NA Proactive news snapshot: Mota Ventures, Benchmark Metals, QBioMed, Pure Gold Mining …

Q BioMed Inc (OTCMKTS:QBIO) said Wednesday that it is “very pleased” to continue its teamwork with Hyderabad, India-based Chemveda Life Sciences on Uttroside-B, a type of chemical compound found in the Black Nightshade shrub, which has shown great potential as a treatment for liver cancer. The New York City-based biotech said that while it is focused on the commercial rollout of its cancer bone-pain drug Strontium89, it will also advance Uttroside-B as “another important asset” in its portfolio and move it quickly towards monetization. The company noted that the efficacy of Uttroside-B, a potent saponin, against liver cancer was demonstrated in a preclinical study published in the November 2016 issue of Scientific Reports. Mota Ventures Corp (CSE:MOTA) (OTCPINK:PEMTF) (FSE:1WZ1) said Wednesday that it has struck a binding agreement with Franchise Cannabis Corp to form a joint venture in Europe to market Franchise-manufactured CBD, hemp and cosmetic products in the European Union, UK, Switzerland, and Norway. Franchise is a leading Europe-focused cannabis and pharmaceutical distribution company based in Germany with two good distribution practices certified facilities, exporting to over 18 countries. It also currently serves a network of over 1,500 pharmacies in Germany with medical cannabis. As a follow up to the agreement, Franchise will make a $500,000 equity investment in the company through a private placement subscription of $0.28 per unit. Each unit will consist of one Mota share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional share at a price of $0.38 per warrant for a period of 24 months from their date of issue. Mota will then make a $360,000 equity investment into the European JV, providing the initial funds to launch the Franchise products in Europe using the company's eCommerce expertise. Benchmark Metals Inc (CVE:BNCH) (OTCQB:CYRTF) told investors that drilling was going "exceptionally well" at its Lawyers gold-silver project in British Columbia, and a fifth rig has now been added to the program, where it is sinking up to 50,000 metres (m). The work is focused on defining and expanding a resource from three key areas at the site - these are the Cliff Creek Zone, Dukes Ridge to Phoenix Zones, and the AGB Zone. More than 10,500 metres have been completed from over 60 drill holes, the firm revealed, while ground magnetics is nearing completion at both the Marmot and the Silver Pond Porphyry targets. An induced polarization (IP) survey at Silver Pond is scheduled to be completed on July 23, while detailed geological mapping is ongoing in the northern underexplored region of the property, the firm added. Pure Gold Mining Inc (CVE:PGM) (LON:PUR) updated investors on Wednesday on the permitting progress at its Red Lake mine in Ontario, which is currently under construction. The firm said it had received an amended environmental compliance approval (ECA) for air and noise emissions at the PureGold mine from the relevant authority in the Canadian province.  This sets out operating conditions relating to air and noise emissions and ancillary and support processes at a production limit of up to 1,089 tonnes of gold ore processed per day. "In production, our PureGold Mine is expected to generate over $470 million in direct salaries over the life of the phase 1 mine and will provide significant economic benefits to the local communities and surrounding region through both direct and indirect taxation and expenditures," Darin Labrenz, the president and chief executive at PureGold said in a statement. Endeavour Mining Corp (TSE:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) has increased its resource base at the Houndé mine in Burkina Faso by an additional 554,000 ounces, the company said Wednesday. The added ounces, which fall under the higher-confidence measured and indicated category, bring Houndé’s total resource base to 4.5 million gold ounces. The resource increase came from the highly prospective Kari area on the gold property and included extensions at the Kari West and Kari Centre deposits as well as maiden resources for the adjacent Kari Gap, Kari South and Kari Pump NE deposits. Nearly 2.5 million ounces, or 57% of Houndé’s total measured and indicated resource, were discovered at the Kari area over the last three years. Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE) has announced that it will present caregiver data from a study of its CBD-based Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) treatment Zygel at the 17th NFXF International Fragile X Conference Research Roundup. The 14-week trial assessed the efficacy and safety of Zygel CBD gel as a treatment for the behavioral symptoms of FXS in 212 child and adolescent patients. As part of the trial, the company compiled data from caregivers on the most important behavioral challenges of the condition. The survey results showed that caregivers found anxiety, socially avoidant behaviors and disruptive behaviors including temper tantrums to be the most challenging behavioral symptoms of Fragile X. Karora Resources Inc (TSE:KRR), formerly known as RNC Minerals Corp (TSE:RNX), has announced a deal to sell its 28% interest in the Dumont project in Quebec, one of the globe's largest undeveloped nickel assets, as the group concentrates on becoming a profitable, mid-tier gold miner. Dumont has been sold to two private funds advised by Waterton Global Resource Management for a total consideration of up to C$48 million, the firm said. Karora will have the right to receive a portion of future proceeds of any future sale of Dumont or other monetization event. "The structure of the deal provides immediate cash to Karora of $10.7 million to further invest in increasing our gold production, cost reduction initiatives and aggressively explore our numerous high-quality exploration targets at our Beta Hunt and Higginsville operations," Paul Andre Huet, CEO at Karora said in a statement. Hill Street Beverage Company Inc. (CVE:BEER) announced that it has applied to extend the expiry date of 19,405,804 warrants that were set to expire on July 24, 2020, and were issued by the company in connection with one or more concurrent financings relating to the qualifying transaction completed on July 27, 2018. The proposed new expiry date will be December 31, 2020., and approval of this extension is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Hillcrest Petroleum Ltd. (CVE:HRH) (OTCMKTS:HLRTF) said it has received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange of the implementation of an early warrant exercise incentive program intended to encourage the early exercise of up to 22,894,446 outstanding common share purchase warrants of the company held by warrant-holders, previously announced on July 13, 2020. The company noted that the approval is for an amendment to enable the holders to receive a new warrant exercisable at $0.10 for each eligible warrant exercised prior to August 1, 2020, at the price of $0.05 per eligible warrant. Proceeds from the warrant exercises are anticipated to be used by the company to accelerate the retirement of payables and outstanding loans, it added. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, announced that Willow Biosciences Inc. (TSX:WLLW) (OTCQX:CANSF), a Canadian biotechnology company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market and has today upgraded from the OTCQB Venture Market. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among US investors. Trevor Peters, president and chief executive officer of Willow commented: "This is a key milestone for us and allows for prospective US investors to more easily invest in the Company. It is also a testament to our mandate to have the upmost regard for transparency and corporate governance. We are excited to continue to deliver on our milestones and expand our US retail and institutional investor base." IEC Electronics Corp. (NASDAQ:IEC) has announced that it will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, at 10.00am Eastern Time, to discuss its financial results for the fiscal third quarter of 2020, ended June 26, 2020. The conference call may be accessed in the US and Canada by dialing toll-free (877) 407-9210, while International callers may access the call by dialing (201) 689-8049. A replay of the teleconference will be available for 30 days after the call and may be accessed domestically by dialing (877) 481-4010 and international callers may dial (919) 882-2331. Callers must enter conference ID: 35725. To access the live webcast, log onto the IEC website at http://www.iec-electronics.com. The webcast can also be accessed at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2149/35725. An online replay will be available shortly after the call.