Page 2 - IPO- Neat

Copper surge sends

money north

After only matching Victoria in 2020, New South Wales at-
tracted renewed interest from explorers in 2021 with 14
companies listing with assets in the State, largely based on
copper and copper-gold targets. Copper’s popularity was also
reflected in Queensland-focused floats (9) while South Australia
(5) enjoyed a welcome revival as well.

Where’s the big money

floats?

Although volumes were up, values were flat when it came
to capital raisings. 29Metals Ltd’s $527.8 million IPO towered
over the rest of the market with Tulla Resources plc’s $77 mil-
lion the next largest. Eighty-three of the companies raised $10
million or less, perhaps showing both the difficulty in accessing
high-quality advanced assets but also the market’s appetite for
early-stage exploration stories.
Links to Africa... and North Among the larger IPOs, 260 Minerals Ltd ($30 million) and Fal-
con ($30 million) tapped into the market’s love for Tim Goyder
and Latin America companies, having been spun out of the highly successful Lion-
town and Chalice, respectively.
After several years of hiatus, overseas assets were back in
vogue among new floats. Africa was the focus of seven IPOs Building to a
with North America attracting the same number and Latin Ameri-
ca just one behind with six. Other regions to attract funding in the Christmas rush
IPO market were Europe (4), Asia (2) and New Zealand (1).
That Africa would return so strongly – 2021 saw more IPOs from What started as a trickle in the first half of the year – 33
the region than any year from the last decade – perhaps reflects between January and June – became a flood in the second half
both prospectivity for key minerals such as gold, lithium and rare with July (16), September (14), October (13), November (13) and
earths as well as investor sentiment in light of the success of December (12) all posting double-digit listings. With dozens more
West African Resources Ltd, Perseus Mining Ltd and Predictive companies failing to get out of the starting gate in time, it could be
Discovery Ltd.
that 2022 is a mirror image of 2021.
The battery pack

Is the precious metal about to be usurped? WA has always
been known as the home of gold and iron ore but with the rush
for battery materials copper, nickel, and more importantly lithium,
have risen to investor attention.
The year saw 20 companies list with lithium and/or graphite as
the main commodity. A further 37 had copper front and centre
while a remarkable 23 declared themselves to be exploring for
nickel. PGMs were also in the mix with companies eager to emu-
late Chalice’s Julimar discovery and even uranium made a return
with 92 Energy Ltd.
Iron ore’s strong start to 2021 prompted six companies to list
while zinc’s strong end coincided with nine companies listing
base metals assets.

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2022 Page 29