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Andrew Todd
Pacgold Limited has unveiled a strategic demerger of its non-core North Queensland gold assets, relinquishing control to roll the projects into a soon-to-be-listed and powerfully backed Manda Resources.
The move will see Pacgold’s Alice River and St George gold projects spun out and combined with a suite of other regional assets to create a consolidated 1.33-million-ounce gold explorer with a sizeable Queensland tenement package of more than 1700 square kilometres.
Notably, the soon-to-be-listed Manda has also attracted the backing of multi-billion-dollar gold producer Emerald Resources, which will provide major backing to the planned IPO and emerge as the company’s major shareholder.
Pacgold says the value-accretive deal will allow the company to focus its funds and attention on bringing its White Dam gold mine in South Australia into full-scale production. At the same time, its shareholders retain exposure to the North Queensland assets through an in-specie distribution of Manda shares.
Under the binding term sheet, Manda will not only acquire Pacgold’s Alice River and St George projects but also snap up the public unlisted company Territory Minerals, consolidating a major slice of the Hodgkinson gold province into a single entity.
The combined assets will give Manda an immediate JORC-compliant global mineral resource of 1.33 million ounces of gold, comprising 854,000 ounces from Pacgold’s Alice River project and 480,000 ounces from the Territory Minerals portfolio.
‘We’re transferring these highly prospective projects into the hands of a proven tier-1 team with demonstrable success in mine development.’
Pacgold Limited managing director Matthew Boyes
The involvement of the $4 billion market-capped Emerald Resources is also set to bring its wealth of expertise to the board, non-executive chairman Jay Hughes and managing director Morgan Hart are set to be appointed as directors of Manda. They will also be joined by Bernie Cleary, a current Emerald executive who previously served as general manager of Evolution Mining’s nearby Mount Rawdon gold mine.
Manda says it is planning a pre-IPO seed capital raising of a hefty $9 million, to be followed by an even bigger $21 million raising as part of its ASX listing later in the year. In short, this looks to be a considerable budget for an exploration company and no doubt destined to firm up a significant amount of Queensland ounces.
Emerald has indicated it will cornerstone the float with $4.3 million and potentially emerge as a maximum 19.9 per cent shareholder.
Pacgold shareholders will receive an in-specie distribution of one Manda share for every 6.76 Pacgold shares held, equating to 64 million Manda shares at a deemed IPO price of 25c per share.
Pacgold Limited managing director Matthew Boyes said: “This strategic demerger is a highly compelling transaction that unlocks substantial value for Pacgold shareholders. By spinning out our North Queensland exploration assets into Manda, we are transferring these highly prospective projects into the hands of a proven, tier-one team with demonstrable success in mine development. Having Emerald Resources’ management, spearheaded by Morgan Hart, Jay Hughes and Bernie Cleary, driving this new vehicle is a real endorsement of the geological potential at the Alice River and St George Projects.”
Upon completion, Pacgold will transition to a dedicated Australian gold producer, with its funding now fully deployed at White Dam in South Australia.
The company recently poured its first gold from White Dam and has been aggressively drilling out its Vertigo deposit to grow its resource base.
Pacgold says it will now apply all its resources to ramping up production and cash flow at White Dam against the backdrop of a near record-high gold price.
Manda also plans to hit the ground running in Queensland, with initial work focused on infill and extensional drilling across the already defined 1.33-million-ounce resource base.
It says planning is well underway for a 15,000-metre drill campaign to kick off next month, ahead of the proposed listing date, with no intention of slowing down in today’s gold backdrop.
The longer-term strategy for Manda is to develop a ‘hub and spoke’ model, in which a central processing facility is fed by ore from the various satellite deposits scattered across its vast landholding.
The demerger looks a shrewd piece of corporate work from Pacgold, effectively monetising its Queensland exploration portfolio into a well-funded new company that comes with a Tier-1 management team. Clearly, the punters think it’s a savvy move as well, with the company’s shares up as much as 27 per cent in early trade on heavy turnover.
Meanwhile, it can get on with the business of generating cash flow in South Australia, while its shareholders get to ride along for free on what could be one of the more anticipated exploration IPOs of the year.
With the deal crystallising the value of its northern assets, Pacgold has now effectively created two distinct pathways for value creation: one as a near-term producer in a high gold price environment and the other through a substantial holding in a new, cashed-up and expertly guided explorer.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
