A decade after it first started down the path to an ASX listing, diamond explorer GeoCrystal thinks now is finally the right time.

The pure-play has launched an initial public offer to raise up to $7 million to advance its Australian projects.

GeoCrystal was incorporated in early 2007 and raised seed capital soon after to fund diamond exploration in Australia and pave the way for an ASX listing.

But the global financial crisis threw a spanner in the works, relegating that plan to the backburner.

GeoCrystal spent the difficult years making investments in ASX-listed junior explorers. It generated profits from disposing those assets to return nearly $1 million worth of dividends to shareholders.

The landscape for miners is now much improved and investment into junior explorers is on the rise.

The ASX is continuing to experience a busy period for floats with seven IPO prospectuses launched over the past three weeks — together seeking more than $100 million.

The outlook for micro, small and mid-cap listings up to about $500 million market cap is “very, very healthy”, according to the ASX’s general manager of listings Max Cunningham.

Five years ago, GeoCrystal discovered a large kimberlite field at the Webb diamond project located in the remote Gibson Desert region of Western Australia.

Kimberlite is a dark-coloured, heavy rock that contains diamonds and is sometimes found in valuable “pipes”.

Kimberlite is named after the Kimberley district of South Africa, which was the site of a diamond rush in the late 1800s following the discovery of an 83.5-carat diamond called the Star of South Africa.

GeoCrystal has continued to increase its equity in the Webb Diamond joint venture and has now earned a 78 per cent interest from Meteoric Resources (ASX:MEI).

The company has so far spent around $4 million on exploration, including nearly 8000m of drilling, at the project.