The Volume Change of Non-Covid Related Medical Studies During the Pandemic
Did Covid19 related efforts by the pharmaceutical and biotech industry pull dollars from or impede the progression of non-Covid medical research? Also, were patient-enrolled studies significantly curtailed or paused during this period? Answers to these questions had been hard to quantify. Public estimates have ranged from the virus as having a minimal impact all the way to the other extreme of tragic decline. Applied Clinical Trials, an industry publication, has found a unique and accurate source from which to remove the guesswork and mine for a conclusion. From this, they were able to come to a definitive conclusion that surprised both extremes in expectations.
Statistical Sources
The US government’s Open Payments program is a national database that discloses payments made by drug and medical device companies to hospitals, physicians, and others in the health service provider field. The purpose of the data is to provide transparency; however, it has ample information to do analysis and provide conclusions on other questions related to clinical research or the broader medical arena.
Applied Clinical Trials discovered from Open Payments that the effect on the total volume of US clinical trial activity was quite limited. The statistics reveal that the overall pharmaceutical industry spending on all US patient enrollment and treatment activities did not decline in the years 2020 and 2021, from the year 2019, which was used as a baseline.
How the Data Was Used
The Open Payments database allowed direct measurement of the impact of COVID-19 on US industry-sponsored clinical trial activity through the end of 2021. More recent data is not yet available. The researchers learned Covid19 may have slowed and hindered the launch and execution of clinical trials in two ways. First, COVID-19 clinical trials may have displaced other clinical trial activity. Second, the Covid19 pandemic caused logistical and operational challenges to most clinical trials. Do you remember the six-foot rule? Recruiting patients, treating these patients, and validating source data are some of the areas where the pandemic created more than the normal amounts of hurdles for clinical trials.
The needed data was isolated by coding Open Payments by individual study indication. Also the U.S. National Library of Medicine (under the NIH) maintains the website clinicaltrials.gov. This website shows little or no decline in the number of US sites opened for Phase II and III clinical trials between 2019, 2020, and 2021. Of course open sites may reveal the amount of patient activity taking place. A Site may be opened, but have less patient activity. Therefore assessing actual activity levels from the ClinicalTrials.gov database is nt perfect. However, Open Payments provides more complete data since the payments are predominately tied to patient enrollment and treatment experienced.
Pharmaceutical company US clinical research spending, reported in Open Payments ($billions)
Overall Conclusion
The research shows there was no decline in non-COVID related study spending during the height of pandemic. Open Payments data show a constant, if undramatic, increase in US clinical trials between 2017 and 2021. Even when Covid19 related spending during the time period was removed, they saw no decline in study spending. Trials continued, through the period, at a rate that is similar to the year just prior to the start of the pandemic.
More About Open Payments
Open Payments is the result of a federal law, the Sunshine Act. Searches and downloads on the website are easy and may only be slowed by the size of many of the files. The data may not reach back beyond ten years because the site has only existed since late 2013. Since, pharmaceutical companies with at least one marketed product have been required to report payments to physicians and other medical professionals. These Open Payments include two types: general and research. General payments relate to pharmaceutical companies’ payments to medical professionals when marketed products are involved. Research payments are more restricted. They are broken down by clinical grant payments. These cover virtually all clinical investigators and their clinical trial experience across all indications.
Investor Take Away
Investors had been concerned that the pipeline at companies manufacturing medical devices and developing drugs, therapies, and other treatments may have a less full pipeline because of the pandemic and the US response to it. While the data doesn’t speak to the speed of the FDA approval process, it alleviates concerns that the related investment sectors were on hiatus and now behind on phase II and phase III trials.
Why NobleCon19 Will Provide Even Greater Benefit to Presenters and Investors
In a significant announcement, the organizer of one of the investment industries leading conferences released information on an update to the annual event’s conference facility for 2023 along with format enrichments. The changes are designed to improve the overall benefit to presenting companies, corporate sponsors, and institutional and individual investors. In a press release dated March 1, 2023, Noble Capital Markets, along with Florida Atlantic University, gave details of the special location, and provided information on some of the many reasons why the 19th NobleCon investor Conference (NobleCon19), will provide even more value to the company’s presenters and attending investors.
The New Facility
NobleCon19 will take advantage of the entire 54,000-square-foot College of Business Executive Education facility at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The new facility in Boca Raton, FL, will provide tiered seating, which will provide easier visibility for both presenters and attendees. Investors will find the three large-screen monitors in each presenting room will make it easier to see and comprehend the presenters slide deck and other materials. Seeing the screen is a problem at many conferences of this magnitude. As a newly built presentation center, there will be full webcasting capabilities that include the most current technologically advanced conference environment.
Florida Atlantic University is surrounded by beauty. It’s in Boca Raton, Fl, which allows attendees to choose to stay on the ocean or at one of the other properties where conference organizers are negotiating discounts. South Florida is a popular destination for travelers from all over the world.
Noble Capital Markets joint press release with Florida Atlantic University announcing NobleCon19
NobleCon19 Format
NobleCon19 has always led the industry in its ability to place investors and executives of small-cap companies in a position to explore and interact. This year it was announced the presentations will be followed by fire-side chats with Noble analysts, so investors can gain insight from the industry analyst and company stock expert. One-on-one meetings will also be arranged for qualified investors. Several industry panel presentations are also planned for additional discovery. NobleCon19 will also feature high-profile keynote speakers and an evening event that includes entertainment for all to unwind and meet more casually with others of similar interests.
All company presentations and panel discussions will be digitally streamed and made available exclusively on www.channelchek.com
Take Away
Noble Capital Markets, through its annual NobleCon investor conference, has always been an innovator in bringing lesser-known companies with interesting stories to investors. It attracts investors that are looking for actionable ideas that they may not have discovered through other outlets. This year’s event again takes place in Florida. This is important because, over the past couple of years, the advantages of doing business in the sunshine state have drawn many new investment firms to the area. The joint press release did not say what the overall theme will be for NobleCon19; I’ll be attending and personally hope its theme ties to all that is worthwhile in this fast-growing region.
On July 5, 2022 (“Closing Date”), Vectrus, Inc. (“Vectrus”) completed its merger (“the Merger”) with Vertex Aerospace Services Holding Corp. (“Vertex”), thereby forming V2X, Inc. Fourth quarter “reported results” reflect the contributions of Vectrus and Vertex from October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Full year 2022 “reported results” reflect the contributions of Vectrus from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, and Vertex from the Closing Date through December 31, 2022, unless otherwise noted. Comparisons to historical periods are relative to legacy Vectrus results, unless otherwise noted.
Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights:
Revenue of $978.2 million, up 20% y/y on a pro forma basis
Grew INDOPACOM revenue sevenfold as presence and footprint continues to expand
Recently awarded two key contracts with Space Command and a National Security client
Reported operating income of $31.0 million; adjusted operating income1 of $74.5 million
Adjusted EBITDA1 of $79.3 million with a margin1 of 8.1%
Diluted EPS of ($0.35); adjusted diluted EPS1 of $0.92
Repaid $25.0 million of debt and in February 2023 executed a more efficient credit facility with substantial interest savings and improved liquidity
2023 Guidance:
Establishing full-year 2023 guidance with revenue growth of 5% and adjusted EBITDA1 growth of 8% at the mid-point
MCLEAN, Va., March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — V2X, Inc. (NYSE:VVX) announced fourth quarter and full-year 2022 financial results.
“This was a very successful year, achieving several milestones, including the completion of the merger with Vertex and making significant progress on the integration while driving strong results with high quality uninterrupted service and support to our clients,” said Chuck Prow, President and Chief Executive Officer of V2X. “Our teams came together seamlessly, demonstrating agility and outstanding performance, delivering 9% pro forma revenue growth for the full year. Importantly, current demand and leading indicators for our business remain strong with a substantial backlog of over $12 billion and close to 4.5 years of future revenue already under contract for our top ten programs. With our enhanced and differentiated capabilities, we are providing increased innovation and technology to our clients’ complex mission requirements and believe we have meaningful opportunity for future growth with our expanded addressable market of approximately $160 billion dollars.”
Mr. Prow continued, “We capped off the year with 20% year-over-year pro forma revenue growth in the fourth quarter, driven by new business wins, successful recompetes, and continued expansion on our core programs. Importantly, we demonstrated significant growth in the Pacific or INDOPACOM, as our presence and footprint expands to support increasing mission requirements. Our momentum is continuing this year, and in January 2023 we were awarded a strategically important five-year recompete contract valued at over $90 million with a National Security client. I’d like to thank our team for their exceptional performance and dedication, which has resulted in significant growth with this client over the past several years. Adjusted EBITDA margin1 was 8.1%, due to favorable program performance, strong execution, and the acceleration of program productivity that was expected in 2023. Our integration related activities continue to progress, and we were successful in delivering our expected cost synergies for the quarter. We remain on track to achieve our integration milestones and previously communicated cost synergies.”
Mr. Prow concluded, “The significant momentum in our business, a robust backlog exceeding $12 billion, and limited recompete risk, provides solid visibility that we believe should drive revenue growth of approximately 5% at the mid-point in 2023. Importantly, over 90% of 2023 revenue is expected to be generated from existing contracts. Furthermore, recompetes are expected to comprise only 2% of revenue. In 2023, we remain focused on delivering on our strategy to drive growth and value creation by providing converged solutions that fuse the digital and physical aspects of our clients’ missions. We have much to be excited about and will continue to execute our strategic framework to: Expand the Base, Capture New Markets, Deliver with Excellence, and Enhance Culture.”
Fourth Quarter 2022 Results
Revenue of $978.2 million, up 20% y/y on a pro forma basis
Operating income of $31.0 million, including merger and integration related costs of $23.4 million and amortization of acquired intangible assets of $20.1 million
Adjusted operating income1 of $74.5 million
Adjusted EBITDA1 of $79.3 million with an 8.1% adjusted EBITDA margin1
Diluted EPS of ($0.35) including merger and integration related costs
Adjusted diluted EPS1 of $0.92
Net debt as of December 31, 2022, of $1,221 million, representing an $87 million decrease from the Merger closing on July 5, 2022
The Company was undrawn on its revolver as of December 31, 2022
Total backlog as of December 31, 2022, of $12.3 billion
“Our fourth quarter financial results were strong and provide great traction for V2X leading into 2023,” said Susan Lynch, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “Pro forma revenue increased 20% year-over-year to $978.2 million. Revenue growth was driven by continued expansion in INDOPACOM and on LOGCAP, volume associated with rapid response efforts in Europe, and growth associated with new programs including Fort Benning, E-6B, Advanced Helicopter Training System, Navy Test Wing Atlantic, and Global Strike programs. Notably, revenue from INDOPACOM increased sevenfold year-over-year to $54.4 million, reflecting our additional work throughout the region, including Kwajalein and the Philippines.”
Ms. Lynch continued, “In the fourth quarter, V2X leveraged its solid cash position to repay $25 million of its second lien term loan. Importantly, our strong fundamentals and visibility have allowed V2X to significantly improve its capital structure by refinancing portions of its debt into a lower cost, pro rata credit facility. This new, five-year $750 million credit facility is expected to generate substantial interest expense savings and drive value for our shareholders. At the end of the fourth quarter, our net consolidated indebtedness to EBITDA1 (net leverage ratio) was 3.7x, a 0.3x improvement from Merger close. We have been able to reduce our leverage in line with plan and anticipate that our leverage ratio will show further improvement in 2023.”
Full-Year 2022 Results
Full-year revenue was $2.891 billion and pro forma revenue was $3.670 billion, up 8.8% pro forma year-on-year. The Company reported full-year operating income of $55.8 million and adjusted operating income1 of $187.5 million. Full-year EBITDA1 was $201.0 million with a margin of 7.0%. Full year pro forma Adjusted EBITDA1 was $278.0 million with a margin of 7.6%. Full-year diluted EPS was ($0.68), due primarily to Merger and integration related costs, amortization of acquired intangible assets and interest expense. Adjusted diluted EPS1 for 2022 was $4.60.
Cash provided by operating activities for the year was $93.5 million, compared to $61.3 million in 2021 for legacy Vectrus. Pro forma adjusted operating cash flow for the year was $85.8 million and excludes $62 million of Merger related payments and $8 million of repayments tied to the CARES Act. Lynch continued, “Our ability to generate strong cash flow with low capital intensity is an important attribute of our business.”
During the second half of the year, V2X lowered its net debt balance by $87 million resulting in an ending balance of $1,220.7 million. Cash at year-end was $116.1 million up from $38.5 million at the end of 2021.
Total backlog as of December 31, 2022 was $12.3 billion and funded backlog was $2.6 billion. The trailing twelve-month book-to-bill was 1.3x.
2023 Guidance
Ms. Lynch concluded, “Based on our expected continued strong demand trends and operational execution, we are setting the mid-point of our guidance for revenue at $3.850 billion, representing approximately 5% pro forma growth and Adjusted EBITDA1 of $300 million, representing 8% pro forma growth.”
Guidance for 2023 is as follows:
Fourth Quarter 2022 Conference Call
Management will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 2, 2023. U.S.-based participants may dial in to the conference call at 877-506-6380, while international participants may dial 412-542-4198. A live webcast of the conference call as well as an accompanying slide presentation will be available here: https://app.webinar.net/EZQ7LMALNPo
A replay of the conference call will be posted on the V2X website shortly after completion of the call and will be available for one year. A telephonic replay will also be available through March 16, 2023, at 844-512-2921 (domestic) or 412-317-6671 (international) with passcode 10174938.
Presentation slides that will be used in conjunction with the conference call will also be made available online in advance at https://investors.vectrus.com/. V2X recognizes its website as a key channel of distribution to reach public investors and as a means of disclosing material non-public information to comply with its obligations under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Regulation FD.
Footnotes: 1 See “Key Performance Indicators and Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for descriptions and reconciliations.
About V2X
V2X is a leading provider of critical mission solutions and support to defense clients globally, formed by the 2022 Merger of Vectrus and Vertex to build on more than 120 combined years of successful mission support. The Company delivers a comprehensive suite of integrated solutions across the operations and logistics, aerospace, training and technology markets to national security, defense, civilian and international clients. Our global team of approximately 14,000 employees brings innovation to every point in the mission lifecycle, from preparation, to operations, to sustainment, as it tackles the most complex challenges with agility, grit, and dedication.
Safe Harbor Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”): Certain material presented herein includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Act. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all the statements and items listed under “2023 Guidance” above and other assumptions contained therein for purposes of such guidance, other statements about our 2023 performance outlook, revenue, contract opportunities, and any discussion of future operating or financial performance.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “potential,” “continue” or similar terminology. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of the Company based on information currently available to management.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions, or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, many of which are outside our management’s control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s historical experience and our present expectations or projections. For a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements, see the risks and other factors detailed from time to time our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the SEC.
We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
HOUSTON, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced that the Company will report financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 on Thursday, March 23, 2023 after the U.S. stock market closes. Management will host a conference call and webcast on the same day at 5:00 PM ET to discuss the results.
About Direct Digital Holdings Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. Direct Digital Holdings is the ninth black-owned company to go public in the U.S and was named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
CALGARY, AB, March 1, 2023 /CNW/ – InPlay Oil Corp. (TSX: IPO) (OTCQX: IPOOF) (“InPlay” or the “Company”) is pleased to confirm that its Board of Directors has declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.015 per common share payable on March 31, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2023. The monthly cash dividend is expected to be designated as an “eligible dividend” for Canadian federal and provincial income tax purposes.
About InPlay Oil Corp.
InPlay is a junior oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in Alberta focused on light oil production. The company operates long-lived, low-decline properties with drilling development and enhanced oil recovery potential as well as undeveloped lands with exploration possibilities. The common shares of InPlay trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol IPO and the OTCQX Exchange under the symbol IPOOF.
For further information:
Doug Bartole, President and Chief Executive Officer InPlay Oil Corp. Telephone: (587) 955-0632, www.inplayoil.com
TORONTO, March 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Labrador Gold Corp. (TSX.V:LAB | OTCQX:NKOSF | FNR: 2N6) (“LabGold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from recent drilling targeting the highly prospective Appleton Fault Zone over a 12km strike length. The drilling is part of the Company’s ongoing 100,000 metre diamond drilling program at its 100% owned Kingsway Project.
Highlights of the drilling include an intersection of 1.19g/t Au over 41.8 metres from 397 metres that included 2.32g/t Au over 18.6 metres including 61.15g/t Au over 0.3 metres that contains visible gold in Hole K-22-214. This intersection, at 325 to 359 metres vertical, is the deepest yet at the HTC Zone which remains open at depth and to the northeast.
Hole K-22-214 was abandoned in mineralization at 486 metres due to excessive fracturing. The hole was wedged as Hole K-22-214B which subsequently drilled through the entire mineralized zone and was completed at a depth of 676 metres. Assays are pending.
Hole K-22-213 from Big Vein Southwest intersected 1.38g/t Au over 4.15m from 464 metres.
“The long intersection at the HTC zone, significantly extending this zone to depth, is encouraging especially as we also continue to step out towards the northeast. We have also made significant step outs in recent holes to the southwest, with assays pending, such that Big Vein has now been drilled over a strike length of approximately 590 metres and remains open in both directions.” said Roger Moss, President and CEO. “Two rigs continue drilling at Big Vein to test for extensions of the mineralization to both the northeast and southwest.”
Hole Id
from (m)
to (m)
width (m)
Au (g/t)
Zone
K-22-214
265.0
266.0
1.0
11.5
Big Vein
397.0
438.8
41.8
1.19
including
397.7
416.3
18.6
2.32
including
397.7
401.0
3.3
9.63
including
397.7
398.0
0.3
61.15
K-22-213
464.0
468.15
4.15
1.38
Big Vein Southwest
including
466.36
468.15
1.79
2.81
Table 1. Summary of assay results. All intersections are downhole length as there is insufficient Information to calculate true width.
Over 66,000 metres have been drilled to date out of the planned 100,000 metre program. Assays are pending for samples from approximately 3,000 metres of core.
The Company has approximately $17 million in cash and is well funded to carry out the remaining 34,000 metres of the planned drill program as well as further exploration to add to the current pipeline of drill targets on the property.
Figure1. Plan map of Big Vein showing significant intersections.
Hole ID
Easting
Northing
Elevation
Azimuth
Dip
Total Depth (m)
K-22-214
661569.6
5435366
57.161
145
55
486.31
K-22-213
661297.1
5434880
46.616
130
55
617
Table 2. Drill hole collar details
QA/QC
True widths of the reported intersections have yet to be calculated. Assays are uncut. Samples of HQ split core are securely stored prior to shipping to Eastern Analytical Laboratory in Springdale, Newfoundland for assay. Eastern Analytical is an ISO/IEC17025 accredited laboratory. Samples are routinely analyzed for gold by standard 30g fire assay with atomic absorption finish as well as by ICP-OES for an additional 34 elements. Samples containing visible gold are assayed by metallic screen/fire assay, as are any samples with fire assay results greater than 1g/t Au. The company submits blanks and certified reference standards at a rate of approximately 5% of the total samples in each batch.
Qualified Person
Roger Moss, PhD., P.Geo., President and CEO of LabGold, a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this release.
The Company gratefully acknowledges the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Natural Resources’ Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program for its financial support for exploration of the Kingsway property.
About Labrador Gold Labrador Gold is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of prospective gold projects in Eastern Canada.
Labrador Gold’s flagship property is the 100% owned Kingsway project in the Gander area of Newfoundland. The three licenses comprising the Kingsway project cover approximately 12km of the Appleton Fault Zone which is associated with gold occurrences in the region, including those of New Found Gold immediately to the south of Kingsway. Infrastructure in the area is excellent located just 18km from the town of Gander with road access to the project, nearby electricity and abundant local water. LabGold is drilling a projected 100,000 metres targeting high-grade epizonal gold mineralization along the Appleton Fault Zone with encouraging results. The Company has approximately $17 million in working capital and is well funded to carry out the planned program.
The Hopedale property covers much of the Florence Lake greenstone belt that stretches over 60 km. The belt is typical of greenstone belts around the world but has been underexplored by comparison. Work to date by Labrador Gold show gold anomalies in rocks, soils and lake sediments over a 3 kilometre section of the northern portion of the Florence Lake greenstone belt in the vicinity of the known Thurber Dog gold showing where grab samples assayed up to 7.8g/t gold. In addition, anomalous gold in soil and lake sediment samples occur over approximately 40 km along the southern section of the greenstone belt (see news release dated January 25 th 2018 for more details). Labrador Gold now controls approximately 40km strike length of the Florence Lake Greenstone Belt.
The Company has 170,009,979 common shares issued and outstanding and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol LAB.
For more information please contact:
Roger Moss, President and CEO Tel: 416-704-8291
Or visit our website at: www.labradorgold.com
Twitter: @LabGoldCorp
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release .
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including those factors discussed in filings made by us with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties, such as actual results of current exploration programs, the general risks associated with the mining industry, the price of gold and other metals, currency and interest rate fluctuations, increased competition and general economic and market factors, occur or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, or expected. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements .
VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA, MARCH 2, 2023 – Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Dr. Fortunato Villamagna as the President of Comstock Metals Corporation, the entity that owns LINICO Corporation, the Company’s Li-Ion battery metals recycling business.
Mr. Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO, said, “We are honored to welcome Dr. Villamagna to our battery metals team. His proven knowledge and experience in technology development, battery chemistries, and successful commercialization of similar businesses add breadth and experience to our leadership team.”
Dr. Villamagna has worked in the renewable energy, energy recovery, energetic materials, waste to energy, and hazardous waste destruction for over 40 years. He has held positions across the entire spectrum, including R&D, engineering, product development, operations and senior executive management.
Dr. Villamagna holds a PhD in Physical & Computational Chemistry, MSc in Spectroscopy/Physical Chemistry, BSc Honors in Chemistry, and DCS in Analytical Chemistry. He also holds an MBA in Global Management.
Dr. Villamagna’s most recent work has focused on developing and commercializing new technologies that redefine how emissions are controlled and potentially avoided. He has published over thirty-five patents and authored several peer-reviewed publications across several technology platforms. For the past decade Dr. Villamagna has focused on the hazardous materials destruction and most recently, clean recycling systems.
Dr. Villamagna was most recently the CEO of Paragon Waste Solutions, LLC (“Paragon”), a company he founded based on one of the emission-control processes he patented. Paragon designs, fabricates, and operates medical waste destruction systems, using a low energy plasma process. Dr. Villamagna recently agreed to sell Paragon, to a private equity firm. Dr. Villamagna also owns and operates i-Quest Inc., a technology company focused on metal recycling that will amalgamate with Comstock Metals Corporation.
Prior to this period Dr. Villamagna served in various CEO roles, including for RF Biocidics and UTEC Inc., a start-up company that commercialized hazardous chemical and biological waste destruction technology. As part of UTEC, Dr. Villamagna also served as President of Bioenergy Systems, LLC, a JV with Smithfield Foods, commercializing technologies to improve biodiesel production and reducing aqueous emissions.
Dr. Villamagna also spent nearly 20 years with ICI plc. Group, including as Director of Bulk Delivered Products for Energetic Solutions, Inc., Technical Manager for Energetic Systems and Atlas Powder Company, as well as Senior Scientist and Process Development Chemist with ICI Canada. During his tenure with ICI and Orica, Dr. Villamagna pioneered the demilitarization business for the companies, developed and started munitions recycling programs at the former Indiana Army Ammunition plant, the Gray Court, SC facility as well as the former ICI facility in Hallowell, KS. Dr. Villamagna also started operations in Africa, India, Mexico, and Canada, and worked on joint programs in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Mr. De Gasperis concluded, “Fortunato will be instrumental in deploying our pilot, producing black mass and battery metals, expanding our operations and supply chain, and advancing our technology leadership in Nevada.”
About Comstock
Comstock (NYSE: LODE) innovates technologies that contribute to global decarbonization and circularity by efficiently converting under-utilized natural resources into renewable fuels and electrification products that contribute to balancing global uses and emissions of carbon and through the deployment of more advanced mineral and material discovery technologies. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of doing so. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: future industry market conditions; future explorations or acquisitions; future changes in our exploration activities; future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products; land entitlements and uses; permits; production capacity and operations; operating and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on us; operational and management changes (including changes in the Board of Directors); changes in business strategies, planning and tactics; future employment and contributions of personnel, including consultants; future land sales; investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, operational, tax, financial and restructuring initiatives, including the nature, timing and accounting for restructuring charges, derivative assets and liabilities and the impact thereof; contingencies; litigation, administrative or arbitration proceedings; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; offerings, limitations on sales or offering of equity or debt securities, including asset sales and associated costs; and future working capital, costs, revenues, business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, taxes, earnings and growth. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management considering their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments, and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control and could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties include the risk factors set forth in our filings with the SEC and the following: adverse effects of climate changes or natural disasters; adverse effects of global or regional pandemic disease spread or other crises; global economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature of gold or mineral exploration, and lithium, nickel and cobalt recycling, including risks of diminishing quantities or grades of qualified resources; metal recycling, processing or mining activities; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with precious metal based activities, including environmentally friendly and economically enhancing clean mining and processing technologies, precious metal exploration, resource development, economic feasibility assessment and cash generating mineral production; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with metal recycling, processing or mining activities; contests over our title to properties; potential dilution to our stockholders from our stock issuances, recapitalization and balance sheet restructuring activities; potential inability to comply with applicable government regulations or law; adoption of or changes in legislation or regulations adversely affecting our businesses; permitting constraints or delays; ability to achieve the benefits of business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, us, including those involving battery technology, quantum computing and advanced materials development, and development of cellulosic technology in bio-fuels and related carbon-based material production; ability to successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales, and investments that we may be party to in the future; changes in the United States or other monetary or fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in our production capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures; fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such as silver, zinc, lithium, nickel, cobalt, cyanide, water, diesel, gasoline and alternative fuels and electricity); changes in generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of war, mass shooting, terrorism and geopolitical events; potential inability to implement our business strategies; potential inability to grow revenues; potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; interruptions in delivery of critical supplies, equipment and raw materials due to credit or other limitations imposed by vendors; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings against us; potential inability to satisfy debt and lease obligations; potential inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting; potential inability or failure to timely file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission; potential inability to list our securities on any securities exchange or market or maintain the listing of our securities; and work stoppages or other labor difficulties. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, or the market price of our securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Except as may be required by securities or other law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell, the solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation with respect to any securities of the Company, the fund, or any other issuer.
Contact information:
Comstock Inc. P.O. Box 1118 Virginia City, NV 89440 www.comstock.inc
Corrado De Gasperis Executive Chairman & CEO Tel (775) 847-4755 degasperis@comstockinc.com
Zach Spencer Director of External Relations Tel (775) 847-5272 Ext.151 questions@comstockinc.com
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – March 1, 2023) – Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) (OTCQB: AUIAF) (FSE: 20Q) (“Aurania” or the “Company”) reports that preliminary results from the drill holes and surface prospecting at the Company’s Tatasham target in southeastern Ecuador indicate the discovery of a large, important epithermal system with similarities to the Fruta del Norte gold deposit located 100 kilometres to the south. All three holes drilled to date at Tatasham have intersected an important hydrothermal system with breccias, strong silicification, and high temperature illite-clay alteration, however no economic precious metal intersections have been encountered as yet. The upper part of the system is interpreted as a sinter paleosurface.
President and CEO, Dr. Keith Barron, commented, “It is very early in the story of Tatasham, but it is showing all the hallmarks of a large and vigorous hydrothermal system. We have discovered silica sinter over 2.7 km strike length, at the surface and in drill core. As well, zones of oxidized hydrothermal breccia were intersected below the sinter, similar in character to those found at Fruta del Norte. One thing that is apparent from the drilling is that the sinter horizon steepens downhole such that the bedding ends up aligned with the core axis. What this tells us is that the horizon is substantially tilted as you go to depth, as it would be in a pull-apart setting. You can think of it as a steep-sided valley opening up along a structure and the horizontally bedded rocks gradually tilting into the chasm as it widens. This is exactly the geological setting that revealed itself at Fruta del Norte. I consider the parallels between Tatasham and Fruta del Norte so far to be very compelling.”
Representative samples of drill core will be available for viewing at our booth in the Investors Exchange (booth #2948) at the Prospector’s and Developer’s Convention in Toronto, March 5th-8th.
The discovery of an epithermal system at Tatasham was unexpected, in our pursuit of a copper porphyry target indicated by geophysics. That porphyry target is still valid, but it may lie at considerable depth, or it may lie laterally. Our recent diamond drilling campaign was designed for a porphyry target and is too widely spaced for a typical epithermal target, but it very fortunately clipped the edges of what appears to be a very large system. Aurania has paused the drill program at Tatasham in order to conduct additional field work in the coming months including a ground based induced polarization (IP) survey to appropriately refine the epithermal target areas prior to additional drilling. This work is necessary to define the limit of the system, which remains open to the north, and to understand the geometry of the system.
The hydrothermal system at Tatasham is characterized by strong silicification surrounding hydrothermal breccias. The upper part preserves fine, irregular, layers of amorphous silica that has the characteristics of a sinter. Several textures typical of silica sinter have been identified, in particular, “network fabric” and geyserite lithofacies, the latter interpreted as proximal to the original vent (see fig.1). Two other sinters were found nearby, one of which is represented by a boulder located 2.7 km from the collar of TT-003 (see fig.2).
A sinter is the surface manifestation of geothermal activity; usually accompanied by geysers, hotsprings, boiling mud pools, and steaming ground. Gold and silver scaling deposits were discovered clogging the surface pipework of New Zealand geothermal fields in the routine maintenance of electrical generating installations (Brown, 1986) and this fundamentally established a genetic link between the formation of epithermal gold-silver deposits and ascending hot geothermal fluids. Extinct geothermal fields have long been recognized as favourable settings for gold-silver deposits. Simon Ridgway and Mar-West Resources discovered two gold mines in the 1990’s simply by staking active and extinct hotsprings off the topographic maps of Central America. Fruta del Norte contains a sinter of approximately 1.1 km areal extent, underneath which is the deposit. Not all of the many tens of thousands of the hotsprings around the world will be linked to formation of gold deposits at depth, but the proximity of Tatasham to Fruta del Norte, in the same belt of rocks, is considered highly favourable. Investigation has shown that the depth of formation of gold deposits below a sinter in the proper geological environment can be anywhere from nil to as much as 1,000 metres, though 200-300 metre might be considered typical.
Hole TT-003 (see fig.3) was collared in Cretaceous-aged Hollin sandstone which is considered to be post-mineral cover, as it is at Fruta del Norte. The hole continued in a series of continental sediments showing alternations of mudstone, siltstone, lithic sandstone, and polymictic conglomerates up to 18m thickness. The conglomerate contains rare clasts of vein chalcedony. This assembly of continental sediments is above a black limestone showing minor disseminated sphalerite mineralisation. The sediments overlie a tuffaceous volcano-sedimentary series. The clastic sediment-limestone-tuff sequence is interpreted as the filling of a pull-apart basin with an episode of marine incursion at the end of the volcanic activity. Immediately below the tuffaceous horizon lies a sinter displaying fine, irregular, layers of amorphous silica, locally overprinted by fault breccia. The Santiago Formation andesite below the sinter is propylitically altered (chlorite), with zones of silicification accompanied by barite, iron-oxides and high temperature illite-clay.
Three hydrothermal breccias cross the andesite below the sinter in hole TT-003. One of the breccias is cemented by barite, while the other two are rich in iron and manganese oxides in a silica matrix. It is significant that the drill core, even at a downhole depth of greater than 300 metres, is highly oxidized and it is believed that this could be a Jurassic-aged weathering horizon as also seen in the uppermost levels of Fruta del Norte.
Holes TT-001 and TT-002 crossed zones of silicification and potassic alteration representing the distal part of the epithermal system as reported in the press release dated January 9, 2023. The presence of the sinter in Hole TT-003, shows that this hole is closer to the centre of the system. To emphasize, mineralization in an epithermal system is typically found somewhere below the sinter; the sinter itself is barren as was the case with the sinter discovered at Fruta del Norte. Therefore, these first three holes should be regarded as discovery holes of the epithermal system, but there is considerable work and interpretation still to be done before economic drill results are expected.
For a very basic explanation of the vertical variability through an epithermal ore system watch Dr. Barron’s short lecture at:
Figure 1: a). Concentric, dense silica laminae in rounded spheres from hole TT-003 at 284.30m ; b). Geyserite in the McLaughlin Mine (San Quentin Sinter) California USA ; c). Network fabric identified in hole TT-003 at 268.50m; d). Network lithofacies resulting from bacterial activity on the margins of a pool; Whangapaoa Spring, Atiamuri, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand ; e). Jurassic network lithofacies consisting of silicified, irregular, webbed pattern; La Marciana, Deseado Massif, Argentina.
Figure 2: Location of the sinter and boreholes at Aurania’s Tatasham target. Kutnahorite, a rare pink calcium manganese carbonate mineral, has been found on surface in several places at Tatasham. This is a common gangue mineral at the Fruta del Norte gold mine.
Figure 3: Top graphic presents the interpretative section of hole TT-003 at Tatasham with the sinter location above the altered andesite lava of the Santiago Formation, compared in the bottom graphic with the sinter location at Fruta del Norte (from Aurelian’s PDAC presentation in 2008).
The geological information contained in this news release has been verified and approved by Aurania’s VP Exploration, Mr. Jean-Paul Pallier, MSc. Mr. Pallier is a designated EurGeol by the European Federation of Geologists and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
About Aurania
Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities – Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information as such term is defined in applicable securities laws, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management’s current expectations and assumptions. The forward-looking information includes statements about: Aurania’s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration and drilling results, potential mineralization, the corporation’s portfolio, treasury, management team and enhanced capital markets profile, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to Aurania, including the assumption that, there will be no material adverse change in metal prices, all necessary consents, licenses, permits and approvals will be obtained, including various local government licenses and the market. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking information include, among other things, a failure to obtain or delays in obtaining the required regulatory licenses, permits, approvals and consents, an inability to access financing as needed, a general economic downturn, a volatile stock price, labour strikes, political unrest, changes in the mining regulatory regime governing Aurania, a failure to comply with environmental regulations and a weakening of market and industry reliance on precious metals and copper. Aurania cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive.
PDS Biotech is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of molecularly targeted cancer and infectious disease immunotherapies based on the Company’s proprietary Versamune® and Infectimune™ T-cell activating technology platforms. Our Versamune®-based products have demonstrated the potential to overcome the limitations of current immunotherapy by inducing in vivo, large quantities of high-quality, highly potent polyfunctional tumor specific CD4+ helper and CD8+ killer T-cells. PDS Biotech has developed multiple therapies, based on combinations of Versamune® and disease-specific antigens, designed to train the immune system to better recognize diseased cells and effectively attack and destroy them. The Company’s pipeline products address various cancers including HPV16-associated cancers (anal, cervical, head and neck, penile, vaginal, vulvar) and breast, colon, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers.
Robert LeBoyer, Vice President, Research Analyst, Life Sciences , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
PDS0301 Data Published. The peer-reviewed journal International Immunopharmacology published a paper from scientists at the National Institutes of Health describing studies with PDS0301. The paper provides data showing how PDS0301 stimulates an immune response and its correlation with efficacy in Phase 2 studies. We see the publication as a positive that supports the clinical progress and use of PDS0301 in immuno-oncology.
Development and Actions. The article describes how PDS0301 was developed as a fusion protein, consisting of an antibody conjugated to Interleukin 12 (IL-12). Its targeting mechanism directs PDS0301 to the DNA/histones in tumor-necrotic regions of the tumor, avoiding the bloodstream and concentrating IL-12 in the tumor microenvironment. This avoids the systemic toxicity and serious adverse events that have limited dosing and efficacy of recombinant IL-12.
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*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
Noble Capital Markets SPACtrac Report Thursday, March 02, 2023
Joe Gomes, Managing Director – Generalist Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Joshua Zoepfel, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
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The Deal. Better World Acquisition Corp. will be merging with Heritage Distilling Company, Inc. in a deal that will bring Heritage Distilling public. The deal, which values Heritage Distilling at an enterprise value of $122.2 million, provides growth capital to achieve Heritage Distilling’s aim to become the leading national craft spirits company.
The Target. Founded in 2012, Heritage Distilling is a leading, fast-growing distiller of innovative premium brands, with a history of award winning, innovative products. The Company is expanding its wholesale footprint nationwide in conjunction with RNDC, the second largest spirits distributor in the U.S., while its proprietary Tribal Beverage Network provides the potential of developing a “local” presence across the nation that will generate high margin, tax advantaged recurring revenue license streams.
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DLH delivers improved health and readiness solutions for federal programs through research, development, and innovative care processes. The Company’s experts in public health, performance evaluation, and health operations solve the complex problems faced by civilian and military customers alike, leveraging digital transformation, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, cloud-based applications, telehealth systems, and more. With over 2,300 employees dedicated to the idea that “Your Mission is Our Passion,” DLH brings a unique combination of government sector experience, proven methodology, and unwavering commitment to public health to improve the lives of millions. For more information, visit www.DLHcorp.com.
Joe Gomes, Managing Director – Generalist Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Joshua Zoepfel, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
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More Work. On Tuesday, DLH’s subsidiary Grove Resource Solutions LLC (“GRSi”) was awarded a multiple-award blanket purchase agreement to provide IT services to the National Cancer Institute’s (“NCI”) Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology. The award is for a five-year period with an aggregate ceiling totaling $1.7 billion, and DLH will join seven other awardees in the contract.
Specifics. DLH will be acting as a prime vendor on the contract and provide NCI with the specialized professional IT support required to accomplish their goals. Other orders under call in the contract could include operations and maintenance, information systems security, service desk, engineering, cloud platform management and support, enterprise Software as a Service (“SaaS”) platform management, data management, etc.
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Mark Reichman, Senior Research Analyst, Natural Resources, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
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Significant epithermal system discovery. Preliminary results from three holes drilled at the Tatasham porphyry copper target revealed the discovery of a large epithermal system making Tatasham highly prospective for gold. The hydrothermal system at Tatasham is characterized by strong silicification surrounding hydrothermal breccias. While the first three holes are regarded as discovery holes of the epithermal system, additional work is needed before economic drill results can be expected.
The next Fruta del Norte? Tatasham shares similar characteristics with the Fruta del Norte gold deposit which was discovered in 2006 by Aurelian Resources which at the time was headed by Aurania’s CEO, Dr. Keith Barron. Fruta del Norte is approximately 100 kilometers to the south of Tatasham in a similar geological setting. The drilling program at Tatasham revealed silica sinter over a 2.7 kilometer strike length at surface and in drill core. Similar in character to those discovered at Fruta del Norte, zones of oxidized hydrothermal breccia were intersected below the sinter.
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Modern fabrication tools such as 3D printers can make structural materials in shapes that would have been difficult or impossible using conventional tools. Meanwhile, new generative design systems can take great advantage of this flexibility to create innovative designs for parts of a new building, car, or virtually any other device.
But such “black box” automated systems often fall short of producing designs that are fully optimized for their purpose, such as providing the greatest strength in proportion to weight or minimizing the amount of material needed to support a given load. Fully manual design, on the other hand, is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Now, researchers (MIT) have found a way to achieve some of the best of both of these approaches. They used an automated design system but stopped the process periodically to allow human engineers to evaluate the work in progress and make tweaks or adjustments before letting the computer resume its design process. Introducing a few of these iterations produced results that performed better than those designed by the automated system alone, and the process was completed more quickly compared to the fully manual approach.
The results are reported this week in the journal Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, in a paper by MIT doctoral student Dat Ha and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Josephine Carstensen.
The basic approach can be applied to a broad range of scales and applications, Carstensen explains, for the design of everything from biomedical devices to nanoscale materials to structural support members of a skyscraper. Already, automated design systems have found many applications. “If we can make things in a better way, if we can make whatever we want, why not make it better?” she asks.
“It’s a way to take advantage of how we can make things in much more complex ways than we could in the past,” says Ha, adding that automated design systems have already begun to be widely used over the last decade in automotive and aerospace industries, where reducing weight while maintaining structural strength is a key need.
“You can take a lot of weight out of components, and in these two industries, everything is driven by weight,” he says. In some cases, such as internal components that aren’t visible, appearance is irrelevant, but for other structures, aesthetics may be important as well. The new system makes it possible to optimize designs for visual as well as mechanical properties, and in such decisions, the human touch is essential.
As a demonstration of their process in action, the researchers designed a number of structural load-bearing beams, such as might be used in a building or a bridge. In their iterations, they saw that the design has an area that could fail prematurely, so they selected that feature and required the program to address it. The computer system then revised the design accordingly, removing the highlighted strut and strengthening some other struts to compensate, and leading to an improved final design.
The process, which they call Human-Informed Topology Optimization, begins by setting out the needed specifications — for example, a beam needs to be this length, supported on two points at its ends, and must support this much of a load. “As we’re seeing the structure evolve on the computer screen in response to initial specification,” Carstensen says, “we interrupt the design and ask the user to judge it. The user can select, say, ‘I’m not a fan of this region, I’d like you to beef up or beef down this feature size requirement.’ And then the algorithm takes into account the user input.”
While the result is not as ideal as what might be produced by a fully rigorous yet significantly slower design algorithm that considers the underlying physics, she says it can be much better than a result generated by a rapid automated design system alone. “You don’t get something that’s quite as good, but that was not necessarily the goal. What we can show is that instead of using several hours to get something, we can use 10 minutes and get something much better than where we started off.”
The system can be used to optimize a design based on any desired properties, not just strength and weight. For example, it can be used to minimize fracture or buckling, or to reduce stresses in the material by softening corners.
Carstensen says, “We’re not looking to replace the seven-hour solution. If you have all the time and all the resources in the world, obviously you can run these and it’s going to give you the best solution.” But for many situations, such as designing replacement parts for equipment in a war zone or a disaster-relief area with limited computational power available, “then this kind of solution that catered directly to your needs would prevail.”
Similarly, for smaller companies manufacturing equipment in essentially “mom and pop” businesses, such a simplified system might be just the ticket. The new system they developed is not only simple and efficient to run on smaller computers, but it also requires far less training to produce useful results, Carstensen says. A basic two-dimensional version of the software, suitable for designing basic beams and structural parts, is freely available now online, she says, as the team continues to develop a full 3D version.
“The potential applications of Prof Carstensen’s research and tools are quite extraordinary,” says Christian Málaga-Chuquitaype, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Imperial College London, who was not associated with this work. “With this work, her group is paving the way toward a truly synergistic human-machine design interaction.”
“By integrating engineering ‘intuition’ (or engineering ‘judgement’) into a rigorous yet computationally efficient topology optimization process, the human engineer is offered the possibility of guiding the creation of optimal structural configurations in a way that was not available to us before,” he adds. “Her findings have the potential to change the way engineers tackle ‘day-to-day’ design tasks.”
