This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner PC Gold. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
PC Gold is stepping out of the shadows and onto the ASX stage with a clear two-year countdown to development already in motion.
Backed by nearly a decade of quiet but determined work, the junior explorer is now ready to accelerate.
With its Spring Hill Project in the Northern Territory boasting more than 800,000 ounces in resource and approvals already in hand, PC Gold is hitting the boards with momentum, money and a plan.
Since 2016, the company has been privately funded by a supportive group of shareholders – many of whom were on the board or in the management team.
Executive Chair Ashley Pattison tells Mining.com.au these key backers kept the lights on and the rigs turning without PC Gold needing to rely on the wider market.
“During that time, we pulled the project together, drilled key zones, steadily built today’s resource and moved the project through permitting,” he says.
The main focus is the Spring Hill Project, which is a “virgin” gold system located in the +20-million-ounce Pine Creek goldfield in the Northern Territory.
The project hosts an existing indicated and inferred resource of 821,000 ounces of gold, with additional near-surface exploration upside estimated of up to 1.25 million ounces.
PC Gold has spent the past few months preparing for life as a publicly-listed company and completing the foundation to support its growth ambitions.
With the minimum initial public offer target of $10 million well exceeded, PC Gold will become the newest entrant to the ASX and advance towards development as the gold price continues its record run.
Gold price surge supports explorer ambitions
Since the start of 2025, the price of the safehaven metal has rallied another nearly 63% to trade at over US$4,240 ($6,534) an ounce.
Several industry watchers have lifted their 2026 predictions higher thanks to the strong investment demand. Goldman Sachs sees gold reaching US$4,900 an ounce by December 2026, while JP Morgan tips it will hit US$4,250 over the same period.
This continuing surge in the price is starting to translate into funds flowing into the smaller gold explorers.
Pattison says gold remains a steady store of value in a volatile world.
“Our board includes seasoned precious-metals investors who follow macro trends closely, and that perspective reinforces our decision to push forward now – while market sentiment around gold remains constructive,” he adds.
PC Gold’s IPO raised $13.35 million at $0.25 per share.
The board and leadership team hold about 50% of the issued capital, which is part of PC Gold’s strategy to align its interests with shareholders to realise long-term value.
“Now the pieces are in place: 100% ownership, environmental and mining approvals in hand, and a clear two-year exploration and feasibility plan to take us towards development of the asset,” Pattison says.
“The foundation is built. Now the capital fuels scale and exploration instead of catch-up.”
PC Gold acquired Spring Hill from Thor Mining – now known as Thor Energy (ASX:THR) – in 2016 and since then has completed 36,000m of drilling, run a 2.5D induced polarisation survey, trial mined 13,400 tonnes, and carried out detailed mining and metallurgical studies.
This work has steadily built a database of 387 drill holes and culminated last year in the definition of the JORC-compliant maiden resource, which sits within a core zone that spans just 1.1km.
“So, while Spring Hill has a rich history, the current resource and development pathway are very much PC Gold’s achievement, the result of nearly a decade of focused, privately funded exploration,” Pattison says.
Board aligned with investors for growth
Importantly, PC Gold comprises a team of experienced executives that have actually built and operated mines.
“Our board and management have discovered multi-million-ounce deposits, built mines, raised capital, and steered listed companies through market cycles,” Pattison notes.
“Those lessons have shaped our strategy: focus on resource growth and feasibility work while keeping a tight grip on capital so every dollar goes toward value creation.”
Spring Hill already has a 21-year granted mining lease and environmental approvals for open pit mining, with the option to submit a variation to include a standalone carbon-in-leach plant.
Over $20 million has been invested by PC Gold so far, with the fresh funding from the IPO now to be directed straight into the ground and toward development.
Between $5.8 million and $8.5 million is being allocated to exploration and drilling, while $1.5 million to $1.9 million will be spent on feasibility and metallurgical studies, as well as working capital and listing costs.
“Every dollar is mapped to a specific next step,” Pattison says.
One of the strategic moves the company made to ensure it was IPO ready was to negotiate the conversion of the deferred consideration for Spring Hill from debt into equity.
“The deferred consideration from acquiring the Spring Hill project could have meant cash leaving the business,” Pattison explained.
“Instead, we worked with our major shareholder, RIVI Capital, to convert that debt into equity.
“It strengthened the balance sheet, kept every dollar of IPO proceeds focused on exploration and development, and aligned our financiers with long-term shareholders.”
Robust IPO preparation strengthens company resilience
PC Gold also tightened its capital structure and made sure it had the right governance and reporting frameworks in place for an ASX listing.
While these steps required extra effort, Pattison says collectively it leaves PC Gold better prepared and more resilient as it heads into life as a public company.
Following its debut on the ASX, the company plans to undertake expansion drilling, resource infill drilling, updated feasibility and plant engineering, and grade-control drilling at key pits like Eastern and Macau.
Beyond the current resource, PC Gold has set an exploration target of 567,000 to 1.25 million ounces across areas like the Zbonsky Trend, Vein Heaven, Steve’s Gully and the northern extensions.
A 34,000m drilling program began in June to test priority extensions and step out into areas not drilled in over three decades.
Spring Hill is a structurally controlled gold system, with mineralisation hosted in multiple lodes – including the Hong Kong sheeted vein zone and the historic Main, Middle and East lodes.
“It’s the kind of geological architecture known to host large, long-life gold systems in a region that has more than 20 million ounces in resources today,” Pattison says.
As 2025 enters the final months and 2026 approaches quickly, PC Gold anticipates several near-term milestones that it hopes will hold investors’ interest.
These include maiden results from drilling at the Lasagne and Northern Target zones and infill drilling at Hong Kong and Macau, grade reconciliation work, progress on the Feasibility Study and metallurgical test work, and a potential resource update.
PC Gold will light up the ASX boards at 12pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 21 October trading under the code ‘PC2’.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au & PC Gold
