Resources Top 5: Gold producer Robex glitters on first trading day after $120m IPO

News.com.au

2 days ago

TSX-listed West African gold producer Robex Resources has dual-listed on the ASX
The potential of Block 3 project to become WA's first primary producer of gallium has been enhanced
Evolution Energy Minerals has received validation of its graphite strategy with major shareholder ARCH providing a US$2 million commitment
Your standout resources stocks for Thursday, June 5, 2025
Robex Resources (ASX:RXR)
West African gold producer and developer Robex Resources (ASX:RXR) had a stellar first day of trading on the ASX after completing a $120m Initial Public Offering.
In what was the ASX's first proper resources IPO of 2025, Robex opened at $3.56 at 11am AEST, a 14.5% premium to the IPO price of $3.11, and traded up to $3.80, a lift of almost 7% on the day, before closing at $3.61. The base market cap on listing was $675.4m.
Gold producers in West Africa have been in the spotlight in recent months with Perseus Mining and Aurum Resources to the fore among the ASX-listers.
Robex is based in Perth but is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Toronto, Canada, and managing director Matt Wilcox recently said poor liquidity on the TSX was behind the move to Australia.
The company operates a small mine, Nampala, in Mali and is developing the larger Kiniero mine in Guinea, which is expected to transition into production later in 2025. Both are in the prolific Birimian Greenstone Belt.
The 3.7Moz Kiniero Gold Project in Guinea is on track to begin gold production in Q4 2025 and is expected to produce 155,000oz gold in 2026.
Construction is advancing at Kiniero, which has a JORC-compliant indicated mineral resource estimate of 71.23 Mt at 0.96 g/t Au and an inferred resource of 45.29 Mt at 1.05 g/t for 3.73 Moz of contained gold and a probable ore reserve estimate of 45.5 Mt at 0.97 g/t for about 1.41 Moz.
The company also produces ~45,000oz gold per year from its Nampala Operations in Mali, with a resource estimate of 8.6 Mt at 0.94 g/t for about 261,000 ounces and ore reserve estimate at 4.04 Mt at 0.93 g/t for about 121,000 ounces.
Robex will use funds from the IPO to continue construction at Kiniero, with a planned 60,000m drilling program to be funded by cashflow from Nampala.
The company's non-executive chair is Jim Askew who has served as director and CEO of Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) and Sino Gold.
Its managing director is Matthew Wilcox, the former MD and COO of Tietto Minerals. Previously, he was COO at West African Resources' (ASX:WAF) and project director across several mine building projects for Nordgold.
Other board members include former Roxgold president and CEO John Doward, who oversaw Roxgold's ~US$900M takeover by Fortuna Silver Mines; 40-year industry veteran Howard Golden, whose previous roles include GM Exploration at Rio Tinto; as well as geologist and mining executive Gerard de Hert and structured finance specialist Thomas Lagrée.
The management team includes COO Clinton Bennett, who is the former COO of Tietto Minerals; CFO Alain Williams, who has more than 25 years of experience as a metals and mining analyst; and chief development officer Dimitrios Felekis, who has 20+ years' experience in project and design management in West Africa.
'This is an exciting milestone for our company as we commence trading on the ASX, a goal we have worked towards for some time, to become dual listed on the ASX and TSX-V exchanges,' Wilcox said.
'Proceeds from our IPO will finalise construction of our Kiniero Gold Project in Guinea, which is on track for first gold in Q4 this year.
'We look forward to achieving our goals which will deliver significant value to our shareholders, as we become the next mid-tier gold producer in West Africa and build a longer-term gold project at Kiniero.'
Robex's IPO was fully underwritten by joint lead managers Euroz Hartleys and Canaccord Genuity. SCP was co-lead manager and Blackwood Capital was co-manager.
With its focus on gallium, Nimy Resources continues to demonstrate the potential of its Block 3 project to become Western Australia's first primary producer of the critical mineral.
Shares rose 10.72% to 9.3c after preliminary logging from second phase drilling confirmed the presence of mafic schist zones in all holes in the newly defined Central Zone.
This work validated extensive gallium-hosting lithologies, with the system remaining open along strike and at depth.
Chlorite schist zones intersected in the Central Zone have been verified by CSIRO as the main lithology associated with high-grade gallium potential at Block 3, which has an exploration target of 9.6-14.3Mt at 39ppm to 78ppm gallium.
The consistent presence of chlorite schist across all drill holes lends weight to Nimy's (ASX:NIM) geological model of a high-grade system as reconnaissance fieldwork continues across the broader Block 3 area.
Preliminary logging of recent intercepts at Central Zone indicates the mineralised system is potentially continuous from Block 3 West to Block 3 East, totalling more than 1.5km of strike.
Mapping and sampling of further chlorite schist occurrences along strike is being conducted, as well as soil and rock geochemical surveys, with a focus on high-priority anomalies yet to be drill tested.
Managing director Luke Hampson said the consistent intersection of mafic schist across all Central Zone drill holes indicated the continuity of the primary gallium host unit.
'With mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth, and step-out drilling now testing newly identified outcropping zones, the project continues to demonstrate the hallmarks of a high-grade, critical metal discovery,' he said.
'As gallium emerges as a priority metal for semiconductors and defence technologies, securing supply is now a strategic imperative for Western economies.
'Block 3 positions Nimy at the forefront of the Western World's response to this challenge,' Hampson added.
'Looking ahead, Nimy is actively progressing discussions with downstream partners to ensure optimising future processing pathways.'
Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX:EV1)
Evolution Energy Minerals has received strong validation of its graphite strategy with major shareholder ARCH EM (GSY) PCC Limited providing a US$2 million commitment for 84%-owned Evolution subsidiary Kudu Graphite.
A non-binding term sheet provides for the ARCH commitment to take place through the issue of secured convertible loan notes issued in integral multiples of no more than US$250,000, with a 24-month conversion period from the date of the first draw down.
The funds will strengthen the balance sheet of Kudu and support asset related expenditure and can also be used to fund corporate costs of Evolution on a limited basis.
'This material financial commitment by our major shareholder (ARCH), demonstrates their confidence in the quality of the Chilalo Graphite Project, and its project development by the EV1 board,' executive director Craig Moulton said.
'These funds will also ensure the future viability of the company and will enable us to focus on accelerating project development.
'We will also pursue previously announced value accretive project acquisitions in Africa.'
There is no guarantee that a binding agreement will be reached and therefore no certainty the transaction will occur.
The commitment from ARCH has seen EV1 shares jump as much as 150% to a daily high of 2c.
Enova Mining (ASX:ENV)
After discovering high-grade rare earth targets at the East Salinas project in Brazil's critical minerals resources stronghold of Minas Gerais, Enova Mining enjoyed positive share price movement.
The announcement on June 4 has seen the price rise 74% from 0.75c to 1.3c with strong volumes.
Sampling of the Medina Intrusive complex at East Salinas returned up to 1.87% total rare earth oxides with other samples of 1.59%, 1.39% 1.37% and 1.33%.
Elevated TREO samples demonstrate the potential for high-grade mineralisation and prioritises exploration targets.
Enova is also encouraged by standout neodymium-praseodymium oxide (NdPr) ratios reaching up to 38.8%, confirming high-value magnetic REE potential.
Peak NdPr oxide values reached up to 6,804ppm, with elevated levels of dysprosium-terbium (DyTb) oxides and heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) recorded.
"Sampling has highlighted the East Salinas Project areas of Naked and Bald Hill as exciting prospects with TREO grades up to 1.87% and strong Nd/Pr and HREO enrichment,' CEO/executive director Eric Vesel said.
'We expect these outcrops to merge and extend in depth and width, much like an iceberg. We are confident of this being a big system with consistency.
'We are investigating metallurgical beneficiation at the same time as planning further exploration. Our interest is a scalable project amenable to coarse grinding to liberate minerals that can be concentrated by spirals, jigs or flotation.'
'ENV considers this a compelling rare earth opportunity in one of Brazil's most strategically located critical minerals corridors.
'Our team is energised by the scale of the discovery and the early signs of a high-grade system. 'We are now focused on beneficiation and then accelerating our exploration to define the full extent of this emerging rare earth province."
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG)
(Up on no news)
Focusing on antimony, Trigg Minerals reached a new three-year high of 10.5c, up 12.9% with more than 68m shares changing hands.
With the intention of becoming a mainstay in the US critical minerals supply chain, the company is progressing exploration on the Antimony Canyon project in Utah.
An exploration team has been mobilised to the site with maiden exploration to target several high-priority areas within and beyond the existing resource at Antimony Canyon. The area contains several historical mines, including Emma-Albion, Mammoth, Stebinite, Gem, Pluto and more.
Trigg will assess potential of the historically productive antimony mines, which have had no modern exploration and very limited investigation along strike and at depth.
'The Antimony Canyon project has a rich production history and a significant foreign resource estimate,' said Trigg's managing director Andre Booyzen.
'This initial site visit marks an important milestone in advancing our US antimony strategy.
'Our fieldwork will verify historical records, validate the location and condition of past workings, and help us understand the broader mineralised footprint.'
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While Trigg Minerals and Nimy Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.