London-listed microcap technology investor Vela Technologies has become a minority shareholder in Northern Ireland’s Tribe Technology Group after buying £250,000 of equity in Tribe Tech’s £2 million, pre-IPO funding round.
Tribe, which expects to deliver its first automated reverse circulation mineral drill rig later this year, is currently pursuing an Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listing in London.
AIM-quoted Vela said Tribe Tech’s technology, including its proprietary Tribe Technology Drilling System (TTDS), was expected, “through partnerships with some of the industry’s biggest players, to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve safety in the global mining industry”.
“Tribe Tech offers a new level of autonomous reverse circulation drilling at a time when the discovery of additional mineral deposits is crucial to fuel the renewable energy transition,” Vela said.
The manufacturer, which has a circa-1850-square-metre production facility in Mallusk, Northern Ireland, and an office in Western Australia, is said to have “strong working relationships with key players in Western Australia’s Pilbara iron ore market and has leveraged these connections to build market traction”.
“Tribe Tech currently has a number of strategic partnerships and a commercial pipeline that includes delivery of TTDS and autonomous RC drill rigs to market-leading drilling contractors and major miners upgrading their fleet,” Vela said.
Tribe Tech booked a net loss of £1.69 million for its 2022 fiscal year.
Vela Technologies has a current market value of about £2.9 million.
