Queensland’s Gold and Sunshine coasts are home to some of the “best-informed self-funded retirees in Australia” and a lot of them enjoy dabbling in resources stocks, according to Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR).
Managing Director Andrew Paterson says this is why the Noosa Mining Investor Conference is a “great place to be” for the junior gold and base metals explorer.
The Noosa Mining Investor Conference, which is being held at the Peppers Noosa Resort from 23-25 July, is firmly investor-focused and designed to connect ASX-listed resource companies directly with genuine investors.
The program of 70 companies features a mix of well-performing mid-tiers and interesting juniors, offering investors a broad snapshot of where the sector is at.
While Great Boulder plans to meet with existing shareholders, the company is also aiming to attract some new names to its register.
“It’s very fortuitous for us as we’ve just raised a big chunk of capital for resource expansion and development, and we have a very strong pipeline of news for at least the next 18 months,” Paterson tells Mining.com.au.
“We can now talk about a pathway towards an early mining opportunity with the company fully funded through 2026, which is a fantastic position to be in.”
In late June, Great Boulder locked in binding commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors keen to participate in a $12.5 million placement.
North American institutional investment
These investors included “long only” North American and other resources funds as well as existing shareholders.
This is the first time Great Boulder has attracted North American institutional investment, as previously reported by Mining.com.au.
The fresh capital injection enables the company to accelerate drilling at its flagship Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia, which has an existing resource of 668,000 ounces @ 2.8 grams per tonne of gold, including a “high-grade” core of 496,000 ounces @ 5.3g/t.
“There’s definitely a shift in risk appetite from miners to developers and advanced explorers,” Paterson says
“Greenfields success is being rewarded – the gold boom is back. It feels ironic to say that when the gold price has been rising for over a year but it’s taken time for investors to regain the appetite to invest in the juniors.”
The gold price is fetching over US$3,300 ($5,058) an ounce, having rallied nearly 40% in the past year alone.
Paterson says Great Boulder’s differentiator is the quality of its Side Well Project and the fact that the company is poised to step up from explorer to developer, and shortly into production.
“Ultimately any explorer wants to see a discovery become a mine, and we’re rapidly approaching the point where we can see five or six of Great Boulder’s discoveries becoming mines in the near future,” Paterson says.
Great Boulder is gearing up to release a Scoping Study for its Ironbark prospect, part of the Side Well Project, as well as finalise the mining agreement in July. Paterson says this should be followed soon afterwards by the mining lease being granted.
In between, Great Boulder expects a steady flow of drilling updates in preparation for the Side Well resource update targeted for Q4 2025.
Mining.com.au is an official media partner of this year’s Noosa Mining Investor Conference. To register click here. Great Boulder will be presenting at 12.20pm on Wednesday 23 July.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Great Boulder Resources
