IPO Watch: One time Pilbara gold darling Artemis spins copper assets into a +40pc debut

Remember Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV)?

Connected by the hip to TSX-listed conglomerate gold play Novo Resources in a JV, the ASX-listed gold junior rode the Pilbara gold wave of 2017 to a heady 562.50% return that year.

The conglomerate gold hype faded, and it is now more modestly priced at 8.3c a share for a market cap of ~$108 million.

It is back in the news today after its spinout Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE) made a splash on debut.

After raising $5 million at 20c in the ASX’s first 2022 IPO — of many if 2021 is anything to go by — the new company was up 40% or 8c at 3pm AEDT on its first day of trade, before settling at 27.5c at the close for a 37.5% gain. Artemis owns 14.84% of the listed entity, worth ~$1.9 million.

Greentech, Artemis share price charts

Whundo copper

While Artemis was primarily focused on gold exploration, GreenTech is, as its name suggests, interested in battery metals.

It has a suite of the highly sought after metals sitting across its West Pilbara portfolio.

Chief among those prospects is the Whundo copper mine, which contains an indicated JORC 2012 resource of 2.7Mt at 1.14% copper and 1.14% zinc, along with the Ruth Well deposit, which holds 152,000t at 0.5% copper and 0.6% nickel.

Whundo contains a 4km long corridor associated with previously mined deposits, with drilling planned to test for down dip extensions to known resources at the Whundo and West Whundo open pits.

Drilling will also evaluate and upgrade known mineralisation at the Yannery and Ayshia copper-zinc prospects around 1500m away as well as VTEM and MLEM targets identified within the Whundo trend.

At the 5km long Ruth Well project, upcoming exploration will include drill testing of 3 VTEM/MLEM plates modelled at 100m deep in proximity to the existing Ruth Well resources.

The Osborne Nickel project, a JV with Artemis which GreenTech is farming into a 51% share of, will also be of interest. It is located immediately next to Azure Minerals’ (ASX:AZS) emerging Andover nickel-copper discovery with millionaire prospector Mark Creasy.

Investors won’t wait long to see their money go into the ground, with executive director Thomas Reddicliffe saying an RC rig has been secured to begin drilling this month.

“GreenTech is extremely pleased with its IPO capital raising. The Company has consolidated a highly prospective package of projects in Western Australia, focussing on commodities that will address the strong demand from the EV and renewable energy sectors,” he said.

“GreenTech is well-funded to undertake extensive and high-impact exploration programs over the next two years, with an immediate focus at the Whundo Copper-Zinc project, and to explore for new nickel deposits in this highly prospective region.”

GreenTech also owns the Werrianna, Nickol River and Elysian gold projects in the Pilbara, as well as the Windimurra and Mawson South nickel and Dundas gold projects in the Goldfields.