There's nothing like a little geopolitical scare to have investors looking for gold exposure.
The timing of gold and copper explorer Magmatic Resources' initial public offering is opportune, given concerns about the presidential longevity of Donald Trump have pushed up the price of gold.
Magmatic is poised to hit the ASX boards on Friday after raising $4 million through Patersons Securities out of Perth. It will begin life as a public company with a $16 million market capitalisation.
Its main assets are four advanced exploration projects covering 850 square kilometres in the East Lachlan Fold Belt in central New South Wales, home to Australia's largest gold mine, Newcrest Mining's Cadia Valley operation.
Magmatic picked up the projects from South African gold major Gold Fields, which had spent $13.5 million on exploration on the tenements before passing them on.
Gold Fields retains a 19.9 per cent stake in Magmatic that is under escrow for 24 months.
Magmatic's board includes non-executive director Malcolm Norris, who is something of a veteran in the field of sourcing copper-gold porphyry deposits. Norris played a leading role in the discovery of the Tujuh Bukit deposit in Indonesia and the Cascabel deposit in Ecuador.
Magmatic will be the eleventh resources IPO this year, underscoring improved investor sentiment towards the sector.
