• Red Leaf Securities not surprised by sluggish IPO market in 2023
  • Sovereign Metals spinout of its Malawi graphite assets NGX due to list today
  • Iltani Resources has three gold and base metals projects in Queensland

Turbulent market conditions and  economic headwinds triggered by sticky inflation,  higher interest rates and recession fears have seen the IPO market in Australia and globally slow in 2023.

On the ASX, there were 87 ASX IPOs in 2022, well down from 191 in 2021, but so far in the first six months of 2023, we’ve seen only 11 and none so far in June.

Red Leaf Securities CEO John Athanasiou told Stockhead he is not surprised to see a sluggish IPO market in 2023.

“Back in 2021 we had one of the most busiest periods of IPOs in history on the ASX when money was cheap,” he said.

“Now that money is not so cheap it is not surprising that we are having a difficult IPO market.

“Everything in markets comes in a cycle and we believe this cycle will change for IPOs in 2024.”

 

Upcoming IPO listings 

NGX (ASX:NGX)

Expected listing: June 16

IPO: $9.56m at $0.20

NGX is the Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) spin-out of its Malawi graphite assets, which SVM said would enable it to focus on its Kasiya rutile project – “the largest natural rutile deposit in the world”.

Under the spinoff deal, SVM shareholders are entitled to one NGX share for every 11 shares they hold, with the IPO allowing them to participate in purchasing one new NGX share for each NGX share held.

Upon listing, NGX holders will take full ownership of the advanced Malingunde project, which already boasts a measured, indicated and inferred resource of 65Mt at 7.2% total graphitic carbon for 4.68Mt of contained graphite, more than half of that in the higher measured and indicated categories.

They’ll also pick up the Duwi project, just 15km east of the Malawian capital of Lilongwe.

Graphite is seeing increasing demand driven by electric vehicle battery makers and while it hasn’t seen prices move to the same extent as other battery metals so far in the electric vehicle boom, a major gap is emerging between supply of battery graphite and demand.

 

Iltani Resources (ASX:ILT) 

Expected listing: June 25

IPO: $5m at $0.20

ILT has three gold and base metal projects in Queensland including the Northern Base Metal Project, Rookwood Project and the Southern Gold Project.

The company intends to build a portfolio of operating mines plus development and exploration projects with a fundamentals-driven bias to the raw materials the world needs to realise a clean energy future – with a focus on copper.

 

Ashby Mining (ASX:AMG) 

Expected listing: June 26

IPO: $15m at $0.20

AMG is developing a gold production business in the Charters Towers region in Northern Queensland and has secured rights to a land package covering over 600km2 containing historical mines, mineral resources, highly prospective exploration potential and a gold processing plant.

The 340Ktpa Blackjack Processing Plant is a conventional Carbon in Pulp (CIP) plant, located 15 minutes from Charters Towers.

The Far Fanning gold project lies on a permitted Mining Lease with historical production of 47,200oz gold from 664,000t of ore at average 2.2g/t gold. The main historical open pit is only 30m deep and last operated in 2005.

The JORC (2012) resource was updated in 2021 to 2.55Mt at 1.8g/t for 147,000oz gold.

The company is presently undertaking programs to improve the confidence in the Far Fanning resource estimate through verification and infill drilling which will support a further resource update, feasibility study and commencement of mining operations.