Sultan Resources is the latest explorer to become a publicly listed company after it rang the ASX bell on Thursday.

The junior (ASX:SLZ) traded at its 20c issue price shortly after listing, with about $300,000 worth of shares changing hands by 3pm AEST.

The stock sank back to 18.5c however.

Sultan, which raised $4.8 million under its IPO, is building up a portfolio of projects prospective for gold, copper, nickel and cobalt in Western Australia.

It has acquired the East Tallering, Dalwallinu, Thaduna and Lake Grace projects from Galahad Resources.

The first cab off the rank post-listing will be the Thaduna project that lies along strike from Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR) recent copper-gold discoveries at its Ned Creek project.

Resources in a ‘good place’

Resources IPO activity continues to rise and many of those that have listed this year have had good first-day performances.

Small caps have led the way in IPOs this year, Deloitte reported this week.

While larger cap listings acted as a drag, small caps — which achieved a combined market capitalisation of $763.7 million — were in positive territory, Deloitte said.

A further pick-up in IPO activity is expected in the second half.

Base and precious metals explorer Tempus Resources made its ASX debut earlier this week, gaining as much as 37.5 per cent on its first day before closing 25 per cent higher than its 20c issue price.

Those in the exploration and mining space are definitely in a better market than they were from 2014 to 2016, Tempus executive chairman Alex Molyneux told Stockhead.

“I wouldn’t call it a bull market, I don’t think valuations are topping, but it’s a functional market where you can actually get things done if you’ve got a good team and good prospects,” he said.

“Our IPO performing above the issue price, and there are some others around that have come on this year doing the same, I think that’s a sign of that.

“I think it’s a good place to be because valuations are high enough so that companies can raise capital and actually make progress and that’s what leads to shareholder returns, but they’re not so high that things are crazy, or people are overpaying and there’s excess risk in the space.”

The increase in IPO activity is weighing down the ASX, with a number of players due to list witnessing delays.

Tempus filled its $5 million IPO in just three days and was ready to list by its targeted listing date in July, but ASX delays pushed its debut out by another two weeks.

“I don’t want to have a dig, but it was basically the ASX because … literally the offer closed in three days and the ASX is just very busy right now and it took ages,” Mr Molyneux said.

“I feel badly for people whose money has kind of been locked up without the opportunity to trade for that extended period.

Sultan was also delayed slightly, initially aiming to light up the boards early last week.

Coolgardie Minerals, AMD Resources and Nickel Mines also missed their initial target listing dates but appear to now be making headway.

Western Australia-focused gold explorer Coolgardie has received a conditional letter of approval from the ASX and is waiting on a new listing date, managing director Bradd Granville told Stockhead earlier this week.

The company raised $4.25 million under its IPO and expects to light up the boards before the end of August.

Both AMD and Nickel Mines are also hoping to list in August.

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