On The Block

U.S. Rare Earths Inc. has started the process of reviewing strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value for the privately-held company. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based concern intends to evaluate a possible merger, sale and other transactions. Toward that end the company’s board of directors has hired Pope & Co. Ltd. as financial adviser. U.S. Rare Earths holds 169 unpatented mining claims. The company’s main properties include the Diamond Creek in southeast Idaho’s Webster Range, as well as the 600-acre Lemhi Pass, which is located between Idaho and the Bitterroot Range in Montana.

Nord Resources Corp. (OTCBB: NRDS) has hired FTI Consulting Inc. as an adviser to help review potential opportunities for the Tucson, Ariz.-based company. FTI Consulting will seek to identify and evaluate refinancing opportunities, business combination deals and other alternatives. For the first quarter, Nord Resources’s net income rose to $1 million from $655,324 a year earlier. Its net sales increased to $6 million from $1.4 million. The company sold slightly more than 2.4 million pounds of copper during the latest period, compared with 280,728 pounds a year earlier. Nord Resources has copper mining and processing operations at the Johnson Camp Mine in Arizona.

Callidus Software Inc. (Nasdaq: CALD) is considering strategic alternatives, and the review seems to be focused on the sale of the entire company, according to dealREPORTER. San Jose, Calif.-based Callidus Software has hired investment bank Cowen & Co. to help with the process. For the first quarter, Callidus Software reported wider losses. Its total revenue also fell 38 percent, primarily resulting from a 67 percent drop in services revenue. The developer of sales performance management software posted a loss of about $6 million on revenue of $16.2 million for the latest period. It reported a loss of $2.8 million on revenue of $25.9 million a year earlier.

Far West Mining Ltd. is looking at a number of financial and strategic alternatives. The Vancouver, Canada-based company’s board of directors asked BMO Capital Markets for assistance as part of this plan. BMO Capital intends to provide advice on financing alternatives, potential partnerships, joint venture arrangements and other possible strategic transaction. Far West Mining is an international mineral explorer. It owns properties in the Santo Domingo Project Area of Chile as well as in the Georgetown Project in Australia. On June 4, James Stypula resigned as a director to pursue other opportunities. He was with the company for 14 years.