Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
Explorer Eastern Metals (ASX:EMS) − now seeing out its final days under that name − has seen its company value boom as much as +200% on Friday morning after closing out an acquisition of Raptor Resources and its assets.
Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.
Eastern paused to complete the “pivotal” pick-up, and its unpause, as much as the buyout, seems to have helped the explorer’s share price explode.
Today’s re-listing “success” comes after Eastern acquired 90% of Raptor’s issued shares, and the explorer’s assets. These include Chester, which boasts a JORC-compliant estimate of 6.68Mt at 1.092% copper, and Turgeon, which reportedly demonstrated a “strong potential” for VMS deposits in copper and zinc.
Both these projects now sitting in Eastern’s portfolio are located in the “world-renowned” Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, in northeastern Canada.
The tenure covers as much as 6,000 hectares in the Elmtree-Belledune Inlier. Eastern’s exploration in the area will begin with infill drilling and testing for extensions of the existing mineralisation. The Market Link understands Eastern’s geotechs are also looking into geochemical and geophysical targets.
(It’s good timing for Eastern/Raptor, too, considering copper’s price is well clear of US$13,000/tn; the red metal is selling at all-time highs.)
“With trading now resumed… our strategy is clear: Systematic exploration to delineate economic resources and deliver strong shareholder returns,” Eastern’s managing director, Brett Walace, told company investors today.
“The acquisition of Raptor represents a pivotal milestone… We will hit the ground running with drilling programs at Chester to commence imminently.”
There’s a little ASX ministration to be done beyond just restarting trading, too, with Eastern soon to take on the “Raptor Resources” name (completing the reverse takeover) and a slightly more accurate ticker code: R-A-P.
Once that’s gone through, it will complete a bid to join the ASX that Raptor first started back in 2024. The Canada-focused, Australian-headquartered explorer had looked into a more traditional IPO back then, but things petered out. This Eastern-Raptor had then eventually emerged as another path.
At time of writing, EMS is +190% higher at 2.9cps.
Join the discussion. See what HotCopper users are saying about Eastern Metals Ltd and be part of the conversations that move the markets.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
