Positive start to ASX life for explorer Riversgold after $6.1m IPO

Allan Kelly-led Riversgold finished its first day of trading on the ASX above water after raising $6.1 million in an initial public offering.

The stock (ASX:RGL) traded as high as 24c before closing Tuesday at 22c — a 10 per cent premium to its 20 issue price. About 180,000 shares changed hands.

Riversgold sold 30.6 million shares to a range of domestic, institutional and retail investors.

The company also secured a $2.5 million cornerstone investment from mid-tier Australian gold producer Evolution Mining.

Riversgold will use the funds to explore its projects in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, the Tintina Gold Belt in southwest Alaska and in the Gawler Craton of South Australia.

The company also has several applications for mineral exploration tenements in Cambodia, which lie adjacent to Emerald Resources 1 million ounce Okvau gold deposit.

First exploration programs will begin at the Kurnalpi project in WA in coming weeks.

Kurnalpi consists of nine exploration licences covering about 1184 sq km east of Kalgoorlie.

Its tenement package is divided into three projects including Yilgani, Kurnalpi North and Kurnalpi South.

Riversgold’s managing director Alan Kelly said the Kuralpi projects were in a strategic land position, in an emerging region which had potential to generate early cash flow.

The board boasts a wealth of experience in discovery and development of mineral deposits.

Mr Kelly founded Doray Minerals and, under his management, discovered the high-grade Wilber Lode gold deposit within the Andy Well project in the Murchison Region of Western Australia.

Doray moved from discovery to production at Andy Well within three and a half years and then funded, constructed and commissioned the Deflector gold and copper project within 14 months of completing a takeover of Mutiny Gold in 2014.

Chairman Roderick Webster was previously a senior executive with First Quantum Minerals, while director Jeffrey Foster a founding director and executive director with Sirius Resources.