Gold, genes and Nevada copper: The small-caps on the move this week

Sunda Energy PLC (AIM:SNDA, FRA:GHA0) shares are up 121% since New Zealand's regulator handed a 10-year petroleum mining permit for the Taranaki assets it is in the process of buying, with 48% of that coming this week alone.

The grant, on 13 August, has proved a slow burn, buyers nibbling away at a tightly held register and dragging the price steadily higher.

The authorities awarded the permit to Matahio NZ Onshore, covering the Puka oil and gas field and the Oru exploration prospect.

Sunda agreed in April to buy Matahio's parent company, which holds four petroleum mining permits in onshore Taranaki and produces around 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Completion is pencilled in for September, subject to New Zealand government consent for the change of control.

Restarting Puka and drilling the Oru-2 exploration well are the centrepieces of the investment plan that follows.

Sunda, formerly Baron Oil, hit an all-time low in June after Timor-Leste's upstream regulator moved to terminate the production sharing contract covering Chuditch, long the company's flagship gas discovery.

As you'd expect, it disputes the summary decision and is consulting lawyers.

While it does this, the New Zealand deal now carries the story.

Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share traded sideways this week, moving 1.58 points higher to 814.38, the mid-summer lull leaving little else to report.

On the up Sticking with the week's winners, Galantas Gold Corp (AIM:GAL, TSX-V:GAL, OTCQX:GALKF) shares jumped 31% after Alpayana, a private Peruvian mining group with four decades of operations...