Pathfinder Resources’ $6m IPO to revive Argentine gold and cobalt project

Pathfinder Resources is out to raise up to $6 million to fulfil its plan of building a new company underpinned by the King Tut gold and cobalt project in Argentina that was first mined in the 1950s.

While there has been no formal exploration nor drilling campaign on the mineralised veins in the project, and all historical work to date has been limited to grab samples and incomplete mapping, Pathfinder believes the ground holds the key to a larger system.

Pathfinder is being constructed within the shell of the former Winmar Resources, delisted in June after two years of trading suspension.

The new company will maintain Winmar’s two main projects — iron ore in Western Australian and cobalt in Canada — ahead of their divestment.

Pathfinder’s initial public offering is for 25 million new shares at $0.20 each to raise $5 million, with provision to accept oversubscriptions for another 5 million shares to lift the raising to $6m.

The company will list under the ticker code ‘PF1’.

Shannon Green, who is Pathfinder’s executive chairman, has managed several significant projects from feasibility to production and has held senior positions at Australian iron ore and gold mining operations.

He is currently executive chairman of Resource Base (ASX: RBX) which has the Broula King gold project in central NSW. He was previously project manager for Canyon Resources (ASX: CAY) when it developed its bauxite project in Cameroon and then managing director of Africa-focused Lindian Resources (ASX: LIN).

King Tut potentially part of a larger mineralised system

King Tut is located in a well-known gold mining region – the La Rioja province of Argentina.

Mr Green says that upon getting its ASX listing, Pathfinder will start an aggressive exploration program at King Tut aimed at establishing a JORC resource and drilling across the tenement package.

“The company believes the historic King Tut mine has the potential to be a window into a significantly larger mineralised system,” Mr Green added.

The company says that, although there is a lack of detailed information from past explorers in relation to mining undertaken, the prospect itself is well defined in the areas around the old mine workings.

“As such, there is sufficient information from which the company plans to derive an understanding of the potential resource size and scale,” the prospectus noted.

The project is being bought from two private Australian companies that will receive Pathfinder stock as payment.

King Tut is located close to the Chile border in western Argentina.

The ground was mined during two periods.

In the 1950s exposed gold-cobalt veins were accessed in the upper slopes and then in the 1980s when lower levels were accessed by means of two vertical portals 30m apart.

An electromagnetic survey was conducted in 1983 that found anomalies along strike from the known mineralised veins.