ASX-listed gold companies announced roughly $282 million of capital raisings and offers over the past fortnight, with Canaccord Genuity involved in deals totalling about $262 million.
The broker ranks picked up the bulk of the work: Canaccord, Euroz Hartleys and Argonaut featured prominently across the largest placements, while a clutch of smaller brokers and advisers also collected cash fees and option packages. The published deal values refer to total raises, not the amounts uniquely allocated to each firm.
Turaco supplied the biggest single transaction, raising $120 million at an issue price of 60 cents. The first tranche carried a disclosed five per cent cash fee on $97.1 million, equal to $4.855 million, and the stock was trading at 72.5 cents after the placement, a 20.8 per cent return against the issue. Proceeds will fund consolidation of the 4.65-million-ounce Afema project in Côte d’Ivoire, including a proposed US$30 million payment for the remaining 20 per cent stake in Sodim, and a definitive feasibility study targeted for the June quarter of 2027.
Brightstar followed with an $82 million placement at 50 cents, backed by a $30 million cornerstone investment from Genesis Minerals. The deal carried a 0.5 per cent management fee plus a 4.5 per cent selling fee on the portion excluding the cornerstone, producing roughly $2.75 million in cash commissions. The funds will accelerate work at Sandstone, where Two Mile Hill-Shillington has doubled to 1.45 million ounces after deeper discovery drilling.
Skylark raised $20 million at 24 cents, issued at a 5.5 per cent premium, and the stock was trading at 30 cents, a 25 per cent gain for placement subscribers. PDI Gold subscribed $5.1 million for a near-9.9 per cent stake and directors invested $2.05 million. The structure includes staged tranches and shareholder approval for a second tranche designed to lift Skylark’s holding in the Zaranou project in Côte d’Ivoire from 51 to 90 per cent.
Tesoro Gold completed a $40 million placement at 73 cents with Canaccord and Morgans as joint lead managers. The syndicate’s fees were reported as 2 per cent management and 3 per cent selling, a package that could approach $2 million. The money will advance engineering, permitting and feasibility work at the El Zorro project in Chile; after the raise the stock traded around 74 cents.
Not every large cheque came from a placement. Centaurus Metals secured US$40 million from strategic partners Glencore and CNGR for the Jaguar nickel project in Brazil, subscribing at 42.5 cents, about a 5 per cent premium to the 20-day VWAP. The first US$25 million has been received, with remaining tranches conditional on approvals and, for CNGR, Chinese regulatory clearance. Standard Chartered will receive 1.5 per cent of CNGR’s subscription, potentially around US$300,000 if the full commitment proceeds.
Smaller raisings produced mixed outcomes for investors. BOA Resources raised $9.245 million at 10.5 cents, paying a six per cent commission that equated to about $550,000, while subscribers were roughly 4.8 per cent underwater at prevailing market prices. Accelerate Resources raised $1.045 million at 0.4 cents through Leeuwin Wealth, whose six per cent fee translated to $62,700; the stock was trading close to the issue price.
Rights issues and share purchase plans offered alternative fee streams. ADX Energy launched a renounceable entitlement offer up to $5.2 million at 1.2 cents, with Mahe Capital underwriting $1 million for a five per cent fee and receiving management and shortfall-placement fees plus underwriter options. ADX was trading at 1.1 cents during the offer period. Perth biotech Proteomics International ran a shareholder purchase plan seeking up to $5 million at 10 cents, with participants offered one free option per new share; the market price was about 9.4 cents.
Adviser remuneration packages sometimes dwarfed the cash raised. Pinnacle Minerals flagged a $1.3 million raise at 4.5 cents with a six per cent fee worth up to $78,000, plus 3.33 million facilitation shares, 3.33 million facilitation performance shares and 22 million adviser performance rights, all subject to approvals and hurdles. Meanwhile 62 Capital managed a $1 million placement for Simble Solutions at 0.35 cents, collecting a six per cent cash fee of $60,000 and the potential for 50 million broker options pending shareholder sign-off; Simble’s market price left placement subscribers about 14.3 per cent underwater.
The IPO market produced its own swings. Jacaranda Natural Resources floated for $8 million at 20 cents with lead-manager options and up-front fees built into the structure. The stock traded down to 18 cents after listing, with an intraday low of 12.5 cents that marked a 37.5 per cent decline from the IPO price at one point.
Across the period three of the large gold placements delivered immediate gains of more than 20 per cent to subscribers, while several smaller raises and an IPO left investors below their issue prices. The sector-wide total also included about $11 million in targeted share purchase plans that are still to be banked.
