It's well to remember what Minemakers Ltd (ASX:MAK) said on its first day of stock market listing.
It made a modest debut in October 2006, not so much as an explorer but as a company that pinpoints regions that have potential be developed as a producing mine.
It will start almost immediately on a feasibility study, focusing first on east Tasmania covering the Aberfoyle tin and tungsten deposits and Morina near Burnie for flourite (flor spar).
It has old hands like Ted Ellyard, known for his work in Bonaparte Diamonds and MD Andrew Drummond, along with George Savell and Dennis Wilkins, on the Board.
The company raised $3.7 million out of a $4 target and looks to be a straight and serious operator, a rarity these days.
But there is a lot of gaps to be filled in the interim.
The company has just raised $11.55 million through BBY Ltd with a placement of 7.7 million shares to institutional and sophisticated investors.
The placement, at a price of $1.50 per share, was heavily oversubscribed and the investors included offshore and domestic institutional funds and high-net-worth clients of BBY Ltd.
The funds raised from the placement will be used for the Wonarah Rock phosphate project pre-feasibility and feasibility, purchase of long lead-time capital items for Wonarah, Moina multi-commodity studies, Tasmanian tin or tin/tungsten project advancement and possible exercise of the option over the Fraser iron magnetite project, along with additional working capital.
Mr Drummond said directors were pleased with the share placement because it lifted the level of quality institutional shareholders to a significant level for the first time, and the funds raised will secure the company's capacity to complete several key tasks, especially that of taking the Wonarah rock phosphate project in the Northern Territory through to the end of feasibility.
Minemakers shares have been on a roller-coaster ride for more than a month.
The company was confronted by the ASX for a please explain after the shares shot up from $1.19 on February 21 to a high of $1.96 by February 27.
Minemakers attributed the increase partly to a growing market realisation of the potential importance of the Wonarah rock phosphate project for the company.
"This was based on current knowledge of its size, grade and the recent four-fold increase in world rock phosphate prices," the company said.
"Additionally it has been widely reported in the press that fertiliser prices have risen very strongly, that world supplies are stretched to meet demand, there are anticipated food shortages and that the high price of oil is causing a move into crop growth for bio-fuels."
On February 18, Minemakers reported that it had secured a diamond drilling rig to provide core for metallurgical testwork at the Wonarah rock phosphate project and that independent study managers have been appointed.
The company advised that the Northern Territory Department of Industry, Fisheries and Mines had agreed to provide drill core stored in Darwin, which has been freighted to Perth.
In turn, Minemakers will replace it with new drill core when it becomes available in April or May.
The Department's support appears to be tangible evidence of strong enthusiasm and support for Wonarah, the company says.
Shares of Minemakers yesterday rose 9.5c to $1.78. Rolling high for the year is $2.09 and low 19c. The company has 42.5 million shares on issue with a market cap of $75.6 million.
As stated in its prospectus, Minemakers is looking for producing mines or areas with that potential and indicated it had a number of irons in the fire.
Ferret drew investors attention to the stock in July at 33c after it disclosed an assay report on its Southdown iron ore leases about 100 kms from Albany in WA.
Minemakers said Stage I assays from drilling confirmed the intersection of significant magnetite mineralisation only a few kilometres from the major Southdown magnetite iron ore deposit.
The best results from the drilling returned 12m @ 40.65pc magnetite.
"This first round of drilling has proven that our three magnetic anomalies are caused by magnetite," Mr Drummond said.
The strike lengths of the anomalies indicate that there is potential for significant bodies of magnetite.
Minemakers has acquired and aims to be a developer of mineral projects.
The company has a portfolio comprising several projects with identified resources and large data bases and others with highly prospective mineral targets.
There are currently five projects in the portfolio covering iron ore, tin and tungsten, salt, phosphate, fluorite and polymetallics.
The tin/tungsten deposits are also highly prospective for uranium.
The most advanced opportunity is the Wonarah rock phosphate project.
Others are for tin and tungsten, centred on the historic Aberfoyle and Storey's Creek mines in the northeast of Tasmania, as well as several other tin or tin/tungsten deposits.
The Moina (Tasmania) fluorite and polymetallics project is also under assessment.
The company has identified a unique opportunity to position itself with non-mainstream commodities or mineralisation. Rising demand has increased prices for many mineral commodities.
In several of the commodities for which Minemakers holds large deposits or targets, restricted Chinese mineral exports have decreased available supply.
Minemakers's projects are in Australia, with its low sovereign risk and generally contain deposits with open-cut mining potential.
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