With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1512670
N E X G E N E N E R G Y NexGen's Rook I project in Saskatchewan is the largest new uranium mine in develop- ment in Canada. The company (TSX:NXE) raised US$110 million in convertible deben- tures from investment banks in Australia and Hong Kong in September aimed at getting the pit through its final permit- ting this year and on to the construction phase. Success in this endeavour should see NexGen stock—up roughly 40 percent over the year to late October—continue its hot streak. L O O P E N E R G Y This Vancouver fuel-cell developer launched with much fanfare and a $16 of- fering price in February of 2021. These days the stock can be had for less than a quarter. Blame a ferocious cash burn since the IPO, combined with the markets' souring on green energy. Loop (TSX:LPEN) kicked off a search for strategic alternatives (code for an outright sale, partnership or licensing deal) last March, reaching out to 130 poten- tial counterparties, but came up empty handed. In September, the company laid off two-thirds of its workers and closed its operations in China to conserve its cash reserves, but those too could run out as early as the first quarter of 2024. L U C A R A D I A M O N D C O R P. Lucara's (TSX:LUC) undeniable innovation and accomplishments never seem to trickle down to the bottom line, or to share- holders' value. The company pulled another couple of monster diamonds from its Karowe mine in Botswana in 2023, at least in part thanks to a proprietary ore process- ing technique that keeps such stones from getting crushed. But it remains a barely profitable penny stock, which may have had something to do with co-founder Eira Thomas's decision to step down as CEO in August after five years. Past CEO and direc- tor William Lamb now occupies the post. 27 BC BU S I N E S S .C A J A N U A R Y 2 0 24 i S t o c k / w il d p i x e l