Shares in Apex Minerals have climbed higher on news the gold miner has started a strategic review to look into the potential sale of its flagship Wiluna gold mine or the entire company.
West Perth-based Apex today said it had appointed independent corporate advisor Lion Capital to help with the review, which will find ways to unlock shareholder value either through an asset sale or change of ownership.
The miner said the current share price did not reflect the true value of the Wiluna mine, where operation costs have improved over the past year under a new management team led by Eduard Eshuys. Mr Eshuys took over from the Mark Ashley-led management team, which experienced operational difficulties.
However Apex is aiming for a production rate of 100,000 gold ounces per annum at a cash cost of $1,100 per ounce, which would allow for the restart of exploration work at Wiluna.
Shares in Apex gained 0.4c, or 7.8 per cent, to 5.5c at 0904 AWST.
Apex said today while it had made substantial progress in Wiluna’s turnaround, “another party with improved access to capital may be better placed to unlock this value for shareholders”.
The miner added Lion will help to determine the “availability of a potential restructure or change of ownership transaction”.
“The strategic review will seek to identify and assess expressions of interest from third parties for the company. It is expected this process will run for a period to March 2013,” Apex said.
The company is also considering offers for the Youanmi gold mine, which is on care and maintenance. Executive chairman Ed Eshuys flagged in November the possible sale of the operation.