Blackstone Minerals upgraded to highest tier of trading on US OTC markets due to strong interest

Blackstone Minerals (ASX:BSX) (OTCQX:BLSTF) (FRA:B9S) has begun trading on the US-based OTCQX Best Market under the code of OTCQX:BLSTF following the rapid increase in value of its shares and strong interest from US investors. The company has been trading on the OTCQB market since December 3, 2020, and is pleased to be upgraded to the OTCQX Best Market in a short period of time. Trading on OTCQX will further enhance the visibility and accessibility of the company to US investors. Targeting North American investors Managing director Scott Williamson said: “Blackstone will continue to target the North American investor market, from which we are seeing growing enthusiasm for our integrated upstream and downstream processing strategy to produce green nickel™ products for the electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industry.” This important step in the growth aspirations for the company follows on from the significant interest shown by North American investors and is part of Blackstone’s strategy to raise awareness of its Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, around 160 kilometres west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam. Highest OTC tier The OTCQX Best Market is the highest market tier of OTC Markets on which 11,000 US and global securities trade. To be eligible, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with US securities laws, be current in their disclosure, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction. Three key advantages for North American investors are: Trades and settlements are in US Dollars (USD); Trading in the North American time zone; and The OTCQX share is the same class of Ordinary Share to ASX traded stock (ASX:BSX), not a synthetic. The shares are simply registered in two different registries. Initiatives to restart production The company ended the December quarter with key initiatives to restart production at Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project along with a strong cash position, which could boost growth in the year ahead. During the quarter, the company completed a scoping study for the development and restart of the Ta Khoa project. The scoping study is underpinned by the Ban Phuc disseminated sulphide (DSS) open pit mine and integrates both upstream and downstream processing to produce a precursor product for Asia’s growing Lithium-ion battery. Shares on the ASX have been as much as up 6.8% higher to A$0.55 intra-day while the company's market cap sits at approximately A$164.1 million.