing operations of its kind that tracks sales and tax collection, eliminates the need to deal in cash-only transactions and empowers businesses with an advanced client management system. Patients are able to purchase cannabis with funds accessed directly from their bank accounts, while dispensaries can handle payroll and payments to vendors without cash on hand.

REFG keeps client in compliance with FinCEN and retains the necessary records when called upon to prove it. While most banks are sitting by waiting for the federal government to catch up with laws for the growing industry, 60 million transactions are being processed monthly through the Green platform.

Any state-sanctioned marijuana establishment wishing to apply for the company’s services can now do so at www.Take.Green. To date, REFG has already received over 100 applications, and the Green platform is anticipated to find widespread application.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Take.Green

• Clients can search for preferred cannabis brands and find where to buy them
• NUGL’s platform’s new brand search filter is unique to industry
• Legal cannabis industry currently worth $9 billion, expected to reach $47.3 billion by 2027

The marijuana industry is maturing at a rapid pace, and an increasingly wide range of consumers are using cannabis in a growing variety of ways. As more and more products and services become available, technology company NUGL Inc. (OTC: NUGL) has created a platform to allow consumers to more easily locate suppliers. The company announced recently that it has made it even easier for customers to tailor their searches for the exact products they require (http://ibn.fm/eYlbR).

In addition to recreational users, some customers are discovering the health benefits of various cannabis-based brands, including medical products, functional beverages and food supplements. Many more dispensing and delivery options are available.

NUGL has added a brand search filter to its marijuana industry directory service, which will allow customers to find out who sells their preferred brands. Added to the existing geographical location functionality, this will let customers see exactly where they have to go to get their products.

NUGL believes that this functionality puts its platform ahead of other operators who are attempting to provide cannabis industry directory services.

“We have an edge over the competition. Everyone is fighting over the dispensaries and charging large sums of money for a simple listing,” Ryan Bartlette, CMO of NUGL, stated in a news release. “We have a much broader client base by expanding profiles far beyond dispensaries to include brands and services. The industry is growing and relatively untapped, so we will market to all of it.”

NUGL CTO Jeff Odle added that this was one of the core competencies of why NUGL was built and that the brand search is a truly unique feature and the only one of its type in this fast-growing market. The legal cannabis industry made an estimated $9 billion in sales last year. This is expected to explode to $47.3 billion by 2027 (http://ibn.fm/jFa3E).

NUGL’s directory services app, available for mobile and online platforms, allows consumers to locate and connect with providers of goods and services. Additionally, the platform lets businesses proactively create profiles and raise their visibility toward potential clients. Since the platform is dedicated to the marijuana industry, clients are able to market to their target consumers. The platform also allows business to business connections, making it easier for companies to find relevant ancillary services.

In addition to making it easier for customers to find relevant products and services, NUGL allows consumers to leave unbiased reviews, meaning that the information available is more accurate and useful.

NUGL has a global reach, allowing consumers and businesses from all over the world to benefit from its services. The company’s stated aim is to build the world’s most user-friendly cannabis industry app, and, to that end, it actively encourages users to send comments and suggestions of what functionality they would like to have included.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/NUGL

• LXRP receives three new Australian patents and two new notices of allowance from the U.S.  patent office; the company expects to receive corresponding patents by year-end 2018
• If issued in both Australia and the U.S., LXRP would then hold 12 issued patents within its first patent family, and it continues to pursue pending application claims in this patent family globally
• The company, which has filed more than 50 patent applications globally, out-licenses its technology that promotes healthier and faster ingestion methods and lower overall dosing

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP), which owns the patented DehydraTECH (trademarked) ingestion technology platform, is building its strategic intellectual property (IP) portfolio with three more patents in Australia and two Notices of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). LXRP expects to receive corresponding patents in the U.S. prior to year-end 2018 and also expects two more new patents in Australia to be received prior to year-end (http://ibn.fm/vhvlY).

If all are issued, LXRP will then hold 12 issued patents within its first patent family, “Food and Beverage Compositions Infused With Lipophilic Active Agents and Methods of Use Thereof.” It would strengthen LXRP’s IP claims in both countries. All new Australian patents are projected to expire on June 10, 2035, it said.

LXRP has a growing IP portfolio and will license in any of the countries worldwide where its technology already has a patent or is patent-pending. DehydraTECH is its proprietary absorption technology platform. Based in British Columbia, Canada, LXRP is a biotechnology company that has developed technology that has shown faster and more effective delivery of cannabinoids and nicotine. Its IP portfolio already includes a patent for oral delivery of all cannabinoids.

LXRP has now filed a total of more than 50 patent applications across nine current patent families. It is preparing applications for at least seven more patents that will each form the basis for a separate patent family. It expects to file them before the end of this year, giving it management over a total of 16 patent families, it said. It anticipates numerous patents to be granted within each of these families.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com

• U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that about 50 percent of total U.S. crude oil production in 2017 was produced directly from tight oil or oil embedded in low-permeable shale, sandstone and carbonate rock formations
• Petroteq’s patented clean technology extracts heavy oil from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits in environmentally safe and sustainable method
• Advanced technologies and efficiencies for extraction of oil and gas from liquid-rich shale credited with moving U.S. back to top of global energy sector
• Petroteq preparing to produce 1,000 barrels of oil per day, with 8,000 bpd target
• Continuity testing complete as Petroteq plans to begin extraction during Q3 2018

A shale boom has helped send U.S. crude oil production surging above 10 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time since the 1970s, according to a monthly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a Reuters article states (http://ibn.fm/6JU36). The EIA estimates that, in 2017, about 4.67 million barrels per day of crude oil – or 50 percent of total U.S. crude oil production – were produced directly from tight oil resources in the United States. Tight oil is oil embedded in low-permeable shale, sandstone and carbonate rock formations

Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF) (FSE: PQCF), a fully integrated oil and gas company focused on the development and implementation of a new, proprietary technology for oil extraction, is in a prime location for contributing to the booming U.S. shale oil market as it makes final arrangements for continuous operations at its Asphalt Ridge facility in northeastern Utah. Petroteq’s closed-loop extraction process uses no water, produces zero greenhouse gas, zero waste and requires no high temperatures. Its aim is to extract commercial amounts of crude oil from Utah’s desert tar sand rock through a crushing and recyclable solvent distilling operation.

Petroteq recently completed continuity testing at Asphalt Ridge as it builds up to full capacity extraction of 1,000 barrels of oil per day utilizing its disruptive, environmentally friendly technology, a company news release states (http://ibn.fm/7OKRI). The Utah site is a 2,541-acre mineral lease with an expected yield of about 87.5 million barrels over the project’s lifespan. As operations get up to full speed, the company is optimistic that it can increase its output to 8,000 barrels per day by late 2020 or early 2021 (http://ibn.fm/O9UFd).

“We continue to focus on becoming the first environmentally friendly oil sands mining facility,” company President Jerry Bailey stated in a news release. “I am extremely impressed with the work completed by our site operations team. As I review all 14 operating processes that comprise the ten stages of our facility, I have to mention the dedication and experience of our field team.”

Petroteq also recently announced that it has engaged MetzOhanian, a software engineering firm in Austin, Texas, that will help develop applications for the company’s PetroBLOQ platform. MetzOhanian specializes in blockchain engineering, supply chain management software development and digital security consulting. MetzOhanian will be working with PetroBLOQ to develop blockchain applications aimed at increasing supply chain transparency and efficiency in the oil and gas sector, according to a company news release (http://ibn.fm/Xz04o).

“While we believe we are in the early days of blockchain application in the energy industry, the potential for PetroBLOQ’s blockchain principles to create a technology consortia’s for remediation, and reclamation projects is equally as compelling,” David Sealock, CEO of Petroteq, stated in the release. “We anticipate that as interest grows in leveraging Petroteq’s proprietary technology for surface oil sands mining, the remediation and cleaning of contaminated sites and oil waste reclamation will come to the forefront. We expect that the integration of technologies provides the possibility of creating long term investments in the profit potential of something as game changing as blockchain.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy

• SinglePoint’s investment allows social betting platform StakeHaul to develop payment solution
• Payment option and marketing strategy put in place to catch start of fall sports season
• StakeHaul’s membership and betting volume experiencing strong growth

Technology investment company SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) has injected more funds into an innovative peer to peer betting app, in time for the start of the fall sports season, according to a company press release (http://ibn.fm/wsKc8).

StakeHaul is a mobile platform that allows users to carry out social betting. SinglePoint president Wil Ralston said that the investment has allowed StakeHaul to develop a payment solution and fund a marketing strategy in time to capture traffic from sports fans who wish to make wagers with their friends and family. Speaking to MoneyTV (http://ibn.fm/nBHtz), Ralston said, “You could bet on anything you want to between you and your peers.”

“We’re really excited, especially because we’ve been able to implement a payments option, which really gives StakeHaul a path towards monetization: being able to take a percentage of every transaction, which we here at SinglePoint have deep experience in because of all the credit card experience and processing knowledge we have in that arena,” Ralston added.

The SinglePoint president explained that his company invested additional funding into StakeHaul to help it get to a level where it is “actually able to take credit card processing, be able to dabble in a little bit of cryptocurrency so that users can actually bet between themselves and then pay up on those bets.”

StakeHaul, available for both Android and Apple devices, has been downloaded over 70,000 times since its launch and has experienced strong, double-digit growth in user numbers and betting volumes. The app is developing the capacity to allow betting transactions using cryptocurrency, which would make it the first platform of its kind with such functionality.

With the sports betting industry worth an estimated $150 billion and a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year paving the way for legalized betting (http://ibn.fm/jQ0Cb), StakeHaul is in a position to capitalize significantly on the industry. It’s estimated that at least one third of Americans place a bet on at least one sports event per year, and 97 percent of these people place their bets outside of casinos, according to the American Gaming Association (http://ibn.fm/erzTJ).

In a news release, StakeHaul founder Jeffrey Lippert said, “All in all, our unique features, our ease of use, and the legal momentum behind betting in the U.S. makes our opportunity not just a home run, but a grand slam.”

Investing in StakeHaul is part of SinglePoint’s strategy of acquiring companies that need capital investment and technology integration to boost its own growth. The company’s portfolio currently includes mobile payments, ancillary cannabis services and blockchain solutions.

“Everything that we do, we try to wrap in ‘how can this fit into SinglePoint’s model?’ Whether it’s an acquisition, what kind of technology can we supply to make it more efficient? Can we bring in more payment systems to make it more efficient? So, really, everything SinglePoint does, it comes back to our backbone of payments and technology development,” Ralston said.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SinglePoint.com