lgdi to raise between $150 million and $250

Diamond in the rough down to business



Joe Gutnick plans to list his Queensland phosphate interests on the stock exchange. News Limited

VETERAN mining entrepreneur "Diamond" Joe Gutnick is preparing a return to the Australian business scene with a planned stock exchange listing of his Queensland phosphate interests.

While the float plans are still at an early stage, a US source said Gutnick's Legend International Holdings had put out feelers to brokers in Australia to raise between $150 million and $250 million to dual list on the Australian Securities Exchange and the US AMEX market.

"Legend's Paradise deposits are fantastic but they are going to need a lot of capital to develop them as planned," said the source. "They have been looking at a dual listing for a while but it is getting more serious now."

Fertiliser prices have been rising strongly in recent years amid high demand from China and India and global concerns about food security and growing populations.

Legend's latest feasibility study estimated that $US808.16 million would be needed to develop a fertiliser complex at Mt Isa plus mining and transport needs.

That would then produce high value complex fertilisers rather than phosphate rock, with annual production targets of 600,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate and monoammonium phosphate and 15,000 tonnes a year of aluminium fluoride with a mine life of at least 30 years.

After processing, the fertilisers would then be sent by rail from Mt Isa to Townsville for export.

Legend has already attracted serious partners including China's Wengfu Group, which financed the feasibility study, and the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative, which owns 15 per cent and represents five million farmers.

Mr Gutnick is perhaps best remembered for his five-year reign as president of the Melbourne Football Club until 2001, pumping more than $2.7 million into the ailing club.

He has had considerable success developing several gold mines including Bronzewing through Great Central Mines but investors were left with a sour taste by the 2001 failure of laterite nickel miner Centaur Mining.

Mr Gutnick still lives in Melbourne but spends much time in New York raising funds for Legend. He has bought a house in Mt Isa to be close to Legend's assets.

A local football sponsorship deal has led to Mt Isa's footy ground becoming known as Legends Oval.

Legend shares have fallen 27 per cent in the past year and last traded at US74c, valuing the company at $US167.5 million.