NA Proactive news snapshot: Loop Insights, Esports Entertainment, American Manganese, BetterLife Pharma ...

Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) (OCTMKTS:VRZPF) revealed that it has struck a limited formal agreement with TELUS Corporation (TSX:T) (NYSE:TU) to carry out a 90-day proof of concept pilot across the Canadian telecom giant’s three flagship corporate retail locations in British Columbia. The Vancouver-based advanced technology company said the pilot started on August 5 when TELUS deployed Loop's IoT product Fobi to test and leverage its automated marketing capabilities. Connected between the printer and point of sale, Fobi will identify the opportunity to offer print tailored discount codes on the customer receipt for items that may be of interest to the customer based on their purchase. Loop, which delivers artificial intelligence-driven automated marketing, said these real-time capabilities enhanced the shopping experience by providing “data-driven product suggestions and unique discount codes for future use.” Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) saw its registered users more than quintuple during the recent two-week Counter Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) esports tournament on VIE.gg, the company announced on Thursday. Users grew by more than 400% compared to the same two-week period last month, and customer deposits were four times higher over the same span. The company’s partner, Allied Esports, itself a subsidiary of Allied Esports Entertainment (NASDAQ:AESE), drew 1.7 million unique viewers for the VIE.gg CS:GO Legend Series tournament. The competition, which ended Sunday, also generated more than 1 million hours watched and reached a peak of 98,000 viewers at one time, making it the most-watched Legend Series event since the series was created in 2017, the company said American Manganese Inc (CVE:AMY) (OTCMKT:AMYZF) revealed Thursday it is looking again at its Artillery Peak low-grade manganese project in Arizona amid renewed interest in the metal, which can be used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). The move comes ahead of Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) so-called battery day on September 22, 2020, which is expected to be accompanied with announcements on the tech firm's battery manufacturing technology. Some are forecasting that the EV titan is poised to get rid of expensive cobalt in its processing, with increases to nickel and the introduction of manganese, which is used in batteries, including lithiated manganese dioxide (LMD) batteries. BetterLife Pharma Inc (CSE:BETR) (OTCQB:BETRF) announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with List Biological Laboratories Inc for the manufacture of its proprietary interferon alpha 2b for the treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19.) "Following our recent merger, we are proud to be continuing the development of Altum Pharmaceutical’s proprietary interferon alpha 2b inhalation for treatment of COVID-19,” said BetterLife's CEO Dr Ahmad Doroudian in a statement. Media Central Corporation (CSE:FLYY) said that it saw its aggregated programmatic advertising revenue jump 191% year-over-year on the back of solid revenue growth across the company's flagship publications NOW Magazine and The Georgia Straight. The Toronto publishing powerhouse, which has established itself across print and digital platforms, acquired NOW Magazine in November 2019 and The Straight in February 2020. In spring 2020, Media Central expanded its ad inventory to incorporate more diverse display and programmatic formats and leverage proprietary marketing technology to automate the capture of behavioral data, improve user experience and increase overall traffic. As a result, Media Central has generated more programmatic ad revenue over the last five months, than the publications made throughout 2019. Pacton Gold Inc (CVE:PAC) (OTCPINK:PACXF) is set to kick off drilling at its Sidace project in the prolific Red Lake area of Ontario in the coming weeks after it received an exploration permit for an 11,500 meters (m) program. Sidace is a joint venture between Pacton, which owns 39.5%, and Australia-listed mid-tier miner Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN), which has 60.5%. AgraFlora Organics International Inc (CSE:AGRA) said its subsidiary Farmako GmbH has entered into a binding distribution agreement with Adjupharm GmbH to supply medical cannabis in Germany.  Adjupharm, the German subsidiary of IM Cannabis Corp (CSE:IMCC), will provide EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) quality medical cannabis to Farmako for a three-year term, according to a statement. Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASADAQ:RKDA), the agricultural technology group, has bolstered its leadership team with two new hires. Kevin Hodges has been promoted to vice-president (VP) of commercial operations, overseeing the supply chain operations, manufacturing and marketing for Arcadia's existing products in the GoodWheat, GoodHemp and SONOVA GLA safflower oil product lines. Food and drink veteran Tracy Baker has joined Arcadia as VP of product innovation, responsible for leading product innovation and commercialization strategies for the company's GoodWheat and GoodHemp portfolios. Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd (NYSEAMERICAN:MTA) (CVE:MTA) has got its hands on a 27.5% price participation royalty interest on production from Karora Resources Inc's (TSX:KRR) Higginsville gold asset in Australia, providing immediate cash flow. It has struck a purchase and sale agreement with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to acquire an existing royalty for‎ a total consideration of Metalla shares worth up to US$6.5 million. Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN) announced Thursday the launch of an enhanced mobile application framework for its Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) customers worldwide, allowing each to take a modular approach to building their mobile application portfolios. The Austin, Texas-based company said these platform additions to its patented mobile application framework and cloud infrastructure will give customers access to many of the features and capabilities of Phunware’s broader MaaS platform, while also ensuring that all components of their mobile application portfolios will automatically receive dynamic, real-time updates and upgrades as they become available. This friction-free, modular approach and framework will also make it far easier for the company’s channel partners to sell, deploy and manage MaaS offerings and packages to their customers and organizations worldwide through Phunware’s Global Reseller Network and Phenom Certification Program. Global Energy Metals Corporation. (CVE:GEMC) (OTCQB:GBLEF) (FRA:5GE1) announced that it has received TSXV Exchange approval and will be moving forward with the acquisition of an 85% interest in the in the Nevada-based Lovelock Mine and Treasure Box battery minerals projects. The group noted that historic work along with preliminary exploration conducted by Global Energy Metals in 2019 confirms the prospective nature of the project and provides the company with an excellent opportunity to unlock the potential value of the deposit through future work. In a statement, Mitchell Smith, Global Energy Metals’ president & CEO commented: “The Lovelock Mine and Treasure Box projects provide tremendous opportunity to further strengthen our exposure to cobalt, nickel and copper - critical minerals that are the core building blocks fuelling the electrification of vehicles and new energy storage." Aftermath Silver Ltd (CVE:AAG) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to its non-brokered private placement announced on August 27, 2020, and further amended on August 28, 2020, which will the issue of 26,362,442 shares at a purchase price of 65 cents per share with 126 placees. American Battery Metals Corporation (OTCQB:ABML), an American-owned lithium-ion battery recycling and advanced extraction technology company with valuable mineral resources in Nevada, has announced that its chief technical officer ,Ryan Melsert is a confirmed speaker for the upcoming September 23 "Benchmark Battery Day" battery recycling webinar. Melsert will discuss American Battery Metals' lithium-ion battery recycling process, and the company's progress on its first-of-kind facility in Nevada as it transitions to American Battery Technology Company.  "Lithium-ion battery recycling is tremendously important for the global battery metals supply chains. Our process will not only supply vast amounts of the critical materials that fuel the renewable energy revolution, but we will also provide a fundamental solution to a burgeoning e-waste challenge," said Melsert. "The Benchmark Battery Day webinar is a great opportunity for everyone interested in battery recycling to join the discussion to learn more." To register for the event, investors can visit the Benchmark registration page: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wSStlp_GSbS9pK8kVwigaw Proactive Research has initiated coverage on Vox Royalty (TSX-V:VOX) a precious metals-focused, mining royalty and streaming business. Mining analyst, Dr Ryan D. Long introduces explains how Vox stands up against its competitors and how it is creating a portfolio of cash-generating mining and development stage royalties that should generate significant economic returns over the long-term.