Nickel hopeful hits ASX boards

Nimy Resources has joined the rush of explorers in listing on the stock exchange, as it advances its Mons nickel project in Western Australia using proceeds from a $6.5 million initial public offering.

The offer was priced at 20 cents a share and led by Melbourne-based Raven Corporate Management.

Nimy is having a modest start to its first day of trading, with its shares up 5 per cent at 2pm AEDT to trade at 22 cents, implying a market capitalisation of about $26.4 million.

Its listing follows that of Cooper Metals, which commenced trading last week, and Evolution Mining, Dundas Minerals and Hamelin Gold, which all listed earlier this month.

Based in Perth, Nimy is focused on exploring its Mons nickel project, located 140 kilometres north of Southern Cross within WA’s Yilgarn Craton.

The project sits in the northern end of the Forrestania nickel belt, with the district also home to Western Areas’ Forrestania operations.

Nimy chairman Simon Lill said the Mons tenements had been exposed to little nickel exploration.

“[It] is hoped that the application of more modern exploration techniques will start to exposure the potential of the region,” Mr Lill said in the company’s prospectus, lodged with ASIC last month.

Mr Lill said Mons was far from a greenfields exploration project. 

The project was first identified by Western Mining Corporation (acquired by BHP Billiton in 2005), as part of the company’s gold exploration programs.

Nimy has owned the project privately for the past six years.

Mr Lill said previous exploration, along with the results from Nimy’s maiden drill program completed in October last year, showed the project area had similar geological characteristics to the Kambalda district, which is home to Mincor Resources and BHP nickel operations.

He said the IPO proceeds would ensure Nimy was fully funded to pursue its exploration strategy, which includes geophysical surveys to help generate and refine targets ahead of drilling.

Mr Lill, also the executive chair of De Grey Mining, emerged with a 2.6 per cent shareholding in Nimy.

The company's board also includes executive director Luke Hampson, who is Nimy's biggest shareholder with about a 26.3 per cent interest, and managing director Christian Price (3.5 per cent).