Toronto, Ontario — A Canadian mining company sees stocks rise thanks to Tesla, one of the world’s first EV charging networks goes public and Uber finally receives its London, U.K. license in this week’s Tuesday Ticker.
Battery boost
Vancouver-based Giga Metals has seen shares surge after reports the company was in talks with Tesla.
The last month has seen shares spike as much as 290.5 percent, hitting a high of 2.07 per share on Sept. 15, just four days after reports surfaced that Giga Metals could be providing Tesla with nickel for its electric vehicle batteries.
In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised that “Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.”
Giga Metals’ low-carbon nickel plans include turning waste from its operations into cement-type rock using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and using hydropower. Its flagship asset is its 100 percent-owned Turnagain Project in north-central B.C. The company says it ranks among the largest sulphide nickel deposits in the world.
According to an estimate released in September 2019, the project contains a measured and indicated resource of 5.2 billion pounds of nickel and 312 million pounds of cobalt. On top of that is an inferred resource of 5.5 billion pounds of nickel and 327 million pounds of cobalt.
As of Sept. 28, Giga Metals stocks stood at 2.07 per share.
Stocks for sustainability
ChargePoint, one of the world’s oldest and largest electric vehicle charging networks, is nearing a deal to go public, according to a report by Reuters.
With aims to go public through a reverse merger with Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp., the deal could value ChargePoint at more than US$2 billion and be announced as early as this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Both companies have declined to comment on the deal.
Based in Campbell, Calif., ChargePoint was founded in 2007. Just last month the company closed on a US$127 million funding round that valued ChargePoint at US$1.37 billion, according to PinchBook data.
Uber allowed
Uber has dodged a ban in London, U.K., after a judge said the ride-hailing giant deserved an 18-month license to operate in the capital.
Last year, Transport for London (TfL) stripped Uber of its license for a second time, citing a “pattern of failures” that had put passengers at risk. TfL said a glitch in Uber’s system allowed unauthorized drivers to upload their photos to other driver accounts fraudulently and pick up passengers in at least 14,000 trips.
In his ruling, deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram said that Uber “does not have a perfect record but it has been an improving picture.” The magistrate said the test of whether Uber is “fit and proper” doesn’t require perfection.
Its new license is subject to 21 conditions, up from the 14 requirements attached to its previous permit. Most of the new conditions tackle driver-photo identification and insurance fraud after concerns were raised during the trial.
“This 18-month license with a number of conditions allows us to closely monitor Uber’s adherence to the regulations and to swiftly take action if they fail to meet the required standards,” TfL said in a statement
Uber stocks were up 3.9 percent Monday afternoon.
