Polymetals Resources debuts on ASX, focusing on West African gold projects

Polymetals Resources Ltd (ASX:POL) has officially landed on the ASX, closing out its first day of trading at 15 cents per share. The company is focused on its portfolio of gold projects in Guinea, West Africa, which includes its subsidiary Golden Guinea Resources SARL’s two exploration licences within the Siguiri Basin. It was admitted to the quotation after raising $5.2 million in the IPO, selling 26 million shares at 20 cents a pop; it has 79.44 million shares with a market cap of $15.9 million and an enterprise value of $10.7 million. First day on the boards Polymetals CEO Alex Hanly said the company was delighted with its first day on the ASX. CEO Alex Hanly. “Today’s ASX listing marks a pivotal moment for Polymetals and a step forward in becoming a leading gold producer,” he told Proactive. “Our licences are strategically positioned within Guinea’s underexplored Birimian Greenstone Belt which holds substantial geological potential for the delineation of a large gold inventory. “I am pleased to report that we have commenced our planned RC 5,100-metre drilling campaign at Alahiné, one of our licences, to follow up the many soil gold anomalies and mineralised drill intercepts defined by our previous exploration. “We were very pleased about the positive response we received to our IPO from a mix of institutional, sophisticated and retail investors. “We anticipate rapidly progressing our exciting portfolio of projects in Guinea, West Africa, once we have finalised our ASX listing which is anticipated to be early July.” What does Polymetals do? Polymetals has a 100% interest in Golden Guinea Resources SARL which owns two exploration licences within the Siguiri Basin. This basin occupies the country’s north-eastern corner and hosts several large active gold mining operations and is notable for its widespread gold anomalism. This basin is broadly covered by exploration or exploitation tenure and there is little vacant land available for new exploration participants in the region. The region is considered highly prospective for gold and relatively immature from an exploration perspective and produces over 500,000 ounces of gold/year. The largest operation is the AngloGold Ashanti’s Siguiri Gold Mine, around 37 kilometres west of the Golden Guinea licences, which to date has produced more than 6 million ounces of gold over its 20-year life. Two other ASX-listed companies are active in the region; Golden Rim Resources Ltd (ASX:GMR) and Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI). Polymetals’ two exploration licences, Alahiné and Mansala, host many historic and current small-scale gold mining operations conducted by local individuals known as artisans. Post IPO plan The company’s focus will be to continue with its exploration within the Alahiné and Mansala licences and start its next drilling program. Polymetals is aiming to delineate significant and economic gold reserves which can support the development and operation of a large and long-life gold mine, as well as expanding its ground position within the area. The two Golden Guinea exploration licences, known as Alahiné (64.21 square kilometres) and Mansala (48.23 square kilometres, host many historic and current small scale gold mining operations conducted by local individuals known as artisans. Artisans seek out coarse gold situated immediately below the surface laterite capping and at various levels within the underlying intensely weathered bedrock. All artisanal mining is limited to the depth of the standing water level which is approximately 15 metres below surface. - Daniel Paproth