UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: APR Energy Sees Asian Hub Late 2012

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APR Energy PLC (APR.LN), a supplier of temporary power generators, will open its first regional hub in southeast Asia toward the end of the third quarter this year, its chief executive said Wednesday, adding it had narrowed down the likely location to one of three countries.

"We are looking at Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore," John Campion told Dow Jones Newswires. "It needs to be a free-trade area on the main shipping route."

At 1527 GMT shares +14 pence, or 1.35%, at 1052.0 pence.

FAROE PETROLEUM PLC (FPM.LN), an independent oil company, said Wednesday it has been offered seven new prospective exploration licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf under the 2011 Norwegian license round.

The company has been awarded two licenses in the Halten terrace area of the Norwegian Sea, two licenses in the Egersund basin, also in the Norwegian North Sea, and three licenses in the northern North Sea.

Shares -2 pence, or 2%, at 164 pence.

VALIANT PETROLEUM PLC (VPP.LN), an oil explorer and producer, said it has secured a 50% interest in a block on the Norwegian continental shelf, its first operating work in Norway, following entry into the country less than six months ago.

The company will operate license PL 617, Block 2/9, awarded as part of the 2011 licensing round.

Shares -7 pence, or 1.55%, at 428.25 pence.

NCONDEZI COAL CO. LTD. (NCCL.LN), a coal explorer, said Wednesday it has signed a new agreement with Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) to further study greenfield port and rail options and related infrastructure, as part of its strategy to export coal from its Ncondezi Project in Tete in Mozambique by 2015.

This new study is a continuation of a jointly funded infrastructure study, completed in the fourth quarter of 2011, that identified a preferred port and rail solution--the Integrated Transport Development, or ITD Project--in Mozambique around 500 kilometers from Tete.

Shares +10 pence, or 20.41%, at 59 pence.

MARIANA RESOURCES LTD. (MARL.LN), a precious metals miner, said it has signed an option to buy a gold and silver project in southern Argentina, adjacent to its own Picadero project, from private company Winki SA.

The minimum amount Mariana could have to pay for 100% ownership of the 9,124 hectare El Aguila project, located in the Deseado Massif, is $4.14 million over five years.

Shares flat at 9.87 pence.

WEATHERLY INTERNATIONAL PLC (WTI.LN), a copper miner, said its fiscal second-quarter copper concentrate production rose 14% from the previous quarter as ore grades and recovery rates improved for a fourth consecutive quarter.

However, Weatherly noted that production was hampered by equipment downtime and conveyor breakdowns at its Otjihase mine that resulted in costs rising to $5,373 per ton of copper in the quarter, and to a year-to-date figure of $4,955 per ton.

Shares -6% at 5.87 pence.

REDEFINE INTERNATIONAL PLC (RDI.LN), a property investor, said recent trading had been stable, with weakness in its U.K. retail portfolio offset by strong performances by the company's European and hotel-based assets.

The firm, which listed in the U.K. in August after a reverse merger with Wichford PLC worth GBP209 million, said it was considering a number of acquisitions in the European retail sector and had recently conducted positive talks with a number of German banks regarding financing.

Shares +0.33% at 37.5 pence.

FTSE Small-Cap +0.7%

AIM +0.4%

-By Peter Evans and Iain Packham, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]