Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) has connected with a North American investor to fast-track drilling at its Side Well Gold Project and accelerate resource growth after receiving binding commitments to raise $12.5 million.
The company will immediately accelerate progress on drilling and approvals activities through the second half of 2025 and into 2026 from the placement.
Canaccord Genuity acted as the lead manager, as well as Discovery Capital Partners, Cumulus Wealth, and Bell Potter securities acting as co-managers. Salient Corporate acted as corporate advisor to the placement.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Managing Director Andrew Paterson says that while it’s the company’s first offshore institutional funding, Australia seems to be an attractive investment destination for North American investors.
“There’s definitely a theme of investment funds starting to trickle down from the producer space into the advanced explorer junior spectrum, which is obviously really positive for us,” Paterson tells this news service.
“This is a transformational funding event for Great Boulder, as it will allow us to rapidly accelerate progress at our flagship Side Well Gold Project and push it aggressively towards the dual goals of defining one million ounces of gold at the Project and an early mining opportunity at Ironbark.”
Great Boulder is raising roughly 25% of its current market capitalisation, which now sits at $55.53 million.
“I think it’s a pretty strong vote of confidence from existing shareholders,” Paterson tells Mining.com.au.
Together with the company’s existing cash reserves, Great Boulder will emerge with circa $15 million to aggressively accelerate exploration programs aimed at rapid resource growth.
Paterson says Great Boulder expects strong near-term news flow with the Ironbark Scoping Study to be delivered in early July 2025 followed by drilling updates from Ironbark and Side Well South.
The capital raise places the company in a strong position to expedite drilling at the flagship Side Well Gold Project, which hosts an MRE of 668,000 ounces @ 2.8 grams per tonne of gold, including a ‘high-grade’ core of 496,000oz @ 5.3g/t.
“It’s just one deposit looking at a relatively small open pit mining opportunity, which we think will be around one million tonnes, probably in the order of 75,000 to 80,000 ounces, and with the toll treatment assumption,” Paterson adds.
Great Boulder will be conducting metallurgical studies, along with testing of the hydrogeology, waste rock characterisation, acid mine drainage, and quantitative science to feed into the mining approvals process.
Geotechnical studies will help determine whether the company progresses with a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) at Ironbark.
Across a two tranche placement, Great Boulder will issue 204.92 million shares at an issue price of $0.061 per share. The first tranche will return roughly $10.65 million which is expected to settle on 27 June, before the remaining $1.85 million is raised in tranche two, subject to shareholder approval.
The issue price offers a 16.4% discount to the last closing price of $0.073 per share on 19 June, as well as a 13.2% discount to the 10-day volume weighted average price.
“The placement is a big vote of confidence in the quality of the Side Well Project and the inherent value proposition GBR represents,” Paterson adds.
Great Boulder Resources is a mineral explorer focused on developing its Mulga Bill deposit at Side Well in Western Australia.
The company will be attending the Noosa Mining Investor Conference, held between 23-25 July, at the Peppers Noosa Resort. Mining.com.au is an official media partner of this year’s conference.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Great Boulder Resources
