Sun Silver targets early ASX listing after strong response to $13m IPO
A $13 million initial public offering (IPO) by Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) has closed early after the company received an “overwhelmingly strong response” from institutional and retail investors.
The offer had originally been scheduled to close on 17 May with an ASX listing targeted for 5 June, however it closed just one week after opening.
The company subsequently brought forward its listing date and is now preparing to make its ASX debut later this month with an expected market capitalisation of $25m.
Executive director Gerard O’Donovan was pleased to be able to close the offer ahead of schedule.
“The strong demand [for our IPO] from investors reflects the quality of our US assets and the exceptional long-term outlook for silver, with demand surging on the back of the metal’s integral role in industrial applications such as solar panels,” he said.
“As the world transitions to a lower carbon economy, industrial demand for silver is expected to soar over the coming decades.”
Cornerstone asset
Sun Silver’s cornerstone asset is the Maverick Springs silver-gold deposit in Nevada’s geologically-prospective Carlin Trend.
The project is located 85 kilometres from the fully-serviced mining town of Elko and close to world-class mining operations including Barrick Gold’s Carlin mine.
Maverick Springs hosts a mineral resource estimate of 292 million ounces silver equivalent at an average grade of 72.4 grams per tonne.
It has an inferred resource of 125.4 million tonnes at 43.5g/t silver and 0.34g/t gold for 175.7Moz of silver and 1.37Moz of gold.
Sun Silver has drilled approximately 200 holes to date at the project for a total 60,000m, with the deposit open along strike and at depth and multiple mineralised intercepts located outside of the resource model.
On completion of the ASX listing, Mr O’Donovan said the company would aim to get work programs underway with a focus on increasing the existing resource and moving Maverick Springs towards development and initial production.
Silver boom
Sun Silver comes to market at a time of growing investor interest in the silver industry, driven by demand from industrial and high-tech applications.
Demand from the global solar panel industry has soared by 330% since 2014, increasing from 48Moz silver to 160Moz last year.
Solar energy capacity in the US alone is forecast to increase by 125 gigawatts per year between now and 2030.
The nation has set a target for solar energy to provide 30% of all electricity by 2030, rising to 45% by 2050.
The estimated amount of silver required to achieve this target represents as much as 98% of the world’s current known reserves.