History
A Houston oil company that sold its assets in 2014 to repay noteholders became a quartz and solar shell, whose large plans have outrun its funding.
2012-2014: A Houston oil company and its notes
The company began this record as Vanguard Energy Corporation, an operating oil and gas business in Houston. In June and July 2012 it sold $5.91 million of 15% secured convertible notes to private investors. They matured in June 2015 and could be converted into shares at $1.25 each. Of the total, $3.31 million was new cash and $2.6 million was rolled over from notes issued in November 2010. The money was meant for drilling in Southeast Texas and for repaying any remaining 2010 notes. The filing reported seven producing wells at Batson Dome, making about 200 barrels a day net, and a new lease at Hull-Daisetta. The placement agents received a $427,900 commission and 461,000 warrants, which are rights to buy shares at $1.55 until June 2017.
On 31 March 2014 the company missed an interest payment on $8.25 million of notes, which let holders demand immediate repayment. Within weeks it agreed to sell substantially all its assets for $5.5 million. The sale closed on 17 June 2014. The company said it would use the proceeds to buy out a net profits interest held by Vanguard Net Profits, LLC and pay the balance to its noteholders. The sale left the company with essentially no operating assets.
2014-2017: A dormant shell
For about three years the record is quiet. The company had no business and no assets. The share count fell sharply in 2014, but the beats do not explain why.
2017-2019: A quartz reverse merger
In July 2017 the shell acquired Solar Quartz Technology Limited, a New Zealand holding company, in exchange for 213,402,755 new shares. This was a reverse merger, where a private business takes over a listed shell. The company was renamed Solar Quartz Technologies Corporation. The New Zealand company's only assets were five mineral leases in North Queensland, Australia, covering about 308 acres and said to hold high purity quartz. The filing put management's value on the deposits at about $530 million. No mining work had taken place, and the funding for planned plants costing about $10 million and $28 million was not in place.
In October 2017 the company set out plans for a private placement of up to $1.5 million and a later $150 million raise, while its books showed just $66 in total assets against $286,500 in liabilities. In January 2019 it disclosed that a fiscal 2015 annual report had never been properly reviewed by auditors and should not be relied on. In February 2019 it hired a new auditor and became Graphene & Solar Technologies Limited. That auditor resigned in August 2019, citing inconsistent and incomplete information.
2020-2026: Memoranda and a tax credit
The record is quiet again until February 2024, when the company signed two non-binding memoranda of understanding, which are outline agreements that do not commit the parties. The first, with Henosis Limited, concerned buying its shareholding in Ausquartz Group Holdings, a quartz sand producer. The second, with American Solar Manufacturing Company, proposed a silicon wafer joint venture owned 75% by the company, which would commit $10 million in working capital. Neither had reached a definitive agreement in these records.
In June 2026 its subsidiary Quartz & Silicon Materials Company was awarded a $45 million California Competes Tax Credit over five years. It can only be used against future California tax and depends on investment and job milestones. The shares on issue stood at 739,928,268 at the 2026 year-end count, and the Queensland leases had not been shown to be granted or developed.
Written from the 14 story beats below (2012 to 24 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.