Image source: Shutterstock

Highlights:

  • GBR secures AUD 12.5 million via Placement to accelerate drilling at Side Well Gold Project.
  • The company expects to hold approximately AUD 15 million in cash post-raise to fund exploration.
  • GBR plans Ironbark scoping study release in early July, with additional drilling updates to follow.

Great Boulder Resources Limited (ASX:GBR) is a Western Australia-based exploration company focused on gold and base metals. Its principal project, the Side Well Gold Project in Meekatharra, currently hosts a JORC-compliant MRE of 668,000 ounces at 2.8g/t gold, including both indicated and inferred resources.

The company has announced binding commitments to raise AUD 12.5 million through a placement of shares to institutional and sophisticated investors, enabling the company to significantly accelerate its exploration activities, particularly at its flagship Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia.

The Placement will consist of approximately 204.92 million new fully paid ordinary shares issued at AUD 0.061 per share, representing a 16.4% discount to the company’s last traded price of AUD 0.073 on June 19, 2025. The raise will be conducted in two tranches. The first tranche, which falls within the company's placement capacity under ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A, will raise approximately AUD 10.65 million. The second tranche, subject to shareholder approval at an upcoming general meeting, is expected to raise an additional AUD 1.85 million.

With the addition of existing cash reserves, Great Boulder anticipates emerging from the placement with approximately AUD 15 million in available capital. The funds will be directed toward accelerating exploration efforts at Side Well, with the goal of expanding the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 668,000 ounces at 2.8g/t gold. The project includes a higher-grade component of 496,000 ounces at 5.3g/t gold.

Great Boulder Managing Director Andrew Paterson stated that the funding will support the company’s goal to define a one-million-ounce gold resource and continue advancing the Ironbark deposit toward potential early-stage mining. “This is a transformational funding event,” he said. “It provides the resources necessary to fast-track drilling across our key targets.”

The placement attracted interest from a mix of existing shareholders and new institutional investors, including long-only funds from North America, marking the first time Great Boulder has seen institutional backing from that region. The company described this as a positive signal regarding investor confidence in the potential of the Side Well project.

In addition to Side Well, the company is progressing toward delivery of a scoping study for the Ironbark deposit, expected in early July. Recent extensional drilling at Ironbark returned encouraging results, including intercepts of 8m at 9.07g/t Au and 8m at 8.57g/t Au, located to the south of the current resource boundary.

Beyond Ironbark, GBR plans follow-up exploration at Side Well South and other advanced targets, with the intention of incorporating the results into a global resource update. The capital raise will also support geophysical and geochemical survey work aimed at identifying new drilling targets, along with activities related to mining approvals and general corporate costs.

Settlement of Tranche 1 shares is anticipated on or around June 27, 2025. Canaccord Genuity acted as Sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner to the placement. Discovery Capital Partners, Cumulus Wealth, and Bell Potter Securities served as Co-Managers, with Salient Corporate advising on the transaction.

The company is also conducting early-stage exploration at its Wellington Base Metal Project located in an emerging Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) province.