Lycaon Resources shares soared 66 per cent to 15c a share on its best volume in months after the company bolstered the board and its bank balance by locking in former Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira as a new non-executive director.
The well-regarded mining veteran has also agreed to invest $360,000 in Lycaon through the issue of four million new shares at 9c a share.
Rovira brings more than four decades of experience as a geologist and mining executive to Lycaon. Most notably, during his time as managing director of Azure, where he spearheaded the discovery of the world-class Andover lithium deposit, 20 kilometres east of Karratha in Western Australia. The discovery was part of a joint venture with well-known WA mining entrepreneur Mark Creasy and was seen by many industry veterans and investors as one of the biggest lithium pegmatite discoveries in Australia.
Having completed nearly 115,000 metres of drilling by March last year, Azure unearthed multiple new pegmatite deposits - one stretching more than 2km and another reaching 1.5km in strike, as deep as 350m and with grades running from 1.1 per cent to1.53 per cent lithium oxide.
Andover quickly caught the eye of the big boys and, nine months ago, its owner became the subject of a $1.7 billion takeover by Hancock Prospecting and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA, earning Rovira and his team the coveted "Dealer of the Year" gong at the 2024 Diggers & Dealers mining forum.
Previously, Rovira was named "Prospector of the Year" in 2000 for his role in discovering and developing the Cosmos and Cosmos Deeps nickel deposits during his time at Jubilee Mines, then run by mining stalwart Kerry Harmanis.
Pundits seems to have seen the pickup of such an industry giant as a pivotal moment for the Perth-based exploration company – and Rovira’s expertise is expected to play a crucial role in pushing forward the company’s existing projects, including its West Arunta niobium play and identifying potential new projects to buy.
Lycaon Resources chairman Adrian Di Menna said: “Tony brings extensive technical and leadership experience in the mining industry that will be invaluable to the company. His proven success leading Azure Minerals demonstrates his ability to deliver outstanding outcomes for stakeholders, and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to progress theexisting assets and assess potential new project acquisition opportunities.”
As part of Rovira’s appointment, Lycaon has also decided to reshuffle its leadership team with James Robinson moving across from non-executive director to executive director, while Ranko Matic has stepped down from the board.
Management says the company will be wasting no time in undertaking a strategic review of its asset portfolio while it continues to keep an eagle eye out for new domestic and overseas opportunities across a broad spectrum of commodities.
If today’s huge share price movement is anything to go by, news of Rovira’s appointment is already generating a buzz in the industry with punters likely to be laser focussed on any news of new deals that may come to the table, clearly highlighting Lycaon as a company to watch in 2025.
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By James Pearson
