• Net Element subsidiary Netevia processed $1.62 billion in transactions during first half of 2018, with $1.4 billion occurring in North America
• Company’s PayOnline subsidiary part of reorganization involving international business, mobile payments solutions
• Net revenues rose 15 percent during the first half of the year, with gross profits expected to rise another $6.5 million during the next four years

Payment processing technology company Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) is seeing rising revenues from its North American market and is weighing options for monetizing mobile operations on a global scale through its agent contracts, while additional value-added efforts have branded it a company that continues to identify growth initiatives with independent equity research firm SeeThruEquity (http://ibn.fm/gFC7s).

An edited transcript of Net Element’s August 15 earnings conference call released recently (http://ibn.fm/4i3me) notes the dominance of domestic transactions in the company’s revenue report amid anticipated declines in the global payment solutions’ international arena of operations due to the elimination of branded content business as Net Element takes an opportunity to reorganize its international business and join its mobile payments operations with multi-channel subsidiary PayOnline.

The company’s North American Transaction Solutions segment saw net revenue growth over the prior year, according to the earnings report, with a six percent increase for the second quarter and a 15 percent increase for the six-month period. The United States accounted for 88 percent of the quarter’s total revenues, and 87 percent of the six-month total.

A solid sign of the success of Net Element’s Netevia processing platform is that the value of the financial transactions that the company processed grew from $1.18 billion in the first half of 2017 to $1.62 billion in the comparable period of 2018, with $1.4 billion of that amount occurring in North America. The number of transactions processed by the company grew from 35.7 million to 50.2 million.

Net Element’s expertise lies in providing multiple payment channel options to small and medium-sized businesses and their customers while adapting its platform to the particular needs of brick and mortar, unbanked and web-based businesses trying to get optimal results from their revenue streams.

Netevia employs single-use credit card numbers for electronic transactions as a means of combatting fraud when its customers share card information across the internet in e-commerce, for example. The company’s mobile Unified Payments subsidiary is helping smaller-sized businesses combat onerous card transaction fees by employing a subscription model that reduces many of the complications associated with services that aren’t fully responsive to the end user.

“Utilizing a transparent subscription-based pricing model combined with the latest technology solutions, Payment Club can provide positive options to frustrated merchants and streamline their payment processes,” Payment Club President Anthony Kutscher stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/YYEZk).

CEO Oleg Firer told participants in last month’s conference call that the company is also on track to launch services such as blockchain technology solutions that have been in the works.

“Combined, these strategic initiatives are expected to add over $6.5 million in gross profit over the next 4 years. We’re on track to deliver another year of growth and financial improvement and are pleased with our results as we continue to focus on long-term growth plans,” he said.

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

• Novel flow-through invention offers critical enablement for future system design strategies for groundbreaking biotherapeutics research, as well as drug discovery & development
• Development of next generation Barocycler instruments to allow “hands-free” sample processing that will increase accuracy, reduce costs and avoid contamination
• Global sample preparation market projected to reach $8.2 billion by 2024
• Global proteomics market projected to reach $21.87 billion in 2021
• PBIO’s innovative ultra-shear pressure-based platform technology (UST) being used in federally-funded food safety and preservation development program at Ohio State University
• Potential applications for UST include pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food and beverages, lubricants, paints and cosmetics

Pressure BioSciences Inc. (“PBI”) (OTCQB: PBIO), a leader in the development and sale of broadly enabling, pressure-based instruments, consumables and platform solutions to the worldwide life sciences industry, has added another patent to its intellectual property portfolio, bringing the total to 21 patents. Issued as U.S. Patent 9995661 and titled “Flow-through High Hydrostatic Pressure Microfluidic Sample Preparation Device and Related Methods Therefor,” this new patent is a significant development in the company’s strategic plan to develop automated “hands-free” sample handling for the next generation of PBI’s high-pressure sample preparation platform systems, a news release states (http://ibn.fm/gqp34).

The global sample preparation market is projected to reach $8.2 billion by 2024, according to a report by TransparencyMarketResearch (http://ibn.fm/wCaOd). Pressure BioSciences’ product line is led by its newly released, next-generation Barocycler 2320EXTREME instrument system, which can be used to exquisitely control the sample preparation process.  Based on the company’s patented and enabling pressure cycling technology (PCT) platform, over 300 Barocycler systems have been installed in approximately 200 academic, government, pharmaceutical and biotech research laboratories worldwide.  These laboratories use the PCT instrument system for multiple applications, including the preparation of samples for biomarker and target discovery, soil & plant biology, anti-bioterror and forensics studies. There are over 100 independent scientific publications highlighting the advantages of the PCT system in such studies, many from worldwide key opinion leaders.

“This long-anticipated patent is a very important development for the Company on multiple fronts, and the timing of its issuance could not be better,” Dr. Alexander Lazarev, PBI’s vice president of research and development, stated in the release. “This invention also enables a unique capability for maintaining high pressure in a flow-through format (rather than the current batch processing), which we expect will facilitate the development of new, automated continuous process monitoring tools applicable to diverse segments of the life sciences industry.”

The invention’s novel flow-through concept offers critical enablement for future system design strategies for epitope characterization, Lazarev noted. An epitope is the antibody binding site on an antigen capable of eliciting an immune response. “This is an emerging area in development and production of biotherapeutics that could revolutionize personalized therapy for numerous medical conditions, including autoimmune diseases and a variety of rare medical disorders,” Lazarev explained.

PBI’s latest, patented invention will allow for further development of a much sought-after, hands-free, automated workflow, providing valuable enhancements in efficiencies, throughput and contamination avoidance for the company’s instrument and consumable product lines, Richard T. Schumacher, president and CEO of PBI, added.

“We also believe this invention will accelerate our expansion into larger scale applications in multiple major business segments for the Company, particularly in the rapidly growing field of proteomics research,” Schumacher said. “Growth in proteomics and other additional areas should further cement and expand market acceptance and recognition for PBI’s innovative and enabling pressure-based platform technologies and spur concomitant growth in revenue and shareholder value.”

According to a market report by Research and Markets, the worldwide biopharmaceuticals market in 2014 reached a valuation of $160.44 billion.

Pressure BioSciences is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76 percent in the next five fiscal years from 2018 to 2022, according to a Zacks Research Report issued on July 26, 2018 (http://ibn.fm/IyKn9). In the Zacks Small-Cap Research Report, the company’s fair value for PBIO shares was raised to $12/share from a previous $10/share. Zacks’ optimism regarding Pressure BioSciences is tied to a number of recent achievements and collaborative research programs, expansion of the company’s sales and marketing capabilities and a newly established multinational co-marketing partner, ISS Inc.

The future looks bright for the company based on the expected growth in sales of its PCT-based instrument systems. PBI’s revenue should be additionally impacted by the development of its newest high-pressure technology platform, ultra shear technology (UST). UST offers the potential to produce highly stable, clean and cost-effective nanoemulsions that facilitate the production of food products with enhanced shelf lives without the need for chemicals or preservatives, as detailed in a recent article (http://ibn.fm/gcKNZ). The company believes that its UST technology platform can be applied across a multitude of industries seeking to satisfy consumer demand for chemical- and preservative-free food products that have longer shelf-lives, greater safety and do not require refrigeration until opened. These areas include pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, paints and industrial lubricants.

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

• Large Argentine reserves in Lithium Triangle
• Investor friendly regulatory environment
• Favorable drilling results of 250 mg per liter obtained near Marifil claim

It may be facing some tough times presently, but there is no need to cry for Argentina, for this is a country with a GDP of $626 billion, according to the latest IMF data – not much less than Saudi Arabia or Switzerland. It is also home to extensive deposits of lithium. The U.S. Geological Survey puts the country’s reserves at two million metric tons (tonnes), the fourth largest in the world after Chile, China and Australia. Estimates by Argentine government officials are even rosier. “Argentina has over 650 million tonnes of lithium in known salars,” says one, quite enough to satisfy present global demand for about 300 years (http://ibn.fm/EmwL0). Some of that demand could likely be met with lithium from claims held by Marifil Mines Ltd. (TSX.V: MFM) (OTC: MFMLF). The junior Canadian explorer holds lithium interests in Catamarca province, in the same geologic and mining region that hosts FMC’s world-renowned Hombre Muerto mine.

Despite its economic woes (the country has asked the IMF for $50 billion), Argentina is moving ahead with plans to create an inviting regulatory environment for investors in the lithium industry. The new administration, installed since the inauguration of President Mauricio Macri in 2015, has lowered corporate income tax to 30 percent from 35 percent; in 2020, it will be reduced further to 25 percent. In addition, export taxes on minerals have been eliminated and so have taxes on mining equipment and parts (http://ibn.fm/EPdDC).

Marifil’s holdings span 15,267 hectares (59 square miles) and include its recently acquired Ratones and Fraile claims, as well as two lithium mine rights covering the southern portions of the Carachi Pampa salar in the Province of Catamarca, one of which is contingent on receiving a clean title report. Prospects look good. Another miner working to the north on the same salar has announced favorable drilling results with significant lithium assay runs of 250 mg per liter. Marifil is now reviving an exploration program that was undertaken in Salta and Catamarca provinces in 2009. The program staked 12 properties covering some 61,500 hectares (237 square miles) and generated a large proprietary geologic and geochemical database that now provides the basis for Marifil’s lithium exploration program.

Marifil’s interests also include the Las Aguilas nickel-copper-cobalt deposit property, with more than four contiguous patented mining claims in the San Luis province of Argentina. The Las Aguilas property, which is 100 percent owned by Marifil, is noted as having the only drilled cobalt resource in Argentina. Other noteworthy properties in the company’s portfolio include 150,647 hectares (582 square miles) of potash claims in Neuquen and Mendoza Provinces, Lago Fontana, a prospective polymetallic deposit with strong gold and silver values, in Chubut Province, and El Carmen, a hydrocarbon play in the oil fields of Chubut Province.

In addition, Marifil is exploring at San Roque property, in the southern Argentine Province of Rio Negro, near the Atlantic coast in a region of well-developed infrastructure. The San Roque claims contain a bulk tonnage sulfide deposit comprising minerals of gold, silver, lead, zinc and indium disseminated in tens of millions of tonnes of host volcanic rocks, as well as a newly discovered series of gold-bearing quartz veins. Exploration of this system of veins has just begun, with a series of trenches made to expose and better sample them. These gold-bearing veins exceed a kilometer in length and are generally in the one-to-three meter range of width. Marifil’s San Roque permanent mining rights are held by nine mineral tenures, three of which are now granted titles covering 95 patented mining claims that total 9,449 hectares (36.5 square miles) within the greater package of 42,321 hectares (163 square kilometers) of mineral exploration rights.

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

• With its Form 10 registration statement filing now effective, ETST will begin reporting annual, quarterly and periodic financial statements to the SEC, as well as other obligations
• Biotech company is focused on the cannabidiol (CBD), pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors, as well as the development, through subsidiaries, of medical devices and research
• ETST develops innovative products with the goal of becoming a world leader in the CBD space; three new CBD formulas are being developed under a provisory patent

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST) anticipates uplisting to the OTCQB Venture Market after receiving a Form 10 registration statement filing date. The biotech company will begin filing annual reports with the SEC on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Additional reporting obligations include shareholder actions, proxies and stock ownership rules (http://ibn.fm/r8kiR).

In a news release, Nickolas S. Tabraue, president, chairman and director of ETST, said, “With our Form 10 filing now effective, ETST is progressing towards fulfilling its goals. Following this achievement, we anticipate to up-list to the OTCQB tier in early September, due to our early application submission with OTC Markets Group, Inc. We look forward to maximizing the value of our company for our loyal shareholders as we unfold.”

ETST is a biotech company based in Doral, Florida, marketing and developing CBD products for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields. The company manufactures, markets and distributes its own cannabinoid products, including capsules and oils.

In Canada, it is testing three new CBD IP formulations. It is also testing its Hygee MSN-2 medical device, for the detection of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women, at Québec’s Clinique Santé Amitié (http://ibn.fm/IF36Y).

The company is developing two new products in Brazil through a joint venture with Bionatus Laboratrio Botnico of Brazil and its Canadian division, Bionatus Botanical Laboratories. In the U.S., ETST is conducting studies with the University of Central Oklahoma on the impact of high grade full spectrum CBD on breast cancer and immune cells (http://ibn.fm/jrbdu).

ETST holds several wholly owned subsidiaries. Cannabis Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company. KannaBidioiD manufactures and distributes in the recreational sector. Earth Science Foundation, Inc. is becoming a non-profit and accepts grants and donations to conduct additional studies. Earth Science Pharmaceutical develops medical diagnostic tools and vaccines. The company also formed subsidiary Canno Inno Laboratories Inc., a strategic Montreal, Canada-based company that provides ETST with access to government grants.

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

• Global hydroponics industry expected to enjoy 6.5 percent CAGR through 2025 amid competitive growth
• Sugarmade building hydroponics holdings with proposed acquisitions, foray into U.S. hemp market
• Company’s reach extending to European markets with recent targeting of global leader in hydroponic consumption

The growing popularity of cannabis both as a medicinal plant extract and a relaxing recreational drug during recent years has created a bellwether effect for a number of industries that see potential in catering to the companies that in turn cater to cannabidiol (CBD) and marijuana clients. Among them, hydroponics suppliers are seeing tremendous year-over-year growth lately, and Sugarmade, Inc. (OTC: SGMD) hopes to build on its product and brand marketing experience to take advantage of the trend.

Sugarmade is a Southern California company invested in the development of products and brands with disruptive potential. Recently, the company expanded into Europe’s hydroponics supply market and saw its revenue growth patterns expand geographically from California-centric last year to an increasing number of U.S. states where legalization has eased restriction and on into the United Kingdom.

On August 28, Sugarmade announced that it had filed a disclosure statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission about its formal acquisition negotiations with two companies that provide online and retail hydroponic and other agricultural cultivation supplies, which Sugarmade believes may enhance its portfolio.

“The hydroponic supply sector is still highly fragmented with many of the larger players not likely to reach public company liquidity events for the original entrepreneurial teams. We have entered into talks with at least two of these companies for acquisition, which we believe will be highly accretive for common Sugarmade shareholders and additive to our already robust top line growth rate,” CEO Jimmy Chan stated in a news release about the filing (http://ibn.fm/vjnNt). “We wanted to publicly disclose these discussions to ensure that all shareholders have equal access to our direction, thus our recent public filing.”

Sugarmade plans a special shareholder meeting October 10 to conduct business related to the negotiations, including a vote on whether to increase the company’s authorized common shares from 300 million to two billion, which Sugarmade’s management considers necessary to facilitate the possible acquisitions.

The global hydroponics market is expected to see a high level of competition during the next few years, and analysts at Transparency Market Research predict that the market will reach a value of $12.1 billion by the end of 2025 — a 6.5 percent CAGR during the coming years and near doubling of its $6.9 billion value last year (http://ibn.fm/OOGM3).

Europe is the leading geographical consumer of hydroponic supplies and is expected to maintain a leading position throughout the coming years with a share of about 41 percent of the global market, according to the analysts, but helping to drive the market is cannabis extracts’ growing favor not only with the public, but with governmental agencies as well. Canada’s government will legalize recreational marijuana use nationwide next month, lifting the final usage restrictions. Nine U.S. states have legalized marijuana use despite federal drug enforcement restrictions, and at least 30 states have legalized some form of medicinal cannabis use or research (http://ibn.fm/HIk00). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of CBD-bearing Epidiolex as an anti-seizure medication portends a reclassifying of CBD’s drug status before the end of this month.

In August, Sugarmade committed to an investment of $1 million in capital over the coming 12 months into Hempistry, Inc.’s ultra-high CBD industrial hemp cultivation project in Kentucky, with an expected additional agreement regarding hemp cultivation supplies, according to a news release announcing the project (http://ibn.fm/FdeEN).

“Demand for industrial hemp and products derived from hemp is soaring, with no let up in sight. We expect our direct investment into Hempistry to be accretive to common shareholders and our supply agreement to be lucrative. All of us at Sugarmade see a tremendous opportunity to become a supplier to this fast growing sector,” Chan stated in the news release.

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

• Green digital system is being offered to the entire legalized cannabis industry, providing an alternative to traditional banking; its online signup feature has triggered application growth
• REFG is adding more licenses to grow industrial hemp; it is already licensed in Colorado, with eyes on Utah and Vermont
• Company is adding prominent political figures to its advisory board from states where medical marijuana is legal, including New Mexico, Utah, Florida and Oregon

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) has expanded its presence in the legalized cannabis space from its core Green FinCEN-compliant processing system, which creates a digital and cashless way for dispensaries and other legalized merchants to do business outside of the traditional banking system. Online signup has generated more applications for Green, according to REFG (http://ibn.fm/bX9uz).

REFG is expanding its role as a grower. It acquired SpeedyGrow, a Wyoming-based firm licensed to grow and process hemp in Colorado (http://ibn.fm/lCERM). It says it will also apply for state licenses to grow industrial hemp in Utah (http://ibn.fm/thwel) and Vermont (http://ibn.fm/6RaE0).

In addition, REFG has reached agreement in principle with a subsidiary of Paper Lantern, LLC to acquire the rights to operate mobile hemp CBD extraction labs. It calls for the labs to operate at hemp farms owned and operated by REFG, as well as at farms that have entered into processing agreements with the company (http://ibn.fm/JIYH7). It anticipates deploying the mobile units for the October 2018 harvest.

In a news release, Jeremy Roberts, CEO of REFG, said, “Our mobile extraction partnership is another step forward in our plan to participate in the hemp and cannabis industries at strategic levels… We believe the ability to manage supply and demand from seed to sale gives us a competitive edge in the marketplace.”

The company is also adding more political impact to its advisory board, especially in states where medicinal marijuana is legal (http://ibn.fm/ffwTK). It has also added James Gray, mayor of Lexington, Kentucky. In that state, a bill was drafted to legalize medical marijuana but has not yet passed, according to Newsweek (http://ibn.fm/wB1nF).

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

• DeepMarkit helps businesses use games to promote their brands
• The company’s proprietary promotions platform is “Gamify”
• DeepMarkit continues to boost its customer base because of its beneficial technology

An e-commerce technology company, DeepMarkit Inc. (TSX.V: MKT) (OTCQB: MKTDF) develops and markets gamification tools, enabling businesses to use games to promote their brands, engage their audiences and produce leads. Calgary, Alberta-based DeepMarkit’s emphasis is gamification with its patent-pending “Gamify” technology platform.

Fundamentally, DeepMarkit’s team consists of gamification experts who come up with new ways to engage audiences. The company’s platform allows businesses to create branded games. These games attract and help retain customers. As a result, sales increase and new leads are captured via data acquisition.

DeepMarkit’s proprietary promotions platform is called “Gamify,” and the free version of the Gamify slide out launched in March 2018. The focus of Gamify is first-rate ecommerce customer acquisition tools. Coming soon is an enhanced version of the product. The company’s new product line will allow merchants to create and run gamified campaigns outside their websites, throughout social media and in paid ads.

Gamify is available for free download on all major e-commerce platforms. These include Shopify, BigCommerce, Weebly and WooCommerce. In addition, Gamify is available as a plug-in for WordPress, which sets the stage for wide-ranging adoption.

DeepMarkit’s customers are experiencing high conversion rates. Since unveiling its e-commerce tool kit in March, the company has collected greater than 125,000 emails from merchants who continue to see increased monthly conversion rates. Because of this, DeepMarkit continues to expand its customer base (http://ibn.fm/kSA5H). The company’s new merchant sign-ups in July were 20 percent higher than in June. Moreover, August was on course to show a bigger growth rate.

Carter Chalmers, DeepMarkit’s director of sales and business development, noted in an August news release, “We have been steadily increasing our merchant base month over month… We have been listening to our merchant customers and have incorporated features they have been requesting into our enhanced toolkit which we will launch in October.”

As an online marketing toolkit, Gamify helps merchants grow their email marketing lists and newsletter subscriptions. Furthermore, it helps merchants convert store visitors into paying customers. Gamification is the future that’s already here for retailers, and it is set to hit new highs in growth. P&S Market Research estimates that the global gamification market will be valued at more than $22 billion in 2021/2022, with a CAGR of 41.8 percent (http://ibn.fm/nHhu9).

DeepMarkit is poised to leverage its expertise in gamification technology to drive greater customer growth. The company’s customers see the benefits of Gamify and are implementing DeepMarkit’s toolkit into their operations. The toolkit can also be installed onto any website directly from DeepMarkit.

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

• Texas-based MetzOhanian specializes in developing blockchain solutions
• Petroteq believes that blockchain technology will create huge savings and increase trust
• Industry experts predict that blockchain applications could increase oil industry profits

Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF), a company that develops and implements new technologies for the energy industry, has engaged a software engineering firm to create blockchain applications for its PetroBLOQ platform, according to a company press release (http://ibn.fm/q6h1a).

MetzOhanian, a Texas-based software development and security firm, specializes in building blockchain solutions. Petroteq intends to use blockchain technology to improve efficiency and transparency in its supply chain, leading to major cost savings and enhanced security and trust.

A number of industry experts believe that blockchain will play a major role in boosting the oil industry’s profitability (http://ibn.fm/tF83x). Specifically, using blockchain technologies in supply line management could reduce inefficiencies that currently cost the industry a lot of time and money. MetzOhanian, with its Texas roots, is familiar with the supply chain challenges that confront the oil industry. MetzOhanian specializes in creating software for businesses, including business automation, software and hardware integration and supply chain applications.

“The use by Petroteq of a blockchain based platform designed by PetroBLOQ is anticipated to provide Petroteq with the latest administrative technology to interface with our customers, vendors, and suppliers in real-time. Internally it will enhance the efficiency of operations, reduce administrative costs, and provide support to our departmental systems, so that our team can be in touch anywhere in the world,” Dr. Jerry Bailey, who holds the dual role of advisor to PetroBLOQ and president and director of Petroteq, stated in a news release. “We believe that petroleum companies will find blockchain to be a useful tool in sharing information within the industry and will allow them to better service their clients and provide a level of transparency between the parties.”

David Sealock, CEO of Petroteq, added that, even in the early days of blockchain application in the energy industry, PetroBLOQ’s blockchain principles have a compelling potential to create a technology consortium for remediation and reclamation projects. “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.”

Petroteq has developed and patented an environmentally friendly and sustainable technology that extracts heavy oil from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. This green technology process, unlike other oil sands extraction practices, leaves no waste and produces no greenhouse gas emissions.

The company is in the final stages of preparations to begin extraction operations at its heavy oil extraction facility in Asphalt Ridge, Utah. Petroteq plans to begin producing 1,000 barrels of oil per day before gradually expanding production capacity to increase output to 8,000 barrels per day by late 2020 or early 2021.

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

• Flagship project located in a world class jurisdiction with decades of production infrastructure in place
• Agreements with commercial operators to access existing brine production to fast track development
• Agreement to locate and install its rapid lithium extraction process inside an operating chemical plant
• Global lithium compounds market projected to reach U.S. $5.87 billion by 2020
• Technological advances provide access to low cost, battery-grade lithium materials
• World demand for lithium expected to increase 300% by 2025
• Partnerships with the University of British Columbia, Saltworks, Zeton and SGS Canada are focused on developing, building and demonstrating new lithium extraction technologies

Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTC: STLHF) is focused on unlocking the value of existing large-scale U.S.-based lithium brine resources that can quickly be brought into production. The Company believes new lithium production can rapidly be brought on stream by minimizing project risks at selection stage; resource, political & geographic, and regulatory & permitting; and by leveraging advances in lithium extraction technologies and processes.

The Company’s flagship project is in southern Arkansas. The more than 180,000-acre “Smackover Project” is in the most prolific and productive brine processing region in North America. Agreements with large commercial brine operators in the region will allow Standard Lithium to utilize the extensive existing infrastructure, including brine supply and disposal pipelines, water, power and a trained workforce to fast-track project development timelines.

“Arkansas produces about 9.4 billion gallons of brine per year, according to 2010-2016 average statistics reported by the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission.”

Standard Lithium signed a binding MoU with global specialty chemicals company LANXESS Corporation and its U.S. affiliate Great Lakes Chemical Corporation with the purpose of demonstrating the commercial viability of extraction of lithium from brine (“tail brine”) that is produced as part of LANXESS’ bromine extraction business at its three Southern Arkansas facilities.

LANXESS’ land operations in Southern Arkansas encompass more than 150,000 acres, 10,000 brine leases and surface agreements and 250 miles of pipelines. LANXESS extracts the brine from its wells located throughout the area, and the brine is transported to the three Arkansas plants through a network of pipelines. The three bromine extraction plants currently employ approximately 500 people and process and reinject several hundred thousand barrels of brine per day.

Standard Lithium has developed a breakthrough rapid lithium extraction process that reduces the recovery time of extracting lithium from brine to as little as several hours vs. the current industry method that takes years. The process is also much more environmentally friendly with a significantly smaller footprint than the conventional processes. The company has a signed agreement to locate a demonstration scale lithium extraction plant inside one of LANXESS’ chemical plants in Southern Arkansas.

The Company has also signed an option agreement with NYSE-listed Tetra Technologies for the lithium rights for exploration, extraction, and possible commercial development on approximately 30,000 acres of brine leases in Southern Arkansas. The largest available land package.

Recent laboratory results of four brine samples recovered from two existing wells in Standard Lithium’s project area showed lithium concentrations ranging between 347-461 mg/L lithium, with an average of 450 mg/L lithium in one of the wells and 350 mg/L in the other. Geological modeling of the project area is complete, and a maiden resource report is on the horizon.

Market Opportunity

World demand for lithium continues to surge. The global lithium compounds market is projected to reach U.S. $5.87 billion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.22% between 2015 and 2020. Lithium-ion batteries are the fastest growing segment of the market.

Leadership

Standard Lithium’s commitment to being a premier, innovation-driven company focused on developing and commercializing new modern processes for lithium extraction is bolstered by the leading experts that comprise the company’s Scientific Advisory Council. Each member was selected because of their experience and expertise in areas that are central to and/or complement Standard Lithium’s current development plans. Standard Lithium recently welcomed to the Council world-renowned chemist Dr. Barry Sharpless, the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions.

Standard Lithium is led by a team of professionals with proven strong technical and project development skills. CEO Robert Mintak has a global network of industry contacts and is a pioneer in the rapidly evolving lithium space. COO and President Dr. Andy Robinson is an experienced geoscientist with 20+ years of experience and a PhD in Geochemistry from the University of Bristol, UK. Dr. Robinson has worked on a wide range of projects in the resource, power and energy sectors in Europe, Africa, and North and South America.

The company recently appointed Robert Cross as non-executive chairman. Cross is an engineer with 25 years of experience as a financier and company builder in the mining and oil and gas sectors. He co-founded and serves as chairman of B2Gold, a top-performing growing gold producer which is expected to achieve nearly 1 million ounces of low-cost gold production in 2018. He was also co-founder and chairman of Bankers Petroleum Ltd.; co-founder and chairman of Petrodorado Energy Ltd.; and until October 2007 was the non-executive chairman of Northern Orion Resources Inc. He also was previously the chairman and CEO of Yorkton Securities Inc., and a partner in investment banking with Gordon Capital Corp. in Toronto. Cross has an engineering degree from the University of Waterloo (1982) and received an MBA from Harvard in 1987.

Following a multi-million-dollar financing in Q1 2018, Standard Lithium is well-positioned to meet its upcoming milestones including two maiden resource reports and the launch of its breakthrough rapid lithium extraction technology.

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

• CEO John ‘JT’ Thatch says that SHRV’s gross sales in May represented its top monthly revenue total since the debut of the health and wellness division’s Elevacity Global product line and Elepreneur sales force last December
• Record May revenues continue SHRV’s momentum, building on sales figures in March and April that were also notable as all-time high results
• Chairman Robert Oblon said that execution of SHRV’s unique Blue Ocean Strategy is a factor in peak sales, and partnering with more providers will support future growth

Sharing Services, Inc. (OTC: SHRV) reported its third consecutive record gross sales month, reaching more than $4 million in May. This followed highs of $3.5 million in April and $2.4 million in March (http://ibn.fm/Fc01g). SHRV said that its record sales are being driven by the success of its Elevacity products. May SHRV sales clocked in at the company’s best monthly total since the launch of Elevacity last December, the company said.

Elevacity is a health and wellness line that includes its D.O.S.E. products, anti-aging Elier Mud, vitamin patches designed to generate energy and the Timeless line of skincare for men and women.

SHRV is a Plano, Texas-based diversified holding company that owns, operates or controls a variety of companies engaged in direct selling through independent sales representatives. It also offers services such as energy, technology and insurance.

“We are very pleased that our sales continue to grow in the summer months, with most of the credit going to the great team at Elepreneurs and their hard work,” Thatch stated in a news release.

Blue Ocean selling is a concept of marketing in an uncontested marketplace. April sales growth built the company’s momentum on a “grand scale,” Oblon said (http://ibn.fm/sJDTv).

The company plans to grow in the future, in part, by adding more providers. It earlier signed a joint venture agreement with Hong Kong-based Health Wealth & Happiness Ltd. (“HWH”) to sell its products throughout Asia and expand its Elepreneur program (http://ibn.fm/sFucI).

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