If pedigree counts for anything in the resources sector, De Grey Mining should be a runaway success.
If pedigree counts for anything in the resources sector, De Grey Mining should be a runaway success.
The company, which listed in 2002 after raising $20 million, brings two icons of the Western Australian mining sector in chairman Ron Manners and managing director Denis O’Meara to the board of the same company for the first time.
Collectively they have more than 85 years in the mining business, have been involved in raising of more than $650 million (mostly involving Mr Manners), floated a number of prominent companies, and been directly involved with many more that have become part of mining folklore.
The pair has lived through the fabulous nickel boom of the 1960s, seen their beloved Kalgoorlie brought to its knees and rise again, survived the economic/resources booms and busts WA is famous for, and are now enjoying a boom they agree is the best yet because of its diversity and sustainability.
Mr Manners, from Kalgoorlie and Mr O’Meara, from Wiluna, first met briefly in Kalgoorlie in 1962 while pursuing separate careers.
Mr Manners’ chairmanship of De Grey brought with it a lot of shareholder support from Croesus Mining, the company he founded and chaired for 20 years before recently handing over to Michael Kiernan, managing director of Consolidated Minerals and chairman of Monarch Resources.
“I didn’t retire. I just didn’t re-stand. The company’s operations are much more complex these days. The company needed a change and I thought it was time to find someone else,” Mr Manners said.
Despite Croesus flagging a first half pre-tax loss of $28 million, he said the company was in good shape.
His Mannwest Group will sub-underwrite Croesus’ current $8.6 million capital raising to explore and expand its Norseman gold operations.
It will be a similar story for De Grey as regards possible future capital raisings and the chairmanship.
Mr Manners confirmed he and the board were looking for his replacement within the next six months.
“Someone who is better than I,” he told WA Business News.
But De Grey’s initial years have not been kind to shareholders. The share price reached 73 cents in March 2004 on the strength of finding what turned out to be an uneconomic 203,000-ounce gold deposit at Wingina Well, within De Grey’s Turner River project area, 60 kilometres south of Port Hedland. It has since fallen back to current levels around 20 cents.
The picture became more confusing when recent gold-focused exploration at Turner River’s Orchard Well prospect found base metals, and then follow up drilling returned major gold intercepts.
Mr O’Meara told WA Business News the gold find was very significant and would be the company’s major focus for the next six months.
Exploration also showed there were two separate and distinct gold and base metals zones.
Mr Manners is a fourth generation prospector with more than 50 years in the mining industry.
In that time he has been closely involved with such companies as Great Central Mines and its famous Bronzewing gold mine, acquired by entrepreneur Joe Gutnick, and inter-national Canadian explorer Eldorado Gold Corp, with which he was involved in a $135 million capital raising.
Mr O’Meara has been directly involved in eight public mining companies raising more than $150 million.
He was jointly awarded the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies prospector of the year award in 2004.
He has also been a major vendor into many other companies, including Atlas Gold, the share price of which jumped recently on its Pardoo iron ore project near Port Hedland.
