these deposits can be blended with magnitite

Poli picks up $110m as Aquila soars



PETER KLINGER



Aquila Resources boss Tony Poli yesterday added $110 million to his fortune after his miner became the latest stock to attract the frenzied interest of iron ore-hungry investors.
All it took was for Aquila to announce an 85 per cent increase in iron ore resources at its West Pilbara joint venture, to 493 million tonnes grading an average 56.9 per cent, for the Perth miner’s share price to soar 22.3 per cent, defying a big sell-off on the broader sharemarket.
Aquila’s limited free float — Mr Poli controls 25.4 per cent and fellow director Charles Bass 12.9 per cent — ensured that strong investor demand for the company’s scrip sent its price soaring $2.10 to a record $11.50 close.
In the process, the value of executive chairman Mr Poli’s paper fortune jumped to $601 million while Mr Bass’ stake was worth $307 million.
Mr Poli last night played down his soaring wealth, saying Aquila’s share price had simply recovered ground lost over the past three months.
The miner soared as high as $10.74 in mid-December before falling, in line with the wider market.
“If I’d celebrated then (in December), I would have been crying in my beer for the past three months,” he said, adding that he was not surprised at the market reaction because it was a significant resources upgrade and iron ore fundamentals were strong.
Aquila’s performance underscores investors’ frenzied buying of iron ore stocks, despite the gloom that has descended across the wider market.
Aquila’s Pilbara joint venture partner Red Hill Iron soared 20 per cent to $5.90 yesterday on the same resources upgrade while earlier this week Brockman Resources jumped 166 per cent to $3 after announcing a 1.1 billion tonne low-grade resource at its Marillana project in the Pilbara.
Profit-takers hit Brockman on Thursday but it regained 11¢ to $2.31 yesterday to value chairman Ross Norgard’s stake at $33.7 million.
Aquila and US miner AMCI each own half of Australian Premium Iron Joint Venture (API), holder of the majority rights to several hematite deposits in the Pilbara.
API can earn an up to 80 per cent interest in Red Hill’s namesake venture, which accounted for 350 million tonnes of API’s 493 million-tonne resource total.
Aquila is due to complete a pre-feasibility study next month and will most likely propose its own railway line and a berth at the yet-to-be built Cape Preston port.