Proactive Investor's  Instablog

Aphrodite Gold's (ASX: AQQ) negotiations with funding partners is moving than faster than anticipated judging by the beginning of due diligence and a technical site visit to the Aphrodite project in Western Australia.

The project is located 65 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

In mid-May, the company reported it was is in discussions and negotiations to secure funding for the project with interest from major mining and investment companies, from mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The preferred funding option was to bring in a Joint Venture partner or major equity investor to raise all the funds necessary to get the Aphrodite Gold Project into production by 2015.

It was noted the recent fall in the gold price has escalated interest from Asian markets, possibly as a result of a perceived better entry price for funding.

Aphrodite had appointed Target Engineering Solutions' Joel Chong to assist in negotiating agreements and act as a link negotiator.

TES has history in the China/Australia mining industry, trade and services.

Share Purchase Plan - extended to 20 June 2013

A Share Purchase Plan has been announced to shareholders at $0.04 per share, with individual shareholders registered at 23 April 2013 entitled to take up to a maximum value of $15,000 (375,000 shares) by the close date of 21 May 2013.

The company said in a statement that in light of the recent advancement of negotiations over the Aphrodite Gold Project, it was decided to extend the Offer so that shareholders will have access to updated information in making the decision whether to invest.

By then Aphrodite said it will be in a position to announce updated details of negotiations with potential Joint Venture partners, and also at that time further technical information on the Aphrodite Project should also have been received for announcement.

Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX "Small and Mid-cap" stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.

Auroch Minerals (ASX: AOU) non-executive chairman Glenn Whiddon has acquired an additional 220,000 shares of the company on-market.

Whiddon purchased the shares for a total consideration of $24,684.24, providing an average entry price of $0.112 per share.

He now holds 220,000 fully paid shares and 1 million partly paid shares in the company.

Auroch is close to completing exploration drilling at the Guy Fawkes Project Sector, which forms part of the Northern shear of the 3 million ounce Manica Gold Project in Mozambique.

The program is aiming to grow the company's non-refractory JORC gold resource. Total gold resources are 2,971,000 ounces at Manica.

Five of the first seven scout holes drilled had intersected gold mineralisation with a best result of f 0.4 metres at 10.83 grams per tonne.

It is also in the midst of interpreting airborne VTEM and aeromagnetic surveys, which will be integrated with the drilling results to define further prospective targets in the Project Sector.

Auroch remains well funded to continue its exploration plans with around A$4.1 million, or $0.096 per share, in cash at the end of March 2013. This places the company at just above 95% cash backing based on its market capitalisation of $4.28 million and share price of $0.10.

Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX "Small and Mid-cap" stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.

TZ Limited (ASX:TZL) has signed Fastway Couriers to its team developing a parcel distribution and on-line logistics network for purchases by on-line shoppers.

Australian Couriers Pty Limited trading as Fastway Couriers is a 20 year old Australian business with a national network of over 700 courier franchisees across 25 regional franchises across Australia.

The agreement with TZ sets out a 12 month trial for the parties to work together to exploit TZ's A.D.A.M. Parcel Locker System.

The Fastway deal, coupled with those previously announced with Toll Group and Temando, means that TZL now has teaming agreements in place with service providers which based on TZ's estimates, could represent in excess of 60% of the parcel deliveries in Australia.

As part of the trial, Fastway will utilise the Parcel Locker Network for on-line parcel deliveries and other service offerings under agreed commercial terms.

Subject to the success of the program and mutual satisfaction, Fastway and TZ will look to cement an agreement.

In recent months, TZ chairman Mark Bouris and executive director Ken Tang have rung in major breakthroughs including:

- Commercial relationships that establish access for TZ Parcel Locker infrastructure across multiple locations around Australia (collectively these property partners have access to several hundred sites);

- Partnership agreements with significant e-commerce and logistics companies that establish parcel flow and revenue to the locker network including agreements with the Toll Group, Australia's largest logistics provider and Temando, the market's leading and most comprehensive Delivery System Platform; and

- The continued development of the TZ technology and software that enables an integrated end-to-end parcel locker solution.

The prize for TZ is significant as it looks to land a piece of the lucrative business-to-customer on-line logistics market that is growing exponentially.

TZ is poised to go head to head with the Australia Post in the e-commerce market, including plans to expand into Asia.

Bouris and Ting have been building the foundations for an agnostic parcel distribution network to allow it to take on Australia Post.

TZ saw a gap in the market for secure electronic lockers, which would allow customers to buy items online, and then accept delivery without waiting at home all day for the courier to arrive.

TZ has signed deals with ­partners to have lockers installed in various locations, including petrol stations, convenience stores and newsagencies.

Having just completed a successful trial providing its ADAM (automated delivery asset manager) lockers to Singapore Post, which will see at least 100 banks of lockers deployed across the country, it is eyeing the huge latent potential in untapped neighbouring markets.

Richard Thame, Fastway CEO said of today's agreement: "Over the years there has been substantial growth in the online retail industry, including a corresponding increase in residential deliveries. Fastway are responding to this growth by providing a range of intelligent tools and freight options, to make sending and receiving goods simpler and more convenient for everyone.

We realise that online shoppers are busy people and we're constantly investigating new ways to improve their experience. By providing customers with the option of delivery to one of TZ's Locker locations, customers will receive a better overall experience by allowing them to simply pick up their parcels at their convenience, 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

This latest teaming arrangement demonstrates TZ's continued efforts to not only secure access to prime locations and to lock in property partners for the A.D.A.M. Parcel Locker System but also to reinforce TZ's commitment to work in a carrier agnostic environment.

It also continues to demonstrate TZ's ability to partner broadly across the market to deliver a customer oriented offering that can capitalise on an emerging market need and ultimately provide the consumer the benefit of choice.

A.D.A.M.

The A.D.A.M. Parcel Locker System provides a flexible delivery option that will benefit on-line retailers, logistics providers and customers alike.

Today's teaming agreement is another positive step in the commercial roll-out of the locker network.

Intriguingly, TZ said it anticipates providing a Deployment Update regarding locker installations later this week.

Analysis

Although unofficial metrics, today's agreement and partnerships struck to date for TZ could account for as much as 60% of the parcel deliveries in Australia.

TZ's current market valuation of $21 million for the group is against the intrinsic value inherent in the A.D.A.M. business as well as March quarter revenues of $6.3 million for TZ (annualised rate of $25.2 million).

For the March quarter, revenues were 34.6% higher year-on-year on last year's numbers due to a much improved performance from Product Development Inc. (PDT) division.

Demonstrating the intrinsic value in TZ, it recently received an unsolicited offer to acquire the PDT division. The board said it is considering the offer.

Based on the foregoing, Proactive Investors estimates the intrinsic market valuation of the group as between $40 million to $50 million.

Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX "Small and Mid-cap" stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.