Greatland Resources has long been held up as one of AIM’s standout success stories, proof that it is possible to build a near-£2bn business on a junior market often dismissed as dysfunctional.
Since then, the company has shifted its primary listing to the Australian Securities Exchange — a logical step.
But investors need not despair. Another contender may be emerging from AIM’s ranks in the form of Wishbone Gold PLC (AIM: WSBN, AQSE: WSBN).
Wishbone’s track record has been mixed, yet its Red Setter project — situated next door to Greatland’s Havieron and Telfer assets — has started to attract serious attention.
This week, the company reported the discovery of a breccia pipe interval extending 152 metres within a wider 257-metre mineralised zone. The hole, drilled to 777 metres, also revealed quartz-carbonate veining with chalcopyrite and pyrite, strong indicators of copper and gold mineralisation.
The company awaits delivery of additional rods, with plans to extend the hole to at least 1,000 metres.
“We decided to call it a day for now at 777 metres … as we await the delivery of more drill rods to site to drill deeper safely,” said director Ed Mead.
The market reaction was emphatic. Wishbone shares surged 205% on the announcement and are now up nearly 1,000% over the past six months.
Western Australia continues to prove a hotbed for small-cap miners. Alien Metals rose 39% after its joint venture partner West Coast Silver reported high-grade results from the maiden diamond drill campaign at the Elizabeth Hill project.
Highlights included a 17-metre intercept grading 858 grams per tonne (g/t) of silver from just 5 metres depth, with a spectacular 2-metre section grading 10,049 g/t. A notable gold intercept of 11.1 g/t added further excitement.
