A drilling rig near Kennedy, Texas, is seen at dusk.Eric Gay/The Associated Press
Inside the Market's roundup of some of the Canadian small caps making news and on the move today. This post will be updated throughout the morning
Baytex Energy Corp. said its board approved a dividend of $0.10 per share per month, down from $0.24 per share per month, currently.
The board also approved a 2015 capital budget of $575-million to $650-million, down 30 per cent from original forecasts, designed to generate average production of 88,000 to 92,000 boe/d for 2015 after planned non-core asset sales of approximately 1,000 boe/d, the company said.
"Given the recent collapse in world oil prices, we believe our 2015 budget strikes the right balance between preserving our operational momentum in delivering organic production growth and managing our dividends prudently to maintain strong levels of financial liquidity."
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AGF Management Ltd. is preparing to cut its dividend by 70 per cent in a move that will give the mutual fund and investment company the flexibility to invest more in its business.
AGF said Tuesday that it will pay out its quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share on Jan. 16, 2015, but plans to slash its subsequent dividend to just 8 cents per share.
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Taseko Mines Ltd. said it received a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that regulates the construction and operation of injection wells at a copper mine in Arizona.
"Both the state and federal agencies have issued the operating permits for our project and have given us the green light to move one step closer to production. This last but very critical permit from the EPA signifies the agency's confidence that the Florence Copper project will operate in a safe and environmentally responsible manner" said President and Chief Executive Officer Russell Hallbauer. The EPA will now hold a 60-day public comment period before issuing a final permit.
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Allied Nevada Gold Corp. said it has priced a public offering of common stock and warrants. For $1.00 (U.S.), subscribers are set to receive one share and one half warrant. Each full warrant enables its holder to purchase one share of Allied Nevada common stock for $1.10 five years from the closing date of the offering. The stock closed at $1.39 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. This offering is expected to raise approximately $21.5-million for the company and close on or about December 12.
Its shares plunged 28 per cent in pre-market trading to the offer price of $1.00.
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Alderon Iron Ore Corp. said it has implemented a "comprehensive cash preservation program" to maintain a healthy working capital position into 2017 without the need to access equity or debt financing, apart from financing required to commence construction at its Kami Iron Ore Project.
"Measures associated with this program include a number of voluntary vendor payment deferrals and relief from debt servicing requirements," and workforce reductions, the company said.
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Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. said president and COO Scott Shellhaas has stepped down and CEO Jacques Perron will take on his role.
"As the company prepares to place the Thompson Creek molybdenum mine into care and maintenance at year-end, it has streamlined the management of its operations and eliminated the position of chief operating officer," the miner said in a statement.
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Kerr Mines Inc. said its management "is not aware of any corporate development or undisclosed material information of the company or its operations that would account for the recent increase in market activity." Its stock fell to 5 cents on Monday from 13 cents a week ago.
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True Gold Mining Inc. said a disturbance in a local community has resulted in True Gold temporarily halting part of the construction activities at the Karma Project in order to ensure worker safety. "The company is working closely with a delegation from the Burkina Faso Ministry of Mines as well as the regional government to address the community's concerns and establish a timely return to normal operations. The Karma site has not been affected by the disruption and remains fully secured," the miner said.
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Hemisphere Energy Corp. said its credit facility has been increased to $15-million from $10.5-million, effective November 28, 2014. "This substantial increase comes as a result of significant drilling success and production growth from the Company's 2014 capital program," the company said.
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Madalena Energy Inc. said it received a letter from Maglan Capital LP, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the company, expressing concern about the significant decline in its share price over the course of 2014.
The hedge fund said the company's struggles had been caused by "a failure of leadership," and urged the board to consider shaking up the C-suite and explore its strategic alternatives, including partnerships to develop its assets and a sale of the company or select non-core properties.
"Madalena welcomes input from its shareholders," the company said in a press release. "The board of directors will carefully consider the matters raised in the Maglan Release, and address them in an appropriate and timely manner."
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ARHT Media Inc. said that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of the wealthiest people in the world, had joined its board of advisors.
"My good friend, Paul Anka, co-founder of ARHT, presented this technology to me in Mexico along with the company's CEO," said Mr. Slim in a statement. "I was immediately impressed with the possible uses for the technology." The company's advisory board includes a number of other household names, including Larry King, Jason Bateman, Richard Bronson, and Michael Buble.
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B2Gold Corp. said operations at its Masbate Mine in the Philippines have returned to normal. Plant production was shut down for 15.5 hours during a typhoon that made landfall on Saturday and came close to the site. This did not alter management's full-year forecast to produce 180,000 ounces of gold from this location.
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Medgold Resources Corp. said it has granted to Centerra Gold Inc. the option to acquire up to 70 per cent of the Lagares, Balazar, Castelo de Paiva and Valongo licences in northern Portugal.
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Contagious Gaming Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Chelbis Company Ltd. in a cash and stock deal worth $4.05-million.