‘We are the golden goose’: Gold bosses Mark | Australian Markets
After combining their corporations in a single of WA’s high offers, gold lads Mark Zeptner and Simon Lawson are reassured the pro-mining State Government received’t kill their “golden goose”.
This time final yr the mining bosses have been trading jibes by way of investor calls as as to whether one had the “firepower” to amass the different’s company.
Twelve months on, the duo on Monday shared the stage at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum, stepping out future plans for Ramelius Resources, which is digesting Spartan Resources after an agreed $2.5 billion money and share deal.
The merger of the acquisitive Murchison mid-tier and an explorer considered one of the largest gold exploration success tales of 2024 got here during a startling run in gold costs.
That run —which hit a document of $US3500 an ounce in April — has but again seen the yellow metallic retain its crown as the high commodity at the annual mining convention in Kalgoorlie-Boulder that kicked off on Monday.
And with a bolstered market worth of $4.8b, ex-Spartan boss Mr Lawson reckons Ramelius has been vaulted into a new class of takeover goal.
The newly merged group’s project portfolio includes two anchor processing hubs at Mt Magnet and Edna May, now augmented with the mothballed Dalgaranga mill and Spartan’s Never Never deposit.
“I think maybe the combination has actually made Ramelius combined a bit of a target for bigger players,” Mr Lawson jibed on Monday.
As half of the merger, ex-Spartan chief Mr Lawson has taken on the roles of non-executive director and deputy chair of the merged group.
Pried for more element on the new gigs, he stated he wished to clarify he was “not trying to take trying to take Mark’s job”.
“What I am trying to do is support Mark in his job,” he stated.
“It’s a position I have occupied in the past for other captains of industry, and I’ve got a lot of respect for Mark.
“And what I want to do is add exploration strategy . . . and help with that aspect.”
Strong costs have meant good news for the royalties flowing into WA. Though at present charges, gold miners solely pay the State 2.5 per cent of the worth of the minerals they promote.
Much to the reduction of the WA gold mining world, a spokesman for Mines Minister David Michael earlier this yr hosed down any hypothesis more royalties may movement back to State coffers.
“Unequivocally no,” he stated in February.
Asked whether or not the continued price will increase may reignite the dialogue, Ramelius boss Mr Zeptner stated the State Government understood that “we are the golden goose, and they don’t want to kill it”.
“It’s not like the miners get all of the uplift in gold price. The Government gets more as the gold price goes up as well so it doesn’t mean you have to then raise the royalty rate on top of that.”
Mr Lawson stated a latest State Government choice to intervene on charging explorers on miscellaneous mining licences confirmed it was “paying attention” to the sector.
“So I don’t think they’re going to come after the gold royalty argument again, but we’ll see.”
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