Page 28 - pd301-Feb22-mag-web_Neat1

IPOS

Century up for IPOs as

hard borders and EVs

define the year

aydirt’s annual IPO review of 2019 spanned just four pages, dedicated to the five
Pcompanies which listed during the year. For 2021, the scenario is very different with
more than 100 resources companies hitting the bourse.
So, what does the Class of 2021 bring that 2019 didn’t? Paydirt picks its way through
the new listings numbers to find the trends, fashions and developments which have led
to the busiest IPO market in more than a decade.

My head is spinning Even by usual standards, the geographic dominance of WA was
noticeable across the board. Sixty of the new listings had assets
within Australia’s largest state, hardly surprising given the tradi-
When it came to the style of new float, spin-outs were a tional factors of size and prospectivity but also influenced by the
strong theme throughout 2021. State Government’s hard border policy. With companies unable
Investors have shown a thirst for quality stories but for companies to travel outside the confines of the State for most of the last two
such as Chalice Mining Ltd, Marvel Gold Ltd, Strike Resources years, management teams have favoured on their backyard over
Ltd, Liontown Resources Ltd (itself a spin-out from Chalice) and more distant lands.
Rox Resources Ltd, the rampant market created an opportunity
to create value for assets which had fallen off their radar. Several
proved highly success with Chalice spin-out Falcon Metals Ltd
raising $30 million and Marvel spin-out Evolution Energy Minerals
Ltd raising $22 million.
In all, there were 13 IPOs demerged from parent companies
with non-core assets. With access to ground difficult and com-
modity prices still strong, it could be that more companies are
digging through the portfolios looking for an IPO-worthy col-
lection of projects.

Golden WA

Prospective listings could consider any amount of exotic
minerals but if you needed to raise a minimum amount with
a good spread, gold in WA was your go to.
That may sound cynical but 10 of the new floats listed with a
pure WA gold focus. In total, 68 of the new IPOs boasted gold
prospects.

Page 28 FeBRUaRY 2022 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT