• Net Element payment processing tech options assist industries according to individualized needs
• Partnership with Russian bank set to boost country’s aging financial network
• Most recent reports show growing net revenues as company prioritizes market needs close to home

In a world where emerging business enterprises are continually searching for ways to move money when the businesses don’t fully conform to the rigid expectations of the banking and lending community, payment processing technology providers such as Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) are helping to keep markets flowing on a global scale and providing a foundation for investors to stand on as they uphold entire industries.

Net Element’s decision to join its mobile payments operations with multi-channel subsidiary PayOnline increased its ability to serve small and medium-sized businesses and their customers with a growing number of payment options. The company works to adapt its platform so it can fit the individual needs of store front businesses and unbanked and web-based enterprises — all of which serve their customers in a variety of different ways.

While the company has scaled back its European activities, its recently announced partnership with Sputnik Bank in Russia to provide third-party bank processing to other banks throughout the country (http://ibn.fm/SefZV) shows its ability to work in the international arena and its drive to establish financial services wherever the need presents itself.

“We believe this is the first bank to provide a wholesale service to other Russian banks and if executed properly could be a huge success,” the company stated in a news release. “In the future, this entity could even be spun off into its own independent fintech company like many of the banks in the US have done.”

The news release added the company’s belief that all of Russia’s banks use in-house systems, many of which have not been upgraded to modern standards since the systems were created in the wake of the Soviet Union’s dissolution in the early ‘90s.

“Sputnik is expected to move its own in-house system over to this venture and will sell the processing service to small banks, third-party vendors, value-added resellers, credit organizations and sales organizations. Due to economies of scale of bank and payment processing, one large entity can more efficiently manage a system and the smaller banks will be able to outsource their IT at what is expected to be a much lower cost,” the company continued.

Closer to home, Net Element’s VIP Payments solution offers technological capabilities to hotel and tourism industry enterprises (http://ibn.fm/qLgmf); Netevia offers a subscription-based, transparent online payments solution for brick and mortar businesses’ e-commerce and B2B needs (http://ibn.fm/oDv91); Aptito provides support to the restaurant industry (http://ibn.fm/roG0r); and Unified Mobile Payments is designed with the kiosk and truck vendor in mind (http://ibn.fm/uB0ji).

“We work directly with payment card networks and banks so that our merchants do not need to manage the complex systems, rules, and requirements of the payments industry,” the company stated in its most recent 10-Q quarterly report.

Net Element’s 8-K report issued during the same period states that the company had a net revenues increase of $16.46 million for the three months ended June 30 of this year, which was an increase of two percent over the second quarter of 2017. The company’s net revenues for the six months leading up to the most recent reporting was up nine percent over the previous year to $32.45 million.

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

• Aziza Project – and by default the Aziza Coin – will own equity in several oil and gas businesses including 20% of Africa New Energies (ANE). This translates to a valuation of $100 million based on a bid that ANE rejected in 2017 and could go as high as $620 million.
• $11 million has been raised by ANE through crowdfunding initiatives to explore for hydrocarbons in Namibia. ANE holds a petroleum exploration license (PEL68), or concession, on Namibia’s eastern border. ANE has identified both the presence of oil and gas in the licensed project area.
• The Aziza Coin is a security token and not a utility token. This is accomplished through compliance with Aziza Project’s smart contract functionality as well as navigation of securities legislation in multiple jurisdictions.
• Aziza Project is a long-term project with a commitment to invest in and nurture the types of businesses it supports, and the communities involved. The concession is conveniently located near roadways and rail infrastructure, linking it to major South African and Namibian towns and ports.
• Aziza Project is an ethics-based business with established values and clarity of purpose. Transparency is essential with management committed to retaining a high level of communication with coin holders.
• The Aziza Coin looks to provide liquidity for the coin through secondary markets where investors get real-time pricing based on development of the ANE project. Various decentralized exchange options are being explored for optimal liquidity.
• Aziza Project is compliant with current U.S. federal regulations for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT).

Aziza Project LLC is a fund that tokenizes high potential oil and gas businesses in Africa, enabling them to raise funds for profit and social good. Aziza Project and its tokenization approach aims to address the obstacles associated with traditional fundraising by taking advantage of the benefits of blockchain technology to eliminate the cost and need for middlemen and complex administration. Aziza Project’s token, the Aziza Coin, is an asset-backed mid-to-long-term security token.

The First in the Fund

The vision for Aziza Project’s primary business is to light up Africa, bringing electricity to the 630 million people who currently have no access to the grid and typically depend on wood and paraffin for their energy needs, and in the process to deliver excellent returns to investors.

Through Aziza Coin, Aziza Project owns 20% of Africa New Energies (ANE), which holds rights to a 22,000-square-kilometer prospective hydrocarbon concession in Namibia. This potentially world-scale oil and gas deposit in eastern Namibia, bordering Botswana and the Kalahari Desert, could transform the region’s energy supply and provide a powerful boost to growth in Namibia. By using big data algorithms, the ANE project will be developed at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

In 2017 ANE rejected a $500 million unsolicited bid in the belief that this prime asset can deliver far more for investors, the local community and the people of Africa. The bid rejection has been superseded by an innovative fundraising model to unlock the value that ANE data indicates is under the ground. This sparked the genesis of Aziza Project, the creation of an oil and gas fund set up to raise capital to take ANE and other high potential oil and gas businesses to the next level smartly and efficiently.

Aziza Coins

Aziza Project is seeking to raise $60 million through the sale of Aziza Coins, an asset-backed security token compliant with the Ethereum blockchain’s ERC20 standard. The asset, a 20 percent interest in ANE, is estimated to be worth $100 million based on the value of the unsolicited bid. Funding raised by the Aziza Coin Initial Coin Offering, which began in October 2018, will be used to finance a 10 well drilling program for ANE’s Namibian concession and to develop an oil and gas fund. Proving a hydrocarbon resource will result in significant value creation for Aziza Coin holders. Proving of the project’s estimated 1.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent resource could value ANE at $3.1 billion, which would result in Aziza Project’s holding to potentially be worth up to $620 million.

The Aziza Coin seeks to create significant investor value that marries a compelling business case with the efficiency of crypto. People who buy Aziza Coins will have an indirect fractional ownership of the assets held by Aziza Project. And with tokens listed on exchanges, investors will have a degree of liquidity that private company shareholders do not have and with greater access to real returns. Aziza Coin token holders are the sole economic beneficiaries of Aziza Project’s investments and are assured that at least 51 percent of funds will be used to buy back tokens anytime a profit is made in a calendar year.

Typical investment funds charge a myriad of fees and administrative charges. These will not be present within Aziza Project LLC, with no annual fees, exit fees or salary expenses. The vision is to get as much of the investor’s dollar into the assets under management, and then on exit get as much of the asset value back to the investor. Aziza Project believes that tokenization of assets and securities is the future. Distributed ledger technology will be the catalyst for the benefit of both investors and businesses forging their way.

The Visionaries

The Aziza Coin ICO is different because its management team is very clear on valuations and laser-focused on the broader objective established by Aziza Project. The Aziza Coin is an asset-backed security token with a strong management team grounded in blue-chip corporate backgrounds and established real-world businesses.

CEO Robert Pyke has a professional background that covers consumer goods, consultancy and now cryptocurrency. Much of his career was spent at Unilever where he worked in a variety of finance roles, rising to become finance director for Unilever’s €20bn turnover Beauty and Personal Care division.

Aziza Project co-founder Shakes Motsilili has an Investments Administration background and worked for several years at Momentum Wealth as head of Actuarial Support. He resigned in 2012 to become an entrepreneur with a vision to electrify the whole of Africa.

Brendon Raw, CTO, is a South Africa-based software developer and investor in the energy technology, property and digital media sectors. Brendon was lead developer on the sales and revenue system of the one of the most valuable internet companies of its day – excite@home and was BP’s tactical application developer, creating several mission-critical commodity trading systems.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Aziza.io

• Increased size of non-brokered private placement raises gross proceeds of $1,515,440, to be used to fund construction of new Canadian lab, LXRP’s R&D and general corporate purposes
• LXRP has received two new U.S. patents related to cannabinoid infused beverage compositions using DehydraTECH; the company is a drug delivery innovator
• The company has expanded its IP portfolio, giving it a total of 10 patents in its first family in the U.S. and Australia; it has 50 patent applications globally and out-licenses its technology

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) has raised, in a non-brokered private placement, a total of $1,515,440. Net proceeds will be used for construction of a new lab in Canada, LXRP-driven R&D and general corporate purposes. The offering consists of 947,150 units at an issue price of $1.60 per unit (http://ibn.fm/WioGm). Lexaria, due to strong demand, increased the size of the placement.

Each unit consists of one common share of the company and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant shall entitle the holder to acquire one common share of LXRP at a price of $2.25 per common share for a period of 24 months following the closing of the offering. Finder’s fees of $45,080 and 28,175 finder’s warrants were paid on a portion of the proceeds raised, with each finder’s warrant having exercise terms identical to the warrants issued.

Based in British Columbia, Canada, LXRP is a biotechnology company that has developed technology which has shown faster and more effective delivery of cannabinoids and nicotine. Its IP portfolio already includes a patent for oral delivery of all cannabinoids. The newest patents are to protect LXRP’s cannabinoid-infused beverage compositions. The compositions use both non-psychoactive cannabinoids, such as CBD, and also psychoactive cannabinoids, such as THC.

In a news release, Chris Bunka, chief executive officer of LXRP, said, “We thank both our new subscribers and those existing shareholders who supported this private placement, during unusually adverse market conditions — a testament to their belief in the vision and prospects of Lexaria.”

In an interview on the Uptick Newswire podcast, Bunka added that LXRP is a pioneer in its IP patent activity in the cannabis sector. He added that the company now has close to a half-dozen licensees in Canada and the United States who are paying LXRP to use its DehydraTECH technology (http://ibn.fm/25wNM).

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. It hopes to be granted two new Australian patents by year’s end. If patents applied for 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.”

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

• California consumers purchased $180 million worth of cannabis-infused food and drinks in 2017 – 10% of the state’s total marijuana sales – with that percentage rising to 18% in February 2018.
• Cannabis-infused gummies have a much wider appeal since they are less conspicuous to consume and provide a smoke-free experience
• Advances in technology allow manufacturers of cannabis-infused edibles to tweak concentrations of THC and CBD
• The Specialty Food Association has named cannabis edibles as one of the Top 10 food trends of 2018

Plus Products Inc. (CSE: PLUS) is a branded cannabis-infused products manufacturer of edibles created to support a healthy and active lifestyle. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, PLUS™ concentrates on producing edibles using extracts to ensure compliant, dosable and delicious products that provide a consistent cannabis experience.

First introduced to the market in 2015 to rave reviews, PLUS™ is now one of the top best-selling edible brands in California. PLUS™ operates through a wholly owned subsidiary, Carberry, and has four cannabis-infused gummy candy SKUs (in addition to limited edition SKUs), that are currently sold in over 200 licensed dispensaries and delivery services. All products under the PLUS™ brand are produced in the company’s 12,000-square-foot food-safe cannabis manufacturing facility in Adelanto, California.

PLUS Products shares are currently listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. PLUS™ raised CAD$20 million through the offering, for which the lead underwriters were PI Financial and Canaccord Genuity. The company intends to use a portion of the IPO proceeds to fund rapid product capacity expansion, factory automation, working capital and new product development.

Operating in the largest adult-use recreational market in the U.S., PLUS Products holds a temporary manufacturing license in California and was one of the first brands to bring fully compliant products to the legal market. California legalized adult use recreational sales on Jan. 1, 2018, and industry analysts expect edible sales there will continue to amass enviable revenues. According to BDS Analytics, edibles made up 18 percent of marijuana retail sales in February 2018 across licensed retailers in California, with PLUS™ products ranking in the Top 10 of edible brands by retail dollar sales.

During the first half of 2018, PLUS Products generated US$2.45 million in sales, a marked improvement over 2017’s US$1.07 million in sales. The company’s established cannabis products are not only compliant with state laws, they are proving to be extremely popular with consumers. Among the PLUS™ product brands are:

• Blackberry & Lemon RESTORE, an infusion of carefully dosed cannabis with a 9:1 THC to CBD per gummy.
• Sour Watermelon UPLIFT, a low-calorie gummy crafted from carefully dosed cannabis with an infusion of 5mg THC per gummy.
• Pineapple & Coconut CBD RELIEF, a tropical flavor gummy made from pure cannabis-derived CBD that is low-calorie, gluten-free and made with kosher ingredients.
• Sour Blueberry CREATE, a low-calorie gummy infused with hybrid flower containing 5 mg THC.
• Limited Edition Rose & Vanilla, available at select locations during Winter 2018, these gummies are crafted with 60 mg THC/30 mg CBD per tin.
• Limited Edition RAINBOW SORBET gummies was created to celebrate Pride during Spring 2018 with a portion of each purchase donated to The Trevor Project, a confidential suicide hotline for LGBT youth.

“We are extremely proud of the products PLUS has brought to market,” remarked Jake Heimark, CEO and cofounder in a statement. “We’ve quickly grown into one of the leading edible brands in California. With the proceeds of this round, we will continue to further our mission: to make cannabis safe and approachable for all types of consumers.”

The PLUS™ team believes that everyone deserves access to consistent, dosable and delicious cannabis products and strives to make that happen. Producing the best infused products at scale requires thoughtful collaboration among experts in many fields. At PLUS™, our team is comprised of Chefs, Chemists, Food Manufacturing Experts, Engineers, Machinists, Visionaries, Creatives, Strategists and others.

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

• Company currently has two cannabis-focused divisions: cannabidiol (CBD) products and ancillary software
• Company recently acquired Where’s Weed and its primary asset, www.WheresWeed.com
• Consumers have placed more than 76,000 orders with dispensaries through the Where’s Weed app since it was launched in January 2018

Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP), a development-stage company offering business services and products that support the cannabis industry, is an emerging cannabis leader working to take cannabis culture to the next level.

Within the booming and rapidly transitioning legal cannabis market, DVLP stands out with two separate divisions: cannabidiol (CBD) products and ancillary software.

On the CBD side, the company sells retail products, both online and through a growing distribution network structure. Because branding is key in the CBD market, DVLP is bringing on recognized brands through acquisitions. Through its wholesale and distribution channels, as well as through the online presence of joint-venture partner Pura Vida Vitamins, DVLP offers a wide range of top-quality, competitively priced products that includes vitamins, supplements and CBD-based tinctures, vapes, soft gels and more.

Through its ancillary software division, DVLP offers various distinctive products and services. In September 2018, the company acquired Where’s Weed (Layer Six Media DBA “Where’s Weed”) and www.WheresWeed.com, its primary asset. WheresWeed.com is an online and mobile cannabis services hub that connects both recreational and medical cannabis users in the United States and Canada with trusted marijuana businesses in their areas, facilitating fast, efficient and secure sourcing and purchasing of cannabis products. Services include the ability to make app-based purchases from dispensaries for delivery or pickup – a popular offering in California, particularly, where dispensary locations can be difficult to reach.

Since the Where’s Weed app was launched in January, user activity data has been incredibly positive, with consumers placing more than 76,000 individual orders with dispensaries through the app as of early October, representing a monetary value of $12.6 million.

With additional offerings also in development, DVLP is making exciting strides and distinguishing itself as an undeniable leader in the cannabis marketplace that’s poised to advance cannabis culture as legalization efforts continue in the U.S. and abroad.

For more information, visit the company’s websites at www.PuraVidaVitamins.com and www.WheresWeed.com

• Sugarmade invests $1 million in Hempistry through common stock to boost ultra-high CBD hemp growing
• The U.S. industrial hemp market is projected to hit $1 billion in revenue in 2018
• Legislative process underway to legalize commercial production of industrial hemp by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act

Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) is a product and brand marketing company that targets brands with disruptive potential and invests in them. Currently, the company has made a commitment to invest in Hempistry Inc. to the tune of $1 million. This investment will boost Hempistry’s efforts to produce ultra-high CBD-content hemp that is grown in Kentucky.

SGMD, headquartered in Monrovia City, California, has made impressive progress into the industrial hemp space. The main operations have been in hydroponics and restaurant supply. Other brands under its fold include CarryOutSupplies.com, ZenHydro.com and BudLife.

The investment in Hempistry is a strategic one for SGMD, as the U.S. industrial hemp market is forecast to grow to $1 billion in revenues in 2018. The expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for industrial hemp through 2022 in the U.S. alone is expected to be 14 percent.

Hempistry Inc. is a Nevada-based privately-held corporation focusing on the growth of ultra-high CBD industrial hemp. This hemp strain contains not more than 0.3 percent THC, the ingredient found in marijuana that is responsible for its recreational function.

The $1 million investment will be made over a 12-month period. It is aimed at boosting Hempistry’s activities, mainly the planting of the 23,000 acres of prime farmland in Kentucky with a new strain of hemp.

As part of the deal, Sugarmade seeks to enter into a cultivation supply pact with Hempistry, thus opening more revenue opportunities. The investment will be in common stock, which means that shareholders will potentially benefit, should Hempistry announce an IPO in the future.

The cannabis market is a varied and increasingly complex industry. The plants and products from this industry can be broadly divided into two groups: hemp (and CBD) in one category and marijuana (and THC) in the other. Unlike THC, which is mainly for recreational use, CBD has fueled prospects and actual development of medical marijuana products. It is this potential for phenomenal growth that SGMD is riding in its decision to invest in Hempistry.

In a snapshot, the United States sold over $820 million worth of hemp-based products in 2017, 23 percent of which comprised CBD-derived products. By 2022, the hemp market will have grown to $1.9 billion, according to projections, with $646 million coming from CBD and its derivatives.

The business model of Sugarmade, Inc. is closely tied to CBD, and this means growth opportunities and innovation for the company. Hemp is gaining mainstream acceptance and use with products in categories such as textiles, personal care products, supplements and food manufactured out of CBD.

Much of the hemp currently used in CBD products is imported from China and Canada. In 2015 alone, imports into the United States for hemp totaled $78.2 million, excluding paper products, textiles and construction materials.

Sugarmade’s investment strategy is expected to be further strengthened by the 2018 Farm Bill that is currently before the U.S. Senate. As part of the legislation, industrial hemp is being pushed out of the Controlled Substances Act. This means that farmers will find it easier to grow hemp not just for CBD, but for other agricultural purposes as well. The last Farm Bill created an environment in which farmers could legally set up test production of hemp for CBD, but not widespread cultivation.

Apart from the direct monetary investment, Sugarmade, Inc. recognizes the need for innovation through research and implementation of new products to boost and sustain growth.

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

• A total of 31 states plus D.C. have legalized medical marijuana, and nine states and D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana in the U.S.; recreational marijuana is now legal across Canada
• Legislators predict in a presentation at George Washington University that bills to legalize marijuana nationally will be introduced in Congress in 2019
• REFG would benefit from cannabis legislation as a payment processor within the industry with its Green digital processing system and as owner of a licensed hemp grower/processor

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) stand to gain if the predictions of two legislators that federal cannabis legalization bills will be passed in Congress in 2019 are correct. The Congressmen said at a session of the Cannabis Law Institute, hosted by The National Cannabis Bar Association, at George Washington University, that legislation to legalize cannabis nationally is anticipated next year no matter which party controls Congress (http://ibn.fm/zmTpg).

REFG would benefit from such a move, because it is well entrenched in the cannabis industry. It offers Green, a cashless processing system, and maintains ownership of SpeedyGrow, a Wyoming-based firm licensed to grow and process hemp in Colorado (http://ibn.fm/6u05n). Medicinal marijuana is now legal in 31 states plus D.C. In addition, nine states and D.C. have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana (http://ibn.fm/c51w0), and Canada recently made recreational cannabis legal nationwide.

Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) told the session that bills legalizing cannabis in the U.S. – it has thus far been a state-by-state issue – would be introduced into Congress in 2019. They specifically cited the “STATES” Act (Strengthening the 10th Amendment through Entrusting States), introduced in June, which would exempt states with legal cannabis from federal cannabis law enforcement. Both lawmakers said that the bill and other cannabis legislation will “likely pass” next year.

REFG, a Nevada-based firm, offers Green as a tier one digital payment system that processes payments safely and creates a non-cash environment for cannabis dispensaries and retailers. It is Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) compliant, is available to the entire cannabis market and offers online sign up. It can also handle all payments for a small business retailer (http://ibn.fm/kFspv).

REFG’s Green enables patients and cannabis customers to sign up online. The cards can be branded to the vendor, create a safe processing system and build customer loyalty. The platform also enables merchants to complete their own financial transactions by handling internal payments, such as accounts payable, vendor payments and any other invoices incurred by small businesses. The customer or patient can also pay directly from a bank account without requiring cash.

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

• An estimated 30 million electric vehicles expected to be on the road by 2030
• Shortage of lithium for batteries poses an imminent risk
• Lithium Chile’s 617 square miles of claims could help plug the gap

A recent report on the electric vehicle (EV) market should bring good cheer to investors of Lithium Chile Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF). “Our latest forecast shows sales of electric vehicles (EVs) increasing from a record 1.1 million worldwide in 2017, to 11 million in 2025 and then surging to 30 million in 2030 as they become cheaper to make than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars”, wrote analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) (http://ibn.fm/e47Ep). Millions of EVs will require millions of lithium batteries and lots of lithium – there’s about 63 kg of lithium in a 70 kWh Tesla Model S battery pack. The expected supply from Lithium Chile should come in handy. The junior explorer has the largest land package, acquired at very low cost, of any private lithium miner, with some of the highest sample grades recorded in the world’s most lithium-rich region.

As automakers ramp up production of EVs, supply shortages loom on the horizon. One large Tesla supplier expects (http://ibn.fm/NYViB) a supply squeeze, “not in the short term, but in the longer term there is still risk of a shortage… especially 2023 and 2024…” Every tonne of lithium will count, and Lithium Chile is likely to have many to offer. The company now has a lithium property portfolio consisting of 16 salars and one laguna complex in Chile. The properties include 64 square kilometers on the Salar de Atacama, which hosts the world’s highest concentration of lithium brine production and is currently the source of approximately 30 percent of the world’s lithium production. Lithium Chile’s extensive holdings are the largest held by any private pure play lithium operator. Extending over 159,700 hectares (617 square miles), the claims cover an area much larger than Barbados, with its 430 square miles of land mass.

Despite the vast extent of its holdings, the cost to Lithium Chile has been a fraction of what might have been expected. On average, these claims were acquired at $3 per hectare; however, their current market price is in the range of $1,500-$2,000 per hectare. Moreover, soil samples have been reported consistently above the 1,000 mg per liter of lithium mark. This compares very favorably with production grades in the U.S., which are typically just 190-200 mg per liter of lithium.

Five projects are now under the spotlight. In order of promise, they are Coipasa, Helados, Atacama, Turi, Ollague and Talar. An area of 58 square kilometers has been identified as a high-priority target at the Coipasa property, which covers 113 square kilometers, or about 70 percent of the 163 square kilometers Salar de Coipasa. Lithium values in the brine range from 310 mg/L (milligrams per liter) to 1,410 mg/L. Near surface brines with a lithium-potassium (Li:K) ratio of 0.06 and magnesium-lithium (Mg:Li) ratio of 3.9, comparable to the Li:K ratio of 0.08 and Mg:Li ratio of 6.4 at the Salar de Atacama, have also been reported (http://ibn.fm/onCd5).

At Ollague, results have been just as promising. At the 2,200 hectare property, where the water table is just 40-50 cm deep, sampling has returned around 1,400 mg per liter of lithium.

Naturally, such high concentrations at such shallow depths reduce production costs. Lithium brine production in Chile is the cheapest in the world at around $1,500-$1,800 per ton, while mining from spodumene costs about $5,000 per ton. With those advantages in location and cost, Lithium Chile looks prepared for any supply squeeze.

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

• Canada’s only licensed cannabis producer principally focused on premium brands and products with coast-to-coast distribution
• Current annual production run rate of 13,333 kg, ramping up to estimated 50,000 kg full capacity in 2019
• Recently signed 1-year CAD$12 million supply agreement with Tilray Inc. (OTC: TLRY) to support medical cannabis patients
• Commands premium wholesale prices up to one-third higher than other brands
• Supply agreements in place with six Canadian provinces
• Recently uplisted to OTCQX market in the U.S under ticker symbol SPRWF
• In September 2018 announced record fiscal year and Q4 results

Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSX.V: FIRE) (OTC: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1) is committed to providing premium brands and products that reflect the company’s knowledgeable customers, passionate employees, and culture of innovation. Supreme Cannabis’ mission is to grow the world’s best cannabis and become a leader in the global industry. The company calls its Toronto Venture Exchange stock symbol FIRE “a testament to our passion for cannabis and our obsession with quality.”

Supreme Cannabis believes the world is ready to follow Canada’s lead by ending the 100-year cannabis prohibition and, as Canada’s only coast-to-coast premium cannabis producer, the company sees itself at the center of this global shift.

In August 2018, Supreme Cannabis uplisted its shares to the to OTCQX market in the U.S., where the company trades under the ticker symbol SPRWF. The following month Supreme reported record Q4 revenues of CAD$3.55 million, a 71-percent increase over the previous quarter. Supreme Cannabis also recorded revenue of CAD$8.85 million for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, placing it among publicly traded Canadian cannabis companies with the highest reported revenue in their first four quarters of sales.

“As a result of the successful execution of our strategy, we have generated significant revenue growth both for the quarter and the year-end period,” Supreme Cannabis CEO Navdeep Dhaliwal stated in a news release. “We look forward to building on this growth as we expand domestically and internationally.”

The company’s growth strategy includes key industry agreements, such as its CAD$12 million supply agreement with Tilray Inc. (OTC: TLRY), a global leader in cannabis research, cultivation, processing and distribution. The agreement calls for Supreme to supply Tilray with dried cannabis for support of medical cannabis patients in Canada for the period of one year.

Another key component is the company’s wholly owned 7ACRES subsidiary. The 7ACRES cultivation facility, one of the first 40 federally licensed cannabis producers in Canada, is focused on building a core competency in scaled cannabis production, which will give 7ACRES the needed flexibility to maintain leadership in the industry as the Canadian market grows and matures. Though 7ACRES is Supreme Cannabis’ flagship brand and only currently operating business unit, the company will continue to identify new opportunities to grow its portfolio of companies and build innovative cannabis businesses throughout the world.

7ACRES operates from a 342,000-square-foot cultivation facility in Kincardine, Ontario, and has been federally licensed since 2016. Current capacity is 13,333 kilograms dried cannabis annually, with plans to ramp up production by mid-2019 to a rate of 50,000 kilograms per year.

Supreme Cannabis seeks to differentiate 7ACRES from other licensed cannabis producers by producing premium quality product sustainably at scale. “Craft quality, commercial scale” is a slogan the company uses, and the Kincardine greenhouse employs state-of-the-art technology and cultivation best practices to strive toward that goal. Supreme identifies the quality of the 7ACRES product as the company’s primary strength and says a shared “passion for the plant” is the driver of company culture. Six Canadian provinces have signed supply agreements with Supreme, a fact the company credits to the high quality of 7ACRES cannabis.

Its customers, Supreme Cannabis management says, are informed and discerning regarding cannabis, and they value a premium brand that respects their product knowledge. The company believes its high regard for customers, premium product quality, and mass cultivation capability has allowed Supreme Cannabis to emerge as Canada’s preeminent premium cannabis producer. In the Canadian cannabis market, the company has established 7ACRES as a premium brand that’s distributed coast-to-coast and commands premium pricing. The 7ACRES brand is already listed as premium cannabis product in all provinces that disclose their cannabis listing categories, and 7ACRES on average wholesales for up to one-third higher in price than other brands in the Canadian cannabis market.

To further its distribution, in the medical cannabis market Supreme Cannabis has partnered with several Canadian cannabis retailers including Aurora Cannabis, Emerald Health Botanicals, Namaste, Zenabis, and others. The company’s investment portfolio also includes an equity position and long-term global distribution partnership with Medigrow, based in Lesotho, targeting the export of medical cannabis oil for the international market.

Supreme Cannabis seeks to make the company an innovator in the cannabis sector regarding design of cultivation facilities and development of operation excellence metrics. The management team is confident that the 7ACRES flagship brand, the company’s proprietary technology and products, and the company’s culture of passion for cannabis will deliver consistent long-term shareholder value.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Supreme.ca

• First Cobalt’s latest reports show mineralized zones thicker than previously reported and additional mineralization between two recognized zones
• The company’s focus on domestic-sourcing of a “critical mineral” is being met with excitement amid assay results showing grades above inferred resource averages
• First Cobalt is working to more than double the strike length and down dip depth
• To sharpen the company’s focus, it is making changes to its office structure and is welcoming a new CFO in Ryan Snyder

Market anxiety over the potential inability of cobalt to continue supplying lithium-ion computer battery production demand underscores the excitement junior explorer First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (ASX: FCC) is experiencing as it finds increasing resource potential at its flagship project in Idaho.

Prospects for the cobalt industry continue to show a growth that is yet to be reflected in cobalt equities, a lopsided situation that could flip quickly and unpredictably. First Cobalt has taken advantage of the opportunity to strengthen its holdings in preparation for projected demand.

First Cobalt has described its Iron Creek Project as “one of the most prospective and advanced projects in North America” (http://ibn.fm/VD1Za), and new drill results showing mineralized zones thicker than previously reported, as well as additional mineralization between the recognized zones, is sustaining that claim.

The company’s October 24 report (http://ibn.fm/WCjuY) on the recent drilling highlights findings in one of the holes of 8.0 meters (26.2 feet) of 0.45 percent graded cobalt and 2.07 percent copper, for a cobalt equivalent of 0.65 percent — grades higher than the inferred resource average level announced on September 26 of 26.9 million metric tons with a 0.11 percent cobalt equivalent.

The report states that all new drill holes contain stretches of mineralization above the inferred resource’s average grade, adding that new exploration between the two recognized No Name and Waite zones indicates additional mineralized intersections, including a 3.8-meter (12.5-foot) width of cobalt measuring 0.30 percent grade in one of the holes.

First Cobalt is drilling along an additional 300 meters (984.2 feet) of the strike to further ascertain the extent of the mineralization as it prepares an updated mineral resource estimate planned in early 2019.

Drilling at the eastern end of the two zones specifically targeted mineralization near the surface at spacing intervals consistent with the requirements for indicated resource estimation. In the No Name Zone, the assay reported grades up to 0.61 percent cobalt and 2.02 percent copper over 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) in one of the drill holes, with a strong overlap of higher grade cobalt and copper mineralization generally.

The inferred resource was established through 500 meters (1,640.4 feet) of strike length drilling and dip depth of over 150 meters (492.1 feet). Its cobalt equivalent was based on grades of 0.08 percent cobalt and 0.30 percent copper in 46.2 million pounds of cobalt and 176.2 million pounds of copper, although an underground-only alternate scenario offers results of 4.4 million metric tons grading 0.23 percent cobalt and 0.68 percent copper using a cutoff underground grade of 0.18 percent cobalt equivalent in 22.3 million pounds of cobalt and 66.7 million pounds of copper.

The company is working to extend the strike length and down dip depth by at least double their current measures. First Cobalt released its first corporate video to profile the exploration on October 25 (http://ibn.fm/U09HZ), including interviews with the senior leadership team describing what makes Iron Creek a unique cobalt asset.

Cobalt is a relatively scarce metal whose demand is heightened by its critical role in the high-tech batteries that power all manner of computerized equipment ranging from smartphones and smart watches to electric vehicles and military technologies, leading President Donald Trump’s administration to include it among a list of “critical minerals” that the nation wants to exploit domestically in order to reduce dependence on foreign powers.

Roskill, an international metals and minerals research agency, predicts that demand from the battery sector alone will more than double the size of the entire cobalt market by 2027 (http://ibn.fm/kl4sr) and foresees “considerable uncertainty” about whether production levels of refined cobalt will be able to keep pace with demand after 2021 (http://ibn.fm/N23tZ), which highlights the importance of First Cobalt’s developments.

As First Cobalt works to shore up its corporate structure, it announced that Ryan Snyder, an experienced financial officer who led a key project for Inmet Mining Corp.’s Cobre Panama copper model, will become the company’s new chief financial officer.

“As we sharpen our focus on our flagship Iron Creek Project, we are consolidating the organization by closing the Vancouver office and moving the finance and accounting function to the Toronto head office,” First Cobalt CEO Trent Mell stated in a company news release about the changes (http://ibn.fm/3jmqd).

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