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A boom, a backlash, and a pivot with teeth—this conversation traces how Zoono Group turned a pandemic-era hygiene surge into a durable, data-backed strategy to cut food waste and boost supermarket margins. We unpack the science behind a dry-active antimicrobial coating that bonds to packaging, survives heat and storage, and delivers a mechanical kill through cell disruption. The result is a protective surface that prolongs freshness, reduces shrink, and moves retailers from cost-centre thinking to a measurable return on investment.
We walk through the road from lab to store shelf: multi-year regulatory and safety validation in the UK, proof-of-concept with Marks & Spencer across soft fruit categories, and the durability tests required for real-world packaging lines. Then come the commercial wins—Sharpak in the UK, Mpact in South Africa, and Multisteps in Australia—adding up to roughly $50 million in contracted sales over five years. The economics are striking: one extra day on 150 million punnets of raspberries can save an estimated £11 million, while coating those trays costs about £1 million. For packaging suppliers, the technology becomes a point of difference; for retailers, it’s a direct line to less waste and stronger margins.
We also touch on capital discipline—remaining debt-free, fully subscribed rights issues, and guidance to return to profit by year-end. Looking ahead, we explore growth in Asia and India, including trials on bananas and mangoes, and the network effects that could take the UK model into Europe at larger scale. If you care about food waste reduction, packaging innovation, or the business of fresh produce, this is a clear-eyed look at how a durable antimicrobial platform can create value across the supply chain.
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Corrosion, costs, and clean energy collide as we sit down with Nick O’Loughlin, Managing Director of Sparc Technologies, to unpack a focused plan for real-world impact. We trace how a graphene-based additive called ecosparc® aims to make protective coatings tougher for critical steel assets, and why a pilot plant north of Adelaide could change the economics of green hydrogen by using light, not large amounts of electricity.
First, we dig into the coatings story. ecosparc® targets measurable gains in barrier performance, adhesion, and durability, designed to slot into existing formulations used on bridges, mining gear, and oil and gas infrastructure. Nick shares why trials with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance and the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse matter, and how recognition alongside Aramco at the Middle East Corrosion Conference signals technical credibility at the highest level. With a consolidated market of global coating manufacturers, Sparc is pursuing commercial agreements that could accelerate deployment once specifications are met. The goal: reach commercialisation by FY26 and scale through partners with worldwide reach.
Then we pivot to energy innovation through the Sparc Hydrogen joint venture with Fortescue and the University of Adelaide. The Roseworthy pilot is built and moving through commissioning to demonstrate photocatalytic water splitting—hydrogen production driven by light-activated catalysts with minimal electricity input. Nick explains how this approach addresses a core barrier in electrolysis economics, what success at pilot scale would mean for technology readiness, and how a strong data set could unlock global interest. Along the way, we talk about the complementary nature of these two bets: near-term revenue potential from coatings and a bold push in next-gen hydrogen.
If you’re tracking graphene in coatings, green hydrogen technologies, or ASX innovation stories, this conversation delivers clear milestones, partner validation, and timelines to watch. Subscribe, share with a colleague who lives in materials or energy, and leave a quick review with the question you want answered next.
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A quiet revolution is happening in cancer screening: a simple blood draw is starting to find what used to hide in plain sight. We sit down with Shane Ryan, CEO of BCAL Diagnostics, to unpack how a Sydney-built breast cancer test is scaling nationwide and why a new exclusive partnership with ClearNote Health could change the game for ovarian and pancreatic detection across Australia and New Zealand.
Shane explains how thousands of donated samples and deep clinician engagement powered BCAL’s breast cancer test from research to real-world use. With Sonic Healthcare enabling local collection close to home, women can access testing without the travel and scheduling hurdles that often delay early screening. From there, we dive into ClearNote’s genomic technology, the high specificity and sensitivity thresholds guiding clinical confidence, and the significance of being selected for the US Vanguard Study—an indicator that the science stands on strong ground.
We also map the road to Q1 CY26: GP and specialist education, laboratory readiness in Sydney, efficient logistics to ClearNote’s California lab, and a results pipeline designed for speed and clarity. The stakes are high—ovarian cancer can reach about 90% five-year survival at stage one, yet overall survival lingers near 49%; pancreatic cancer shows a similar gap, with roughly 80% at stage 1A versus about 13% overall. By making testing accessible and reliable, BCAL aims to move more diagnoses into those early windows when treatment works best.
Finally, Shane shares the 12–18 month plan: accelerate breast test volumes, ramp ovarian and pancreatic launches, and build toward a one‑stop biomarker hub for clinicians, alongside preparation to enter the US breast cancer market. If early detection, practical access, and robust data matter to you or your patients, this conversation brings the strategy into focus. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review telling us which barrier to early screening you want solved next.
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A near-forgotten gold mine with a modern decline, bought for under a million dollars, and already delivering drill grades that beat expectations—that’s the kind of edge we love to unpack. Steve Norregaard, Managing Director of WIN Metals, joins us to share how the team pivoted from nickel exploration to a high-grade gold strategy built around speed, grade, and smart capital use. We dig into the Radio Gold Mine acquisition, why the existing infrastructure matters, and how a “soft start” could put ounces back into production by mid next year.
We walk through the first 9,000 metres of drilling at Radio, the plan to recalculate resources early in the new year, and the path to a clear mine plan shortly after. Steve explains why Repeater could be a northeast extension of the main Radio structure and how deeper hits, including a metre at 14 g/t, support a bigger system than first thought. The conversation then shifts to the Kimberley, where the Butchers Creek scoping study outlines around 200,000 recoverable ounces from a 250,000-ounce resource, a C1 cost near A$2,500/oz, and strong project metrics at current Australian gold prices—all while funding a new A$70 million plant.
If you care about near-term production, margin resilience, and exploration that actually feeds a mine plan, this one’s for you. We cover the funding runway, upcoming drill news, a maiden resource at Radio, and the staged development that keeps dilution in check. Plus, we talk optionality: the nickel and lithium assets remain in the portfolio, ready for a price turn that could unlock value fast. Subscribe, share with a friend who follows ASX miners, and leave a quick review to tell us what you want us to analyse next.
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The map is changing faster than most businesses can. We sit down with Aerometrex CEO Robert Veitch to unpack how a leaner operating model, smarter products, and disciplined sales are turning a complex geospatial portfolio into a growth engine with real operating leverage.
Robert breaks down the three pillars: MetroMap, a high‑resolution aerial imagery subscription updated up to six times a year in major cities; LIDAR, delivering precision terrain and asset intelligence for sectors like environment, energy, mining, and infrastructure; and hyper‑realistic 3D meshes that power digital twins and scenario planning. We explore why MetroMap’s ACV now has outsized margin impact, how oblique imagery, elevation profiles, contours, and hillshade reduce site visits and accelerate approvals, and what a cleaner interface means for enterprise adoption. On the LIDAR side, we go inside recent wins with the Queensland Government and Shell QGC, the 52% revenue lift, and the importance of asset utilisation without extra capex. For 3D, we dig into international momentum, practical use cases that justify spend, and the path to scale as digital twins move mainstream.
The strategy pivots on “One Aerometrex”: a unified organisation where product, production, PMO, and sales work as one, breaking silos so customers get solutions rather than isolated services. That shift, paired with more than $2 million in cost reductions and two quarters of zero cash burn, sets the stage for profitable growth. Robert also shares highlights from the Q1 trading update, the renewed Landchecker partnership with a multi‑year commitment, and a measured stance on M&A, partnerships, and licensing to maximise shareholder value.
If you care about spatial data that actually changes outcomes, this conversation delivers clarity and numbers you can trust. Subscribe, share with a colleague who lives in maps, and leave a quick review to tell us which feature you want to see next.
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A quieter revolution is unfolding inside battery recycling: selective chemistry that finally makes economic and environmental sense. We sit down with Dr Ebbe Dommisse, CEO of Iondrive, to explore how deep eutectic solvents enable clean, closed-loop recovery of critical minerals from battery black mass, e-waste, magnets, and end-of-life solar panels—and why that unlocks real scale.
We trace the strategic entry into Europe through a €3.1 million German battery recycling consortium led by RWTH Aachen and Fraunhofer. With upstream partners supplying black mass and downstream partners preparing to validate cells, the project closes the loop from waste to new materials. Ebbe explains how DES separates nickel and cobalt with high selectivity, cuts the environmental footprint versus hydrometallurgy, and lines up with strict European regulations. Beyond chemistry, the win is commercial: secured feedstock, credible offtake, and performance validation that matters to OEMs.
Urban mining becomes the broader play. In North America, the focus is permanent magnets and rare earth recovery alongside partner Colt Recycling. In Europe, EV batteries still dominate, with solar waste rising fast. In Australia, a wave of retired solar panels brings silver and silicon recovery to the fore, supported by local partnerships and policy engagement. We break down why Iron Drive is pursuing two complementary deployment models—hub-and-spoke for Europe’s centralised processing, and modular, co-located units for the geographic sprawl of the US—so the same DES platform can flex across regions and feedstocks.
We also map the near-term milestones: commissioning an Australian pilot plant supported by a government grant, initial debugging, then shipping to Germany for consortium operations on a defined timeline. Expect announcements on technology expansion across e-waste verticals, plus additional supply and offtake agreements that firm up volume. If you care about battery recycling, rare earth supply chains, and the economics of circular materials, this conversation offers a clear view of where the market is going and how a chemistry-first approach can lead.
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A lab surprise turned frontline hope: we sit down with Dr Liz Dallimore, CEO of Argenica Therapeutics, to unpack a peptide drug designed to protect the brain during the chaotic minutes after stroke and other injuries. Built from a chain of arginines, the therapy targets the glutamate‑driven calcium surge that kills neurons, aiming to stabilise tissue while clot dissolvers or thrombectomy restore blood flow.
We trace Argenica’s journey from Perth lab benches to a multi‑centre Phase 2 trial across Australia, where the drug met its primary safety endpoint and showed encouraging trends in functional outcomes at day 30 and day 90, including a 23% improvement in cognitive impairment at day 90. Just as important, the 10‑minute IV infusion fits the reality of emergency care and did not interfere with the efficacy of standard clot‑busting drugs. That bedside practicality matters for hospitals and regulators alike, aligning neuroprotection with established stroke pathways.
The conversation digs into AI‑enabled imaging with Brainomix to better understand collateral flow, penumbra, and the fast‑progressor subgroup where an efficacy signal emerged. We also explore the broader pipeline: compelling ferret data in traumatic brain injury that supports a direct move into Phase 2, and an FDA‑orphan backed program in hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy for newborns, now progressing through piglet studies and heading toward an IND and potential Fast Track. On capital, Liz outlines a pragmatic plan combining cash on hand, the R&D tax rebate, and non‑dilutive grants such as US Department of Defense funding to advance multiple trials without slowing the pivotal stroke study.
If you’re tracking innovations in stroke treatment, neuroprotective drugs, AI imaging in acute neurology, or the future of TBI and HIE care, this is a clear-eyed look at what’s working, what’s next, and how trial design is sharpening to benefit the right patients at the right time. Follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to tell us which milestone you’re watching next.
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Heavy industry doesn’t need another moonshot. It needs a practical way to swap carbon-heavy hydrogen for a cleaner, cost-competitive alternative that slots into plants already running at scale. That’s where Hazer Group steps in: an iron ore–catalysed process that turns methane into clean hydrogen and high-purity graphite, delivered through a fluidised bed reactor built for industrial realities, not lab-bench hopes.
We sit down with Hazer CEO Glenn Corrie to unpack how the technology works, why lowering operating temperature and energy demand is the real unlock for cost, and how a “climate brick” design plugs into ammonia, methanol, refining, LNG, and even power assets as an over-the-fence hydrogen solution. Glenn breaks down the momentum behind the strategic alliance with KBR, including a 30–50 ktpa process design package on track for early next year and a global go-to-market push that targets KBR’s deep footprint across hundreds of ammonia plants. The goal is simple and bold: replace steam methane reforming’s ten tonnes of CO2 per tonne of hydrogen with a drop-in, cleaner pathway that competes on price.
The story doesn’t end with hydrogen. For every unit of hydrogen produced, Hazer outputs around three and a half units of graphite—now a designated critical mineral in many regions. We explore the strategy to capture value from graphite amid tightening global supply, including partnerships with First Graphene and Mitsui, new IP in Singapore, and progress on purification to battery-grade specs. Add a strengthened cash runway via a non-dilutive R&D refund, reduced burn, and early revenues from paid studies, and the path to 2026 commercialisation sharpens into view.
If you’re tracking decarbonisation of ammonia, methanol, and steel—or you’re weighing the economics of clean hydrogen at industrial scale—this conversation offers a grounded, data-rich view of what’s next. Subscribe, share with a colleague who runs projects or plants, and leave a review with the one question you want us to put to Glenn in the next update.
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A reliable pay cheque from shares sounds like a dream, but it doesn’t have to be. We sit down with portfolio manager Phil Cornet from Atlas Funds Management to unpack a straightforward idea with powerful outcomes: hold quality Australian dividend payers and sell call options over them to target a 10% annual cash yield, paid quarterly. It’s a candid look at how buy-write strategies trade some upside for steadier income and lower volatility, and why that swap can make sense when multiples stretch and nerves fray.
Phil walks us through the mechanics of covered calls in plain English, the role of option premiums in smoothing returns, and the clear limitations when markets surge. We dig into their stock selection process across the ASX 200, blending a quantitative dividend-and-liquidity screen with qualitative checks on balance sheets, earnings durability, and industry structure. Instead of big sector bets, the portfolio spreads across GICS groups and stays underweight tech where dividends and liquidity are thin, aiming to deliver market-like breadth with a calmer ride.
We also talk practicalities: who uses a strategy like this, how advisers and institutions blend it with growth allocations, and what realistic distribution targets look like in shifting rate and volatility regimes. With a benchmark tied to RBA cash plus 3%, the fund sets a clear income bar above term deposits, while acknowledging the inevitable trade-offs in runaway bull markets. If you value dependable cash flow, franking potential, and measured risk-taking over chasing every last uptick, this conversation offers a grounded blueprint for income from Australian equities.
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Prices are surging, supply is squeezed, and buyers are searching for reliable sources of tungsten outside China and Russia. We sit down with Gary Lyons, Non‑Executive Chair of Tungsten Mining, to unpack how Mt Mulgine in Western Australia could become a cornerstone supplier for hardmetals, aerospace, energy, and defence—while using near‑term gold to fund the path to scale.
Gary takes us inside the market fundamentals: China at roughly 80% of concentrate, Russia near 10%, export bans in place, and a demand profile that could double over the next eight years. Against this backdrop, Mt Mulgine stands out for its size, jurisdictional stability, and multi‑commodity upside—including molybdenum, copper, and silver. We explore the company’s $9.5m capital raise and why a staged, gold‑first approach—supported by strong metallurgical test work and conventional processing—can create early cash flow, reduce upfront capital intensity, and de‑risk the larger tungsten build.
We map the execution roadmap from studies to site: advancing engineering, environmental work, and permitting; fast‑tracking PFS and moving to DFS with a target to finalise by end‑2026 to early 2027; and aligning development with market and partnership conditions. Gary also reflects on portfolio strategy—how a years‑long acquisition program built one of the largest “tungsten warehouses” outside China, and why the focus now is on unlocking value rather than more deals. If you care about critical minerals security, supply diversification, and the practical steps to bring a world‑class tungsten project online, this conversation offers clarity, timelines, and a compelling plan.
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From the publisher's feed
Welcome to 'ASX BRIEFS,' the definitive podcast for enthusiasts, investors, and professionals keen on staying ahead of the curve in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Hosted by Andrew Musgrave,…