- Armada Metals (AMM), a metals explorer looking to locate base metals in under-explored portions of Africa, is preparing for life on the ASX following a successful IPO
- Armada is backed by a Board of Directors and an Africa-based technical staff, both of which have a track record of successful African ventures
- Armada’s IPO was oversubscribed up to $10 million, raising the maximum amount intended, with Canaccord and PAC Partners acting as dual lead managers
- The Company has its eyes on the discovery potential for base metals in the central African nation, Gabon, with two exploration licenses under its belt
- AMM debuted on the ASX on 15 December 2021
Metals explorer Armada Metals (AMM), hoping to explore base metals in under-explored parts of Africa, is gearing itself for life on the ASX after a successful IPO.
Led by an experienced management team, Armada is backed by a Board of Directors and an Africa-based technical staff, both of which have a track record of successful African ventures.
Armada is poised to benefit from a surge in demand for nickel and copper as governments across the world phase out fossil fuel vehicles.
Investors get the memo
Armada’s IPO was oversubscribed at $10 million, raising the maximum amount intended, with Canaccord and PAC Partners acting as dual lead managers.
Resource Capital Funds (RCF), Metal Tiger Limited (MTR), and Cobre Limited (CBE) are among the initial seed and cornerstone investors in the IPO.
Metal Tiger presently owns 15,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares in Armada, having previously invested US$750,000 (A$1.05 million) in the pre-IPO round.
On Wednesday, the explorer will begin trading on the stock exchange under the ticker AMM after issuing 50 million shares in the IPO.
Base metal hunting in Gabon
The company has its eyes on the discovery potential for base metals in the central African nation, Gabon.
Armada, with a focus on mineral exploration, was formed to identify new belt-scale discovery potential for critical commodities, especially nickel and copper in Africa’s under-explored areas, that has the potential to generate growth for the company’s shareholders.
It currently owns two exploration licenses believed to be prospective for nickel-copper sulphides. The total project area covers a potentially significant discovery near the coastal town of Mayumba.
Armada’s Nyanga Project is located in Gabon along the Congo Craton Margin, which is a typical geological setting for magmatic nickel-copper systems.
With over $10 million spent exploring the region in the Nyanga Province of southern Gabon, Armada currently has a 3000sqm area with 18 nickel-copper targets, five of which are regarded drill ready, offering a multi-target project opportunity for magmatic nickel-copper sulphides.
Using geophysical and geochemical datasets, as well as comprehensive field mapping, 18 probable intrusive complexes have been delineated within the licences.
The Armada Group intends to conduct exploratory activities in relation to the Nyanga Project, with the goal of proving up an economic resource and eventually establishing a mine. The first drill holes are scheduled to be finished in early 2022, with drill rigs currently mobilising to the site.
At the helm of the new exploration endeavour is Ross McGowan, CEO and Managing Director.
Dr McGowan founded the Resource Exploration & Development Group and has more than 20 years of academic, technical, and business expertise in African mining exploration. He is one of the co-recipients of the 2015 PDAC Thayer Lindsley Award for an International Mineral Discovery for Ivanhoe Mines’ world-class Kamoa discovery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dr McGowan is a Fellow of both the Geological Society of London and the Society of Economic Geologists.
Thomas Rogers, who drives the exploration strategy as the leader of Armada’s technical team, was one of the key members of the Kamoa discovery team and also a co-recipient of the 2015 PDAC Thayer Lindsley Award.
Rick Anthon, an experienced resources executive and former Orocobre Limited Board (ORE), chairs the Armada Board, which also includes Michael McNeilly, CEO of Metal Tiger.
Rounding off the board is non-executive director and current Cobre chairman Martin Holland, who also helped list Lithium Power International (LPI).
AMM debuted on the ASX on 15 December 2021.