Pearl Gull (ASX:PLG) debuts on market amid iron ore price plunge

• Pearl Gull (PLG) debuted on the ASX yesterday, coinciding with the brutal crash in iron ore stocks as the commodity price fell below $100 per tonne for the first time in more than a year
• The company’s focus is a high-grade iron ore development on Cockatoo Island in the northwest of Western Australia 
• The Perth-based iron ore exploration company raised $4 million at 20 cents per share in an oversubscribed IPO
• A diamond drilling program is underway at the company’s Switch Pit target and will then move to its North Bay target
• Shares closed their second day on the market at 17.5 cents

The ASX debut of iron ore player Pearl Gull Iron coincided with Monday’s plunge in the iron ore price and the impact on stocks reliant on the commodity. 

Against this backdrop the exploration company, which has a mining lease on Cockatoo Island off the northwest coast of Western Australia, saw trade open at 17 cents yesterday, 15 per cent below the 20 cents listing price. 

Director Johnathon Fisher said while it was a ‘horrible day for iron ore stocks’, Pearl Gull leaders were pleased to see the company listed on the ASX.

‘We are in it for the long haul,” he said. 

“Jitters in the spot price don’t concern us. We believe we have a potentially world-class iron ore project, and we are focussed on the grade of the product.”

Pearl Gull raised $4 million through its Initial Public Offering to support its diamond drilling at the Switch Pit target on the island. It will then move focus to its North Bay target.

Cockatoo Island has been mined for iron ore since the 1950s and is known for its premium grade iron ore.

Shares closed their second day on the market at 17.5 cents.