Mining

Auric Mining latest gold IPO to enter the starting blocks after $6.5m raise

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By Robin Bromby - 
Auric Mining IPO ASX gold

Auric Mining plans to list on the ASX on 15 January 2021.

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Western Australian gold explorer Auric Mining will shortly be closing its initial public offering after raising $6.5 million through the issue of 26 million new fully paid ordinary shares at $0.25 per share.

The company had previously raised $3m pre-IPO for project acquisition and the current raise is to go almost totally towards drilling programs.

Auric’s main assets are two 100%-owned gold projects — Jeffreys northeast of Norseman and Munda in the state’s Widgiemooltha Dome.

Munda adjoins the Widgiemooltha gold tenements owned by Mincor Resources (ASX: MCR), the company which is at present the seventh largest shareholder in Auric after it sold Jeffreys to Auric.

The company is being led by experienced people.

Managing director Mark English was the founding director of the former Bullion Minerals for seven years before its IPO.

In 2006 base metals and uranium explorer Bullion Minerals spun out assets that formed the basis of the present Chalice Gold Mines (ASX: CHN) and Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR).

The technical director at Auric is John Utley who was formerly chief geologist at Canada’s Atlantic Gold Corporation, since taken over by St Barbara (ASX: SBM).

Chairman Steve Morris was previously a director at De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG).

Plans to pick up more exploration ground

Auric also holds two exploration licences at Spargoville which have demonstrated gold anomalism.

The company is now seeking to what it describes as “further exploration and development landholdings” in the area.

Auric’s latest presentation describes the Widgiemooltha location as a premier gold district in Western Australia.

It is located 95km south of Kalgoorlie and “has a long and distinguished mining history” which has hosted “numerous” historic gold, nickel and what are now known as battery metals mines.

Auric will come to the market with a JORC resource of around 220,000oz of gold and a board it describes as having “significant” experience at developing gold projects and managing mining operations.

The overall Auric objective is to drill to grow gold resources to 500,000 ounces through a 2-year drilling program and move into development as soon as possible.

Considerable exploration prospects at Widgiemooltha

The company says that, even with its extensive mining history, considerable exploration prospects remain in the Widgiemooltha area.

In the past 10 years mines have been developed there, including Mincor’s Widgiemooltha (322,000oz at 1.9 grams per tonne gold) and two owned by Toronto-listed Karora Resources — Beta Hunt (944,000oz at 2.9g/t) and Baloo (353.000oz at 1.71g/t.

Auric says recent exploration success by Anglo Australian Resources (ASX: AAR) at its Mandilla gold project has also highlighted the potential of the area.

Western Australia’s largest gold nugget, the 35.5kg Golden Eagle, was discovered just 8km from Munda.

Munda is considered to be amenable to open pit mining, extending from surface to a depth of at least 150m. It has existing granted mining permits and targets ready to go that are currently being planned for drilling soon after ASX listing.

Several processing plants operate in the area.

Jeffreys is located 45km from Norseman and $625,000 from the recent placement raising has been allocated for work at this project.

It has a JORC resource of 61,600oz at 1.7g/t.

Auric paid $675,000 to Mincor for Jeffreys and $1.21 million for Munda, previously owned by Estrella Resources (ASX: ESR).

Auric says preliminary open pit scoping studies, based on toll treatment, have demonstrated the ability to produce short term cash flows that will finance future drilling and merger and acquisition plans.

Post listing the company will have 86,628,967 shares on issue equating to a market cap of $21.7 million and expects to list on the ASX by 15 January trading under ticker ‘AWJ’.