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Pantera rings the ASX bell as WA iron ore exploration calls
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Pantera Minerals became the ASX’s newest iron ore player this morning when it officially listed on the market.
Pantera (ASX:PFE) rang the bell in Perth this morning, bringing to market a suite of highly prospective assets highlighted by the Yampi iron ore project in WA’s Kimberley.
That project sits 149km north of Derby, about as close to water as you can be in that part of the world without leaving mainland Australia – a massive plus when it comes to shipping for Pantera’s target DSO operation.
The ground? Confirmed to be highly prospective for hematite iron ore.
The project’s geological host, the Buccaneer Archipelago, is already home to some high-grade iron projects of serious clout in Mt Gibson Iron’s Koolan Island project and Pluton Resources’ Cockatoo Island project.
The former has a reserve of 30 million tonnes grading 64% iron, and resources of 68Mt at 63%.
It’s little wonder there’s buzz around Pantera on the day of its listing.
“This is a great milestone,” Pantera CEO Matt Hansen told Stockhead this morning.
“We’re very happy to be in this position, where we can list an exciting new Western Australian iron ore player.”
Hansen said the company intended to hit the ground running, with newsflow in the pipeline and excitement amongst management.
“Over the coming weeks we’ll look to confirm a drilling date, and then into mid-September we’d be hoping to mobilise the drill rig to site,” he said.
“Following that, it’ll be all about getting the first hole turned and going from there.”
The remote nature of the project means the company has had a special drill rig built by local contractor Harrington Drilling, with an initial five-hole program planned.
A number of undrilled greenfield targets have been identified at Yampi by aeromagnetic, radiometric and satellite data.
A landmark achievement
Today’s listing is significant in more ways than one. Hansen, whose background spans work for a number of mining majors and as a legal advisor to resources companies, is a proud Noongar man and becomes one of the first Aboriginal CEOs of an ASX-listed company.
Working in a commodity space where Native Title and indigenous relations have been a significant talking point in recent years, Hansen said he hoped the listing would set a precedent for others to follow.
“I think today is another step in the journey to get where I want to go,” he said.
“This is a pretty exciting time. It paves the way for other people to do it, and I hope it sets a standard for other companies to take notice.
“It’s all good having reconciliation action plans, and having rooms named after indigenous peoples or given indigenous names, but now is the time for more indigenous people in senior positions.”
Yampi sits within the Native Title of the Dambimangari People, and Hansen said working with the Traditional Owners of the project would be a focus for Pantera as it progressed its work on the highly exciting iron ore project.
This article was developed in collaboration with Pantera Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
