Return of the IPO market good news for miners
IPOs have ground to a halt, with no mining listings on the ASX through May
But a wave of new explorers and producers are about to hit the bourse
Delta Lithium's gold spinout Ballard Mining and Telfer owner Greatland Gold among the high profile names
While markets have been volatile in the past few months, a positive sign for the mining market is a pick-up in initial public offerings.
Lion Selection Group (ASX:LSX) managing director Hedley Widdup recently pointed out that IPOs were one of the best barometers of the mining cycle because they reliably tracked liquidity.
'When liquidity is poor, it is very hard to achieve an IPO of an exploration company, and likewise when liquidity is freely flowing, investors gobble these up,' he said in Lion's recent quarterly report.
In the peak of the market, in 2021, there were 105 mining IPOs. That fell to 64 in 2022, 25 in 2023 and 15 in 2024.
There have technically been none yet this year.
Canada's Marimaca Copper dual listed on the ASX earlier this year but as it did not raise funds, not a single share has traded in the two months since its debut.
Southern Cross Gold Consolidated re-listed on the ASX with a new code after merging with Canada's Mawson Gold.
'In 2025 so far, there have been zero IPOs of resources companies that raised new money to achieve a brand-new listing, which is a litmus test that shows liquidity conditions generally remain subdued,' Widdup said.
Test starts today
Today, the ASX will welcome its first proper resources IPO this year when Robex Resources debuts.
Robex is based in Perth but listed in Toronto and managing director Matt Wilcox recently said poor liquidity on the TSX was behind the move to Australia.
The Jim Askew-chaired company, which operates a small mine in Mali and is developing the larger Kiniero mine in Guinea, raised $120 million in its IPO.
Meanwhile, new Telfer owner, London-listed Greatland Gold, is pushing ahead with its ASX cross listing which is expected to raise $50 million.
Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Atlantic, developer of the Nimba iron ore project in Guinea, is expected to launch an Australian IPO shortly.
CEO Bronwyn Barnes, who also chairs ASX-listed explorer Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA), said Australia was the right place to list Ivanhoe.
'When you're talking about the market that understands iron ore, Australia is a perfect market for this company and for this product, and it also has a very strong familiarity of African projects,' she told the recent AFR Mining Summit.
'But a little bit more broadly than that, at Ivanhoe Atlantic, we've got a bit of a bigger vision about what we'd like to do, not only with the Nimba project, but other projects that we're interested in acquiring.
'And I think being present on the ASX platform gives us opportunities to either acquire or partner with other existing assets or companies on the development of other assets.'
AIM-listed Ariana Resources and Toronto-listed Orezone Gold are also progressing Australian dual listings.
Right time for Delta
Last month, Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI) announced it would spin out its Mt Ida gold project in Western Australia's Goldfields into new company Ballard Mining.
Mt Ida has a resource of 10.3 million tonnes at 3.33 grams per tonne gold for 1.1 million ounces of gold.
Delta managing director James Croser told Stockhead the company had focused on getting the Mt Ida gold project to a point where it could support a listing, which would allow Delta to countercyclically focus on its lithium projects.
'The gold market timing has lined up nicely as well, and it just seems like the best time for us to set it free,' he said.
On Friday, Ballard lodged a prospectus for a $25-30 million IPO, led by Bell Potter Securities and Argonaut.
'The quantum of the raise was a much-discussed number,' Croser said.
'We felt we probably could have got some more, and the market would have delivered on that … the valuation we've put on those 1.1 million ounces that exist there, they're really compelling metrics, and the market will see that, and it has seen that, and a lot of the feedback we've got is that it is extremely well priced.
'That was by design, because you've got to leave something on the table for the new money to enjoy an uplift and you really want to establish that momentum early on in the life of a listing, and we think it's going to run pretty hard and be very successful, and I can't wait to see it happen.'
Delta will retain a 46-49% stake in Ballard, depending on the final amount raised.
Croser will sit on the board, which also features former De Grey Mining chairman Simon Lill, while Delta chief development officer Paul Brennan will resign to become managing director of Ballard.
Former Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) chief financial officer Tim Manners will be Ballard's finance director, while Gold Fields' former Australian boss Stuart Mathews will be a non-executive director.
Juniors awakening
Ballard, which is aiming to hit the board in mid-July, isn't the only explorer on the way to the ASX.
Bauxite developer VBX is scheduled to list on the ASX next week after launching a $10 million IPO last month.
The company is planning to use the funds to complete a definitive feasibility study on its Wuudagu bauxite project in WA's Kimberley region, which has a resource of 95.9Mt and a reserve of 59.3Mt.
VBX also holds the earlier stage Takapinga bauxite project in the Northern Territory.
Last week, LinQ Minerals lodged a prospectus for an IPO to raise $7.5-10 million.
LinQ is chaired by Clive Donner, a former investment banker and founder of mining private equity fund LinQ Group.
The company owns the Gilmore copper-gold project, south of Evolution Mining's Cowal mine in New South Wales.
Gilmore has a resource of 1.2 million ounces of gold and 120,000 tonnes of copper.
LinQ is aiming to close the IPO on June 20 and list on July 4.
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