Gazprom, Barsele Minerals, Agnico-Eagle, Nordex - The energies of the future!

Gazprom - Nord Stream 2 in the middle of Europe

If you think about clean energy, you naturally end up with whether fossil energy production is still up to date? Currently, more than 50% of the global energy mix still consists of fossil fuels because there is neither sufficient water, light, nor wind in many regions of the world. Especially the remote, decentralized regions are often not connected by public grids. Here, there is no way around the direct use of energy, such as for heating and cooking. In Europe, too, some countries still have a high dependence on gas. Apart from the Netherlands, the share of gas in heating is very high in the EU, especially in Great Britain, Slovakia, Italy and Germany, with 74 to 45%.

The largest gas producer, with a global market share of just under 20%, is Russia's Gazprom. It is currently one of the hottest stocks on the share price list because of a series of good news stories. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has now been completed with a delay of one and a half years. Originally, it was said that the project would be commissioned by the end of the current year, but now there are rumors that liquefied gas will flow through the pipeline as early as next month. However, the timing of the actual injection into the European gas grid will still depend on a decision by the German regulator.

Recently, Gazprom reported excellent quarterly figures, and the share price was able to overcome its resistance at EUR 7.40. From a chart perspective, the way would now be paved in the direction of EUR 10. If this area falls, the old price markers from 2008 at around EUR 20 are no longer an impossibility. Despite its fossil focus, Gazprom belongs in a balanced energy portfolio.

Barsele Minerals - An extension with Agnico-Eagle in Sweden

Sweden is known for its commitment to climate-friendly future technologies. Back in March 2009, the government presented its ambitious climate targets for 2020. The country wanted to be completely independent of fossil fuels by 2020 and reduce its CO2 emissions by 40% compared to 1990. Unfortunately, the targets were missed, as coal currently still has a share of around 5% in the Swedish energy mix. There is still no talk of a "green energy landscape" in Sweden, as 30% of energy consumption is covered by oil, and nuclear power still covers around 43% of electricity requirements.

For years, the Scandinavian country has shown itself to be a friendly jurisdiction towards the mining industry. This also enables smaller raw material companies such as the Canadian Barsele Minerals to push ahead with exploration projects. The Company's current project is located in the mining region of Västerbottens Län in northern Sweden, 600 km north of Stockholm, and covers 33,500 hectares in the Fennoscandian Shield. The zone of interest is located at the western end of the Proterozoic "Skellefte Trend", a prolific belt of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits that overlaps with the "Gold Line" in northern Sweden. Both polymetallic deposits and intrusive-hosted gold intercepts are present in this region.

Together with mining giant Agnico-Eagle, the Company is currently working on the Barsele gold project. As such, the Company aims to put at least 30,000 meters of drilling behind it over the next 18 months to expand the existing resource. If one goes by the statements of the management of Barsele Minerals, the project has a potential of over 5 million ounces of gold. In addition, the deposit contains recoverable metals such as silver, lead, zinc and nickel. Currently, 45% of the shares are held by Barsele Minerals and 55% by Agnico-Eagle. According to an existing letter of intent, 100% of the deposit will be transferred to Barsele Minerals by October 31, 2021. The deal is worth USD 45 million, and following the transaction Agnico will hold approximately 14.9% plus 6 million warrants in Barsele, with additional debt financing planned for the drilling program.

The Belcarra Group runs Barsele, the management is convinced of the project's economic potential and is planning all steps up to the preliminary feasibility stage. The stock market value of around CAD 77 million reflects this expectation. Due to its size, a resale to a larger producer is not ruled out. The project is likely to make some more headlines with the upcoming drilling.

Nordex - New orders but a falling share price

The share price of wind turbine manufacturer Nordex is increasingly approaching the recent capital increase at EUR 13.70 when a total of EUR 585 million was raised. Since this measure, the share price has not moved upwards and is consolidating between EUR 15 and 17.

Perhaps some promising news from the last few days will help, as the Nordex Group can report a successful order intake for the German market. A total of twelve new projects were collected in July and August 2021, with a combined capacity of over 123 MW in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. Construction and commissioning of the turbines is scheduled for 2022.

An operational leap would be quite necessary now, as the half-year figures have not been convincing so far either. Most analysts see 2021 as a consolidation year with little net profit; in 2022, sales are expected to exceed EUR 5 billion with an EBIT margin of 4 to 5%. However, if the chart line at EUR 15 were to fall, price targets of EUR 12 would be on the cards. We would, therefore, definitely wait for important news or a breakout above EUR 17.50 before making a new entry into the beleaguered share.

There are many ambitious goals in the energy industry. Many fail due to economic feasibility or the availability of resources. Gazprom, with the world's largest gas reserves in Russia, can only smile about this. Barsele Minerals is also sitting on a promising project in Sweden. Its realization is likely to make headlines in the coming months.