Ban short-selling in the ‘national interest’, Chalice boss pleads
Peter KerResources reporter
Updated Dec 20, 2023 – 1.18pm,first published at 12.03pm
Chalice Mining chief executive
Alex Dorsch claimed short-selling of critical minerals stocks should be banned “in the national interest” to ensure “geopolitical opponents” cannot hold back the development of Australian mines.
His plea to replicate a similar ban adopted by South Korea’s regulator in November, which was met with consternation from market participants, follows Chalice shares falling 72.9 per cent this year after the company disappointed the market with the results of a scoping study into its
Gonneville project north of Perth.
Chalice Mining major backer Tim Goyder (left) and chief executive Alex Dorsch. Trevor Collens
Chalice has
found a critical minerals cluster that contains palladium, platinum, nickel, copper, cobalt and gold. It will need to raise close to $2 billion to build the mine at Gonneville, making it a prime target for hedge funds given its reliance on the capital markets for funding.
Chalice has 5.9 per cent of its register in the hands of short-sellers, according to the latest data from the market regulator. Five of the top-10 biggest ASX hedge fund targets are critical minerals producers and hopefuls.
Mr Dorsch said South Korea had taken “exactly the right approach”.
He said short-selling could help create an efficient market for mature, revenue generating companies, but pre-revenue companies needed more protection from market forces.
“There really is no place for it in the critical minerals space or any sort of growth businesses where you are trying to do something very much in the national interest,” he said. “By allowing short selling you are just allowing your geopolitical opponents to restrict and basically put barriers to entry up to those newer growth players.
“If you allow short selling of those types of pre-revenue companies you are disincentivising entrepreneurialism, you are stymying people who are trying to grow real businesses, people who are trying to create economic wealth and strategically important projects and sources of revenue for the country.”
(20min delay)