Cashing in on the booming Mid West.
An East Perth-based start-up company is looking to cash in on the state’s booming Mid West region by pursuing a listing on the stock market to fund the establishment of a limestone business.
Oakajee Corporation Ltd believes it is strategically placed to capitalise on any opportunities that arise in the region, where recent interest rate rises have failed to dent residential housing activity.
The company, established in December 2006 as Australian Stone Solutions Pty Ltd, has spent the past 12 months or so securing a lease on 116 hectares of land near the proposed Oakajee deep water port, with access to an unspecified amount of limestone resources for up to 80 years.
The company plans to establish and operate a limestone quarry and manufacture products on the same property, located 20 kilometres out of Geraldton, 12 months after the listing.
The potential infrastructure growth stemming from the port’s development and possible subsequent population increase is part of the market Oakajee Corporation is banking its success on.
“There’s a lot of land that’s starting to be released in and around Geraldton and it’s really going to be a hub particularly for the iron ore potential that will be coming from the Mid West,” said managing director Richard Hacker.
Most recently, Mr Hacker has been company secretary for Liontown Resources, Chalice Gold Mines and Uranium Equities.
While location is key, a major aspect of Oakajee Corporation’s success is dependant on its listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Should that go ahead, Mr Hacker said the company will establish a sales and marketing team to source customers for its product.
“Production will be driven from sales and marketing and what can be sold…it’s quite reliant on what customers want,” he told WA Business News.
Another important element is the plant and equipment for the quarry and the automated manufacturing plant plus associated infrastructure, which has a total budgeted expenditure of $1.9 million.
Mr Hacker said funds raised from the initial public offer of at least $4 million will be used to procure the plant and equipment which had not yet been finalised or ordered.
“It’ll take three months to acquire the equipment and then another nine months after that to construct,” he said.
Managing the production side will be Clark Scrivener, who has 15 years’ experience as a quarry manager of another limestone company and has previously built two limestone plants.
It will be Mr Clark’s responsibility to acquire and build the plant for Oakajee Corporation.
While major players in the limestone industry use automated manufacturing plants, Mr Hacker said Oakajee Corporation’s automated plant will be the first plant of its type used in Australia.
The offer of 20 million shares at 20 cents each to raise $4 million, with oversubscriptions up to $5 million, is due to close at the end of the month.
