IPO Watch | Mackerel Metals

The new entity, Mackerel Metals, is set for a mid-december listing under the ticker $MKM following a minimum $6m raise. The company has the capacity to accept up to $10m, with existing Zenith shareholders being offered a $1.5m priority offer. 

The demerger will allow Zenith Minerals ($ZNC) to focus on the company’s battery mineral projects, particularly in the lithium space. Meanwhile, Mackerel will take on the gold and base metals assets that are spread across ten projects in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. 

Chief Executive Kevin Seymour told Stake that all the projects were at the stage where they required some financial backing to progress. 

“We have a large portfolio of very advanced exploration activities and we will look to continue those activities over the next year or two,” he said. 

Its flagship project in Western Australia is a zinc project in the Earaheedy basin that’s as wide as 16 Sydney Harbour Bridges. 

The joint venture with Rumble Resources has also found plenty of success with the drill bit finding lead-zinc. 

“This project is up there with the best of the best in regards to its mineralisation characteristics,” said Kevin.

The company also has a Split Rocks joint venture and Dulcie gold project and an early-stage Yalgoo potash brine project. 

In Queensland, Mackerel has the Red Mountain gold-silver project and early-stage Auburn and Privateer gold projects in the same region. 

Meanwhile, copper is the prize for its advanced Develin Creek project in Queensland. 

“The demand for copper over the next 20-odd years is going to be critical for the energy transition and we are very bullish about the potential for copper-zinc projects,” he said. 

In fact, forecasts show that over 7b tonnes of copper will be needed to be mined in the next couple of decades. 

“That’s a phenomenal amount, and we are in a copper rich province which has roughly 5m tonnes coming through our projects. If we can find another one or two we are looking at something quite serious,” said Kevin. 

The group also has a number of projects in New South Wales, including a 26.65% stake in the Cowarra orogenic gold project which will move to 100% after listing.