Mount Hope Mining Limited (ASX: MHM)—First Moves in the Cobar Basin - A Copper and Gold Story.
- Noel Ong
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
🆕 IPO Review: Early Performance and Strategy
Announcements:
About Mount Hope Mining Limited - The Copper and Gold Hopeful
Mount Hope Mining Limited (ASX: MHM) is a newly listed exploration company focused on copper and gold in the Southern Cobar Basin of New South Wales. With a 175km² strategic landholding and a well-connected location in an established mining region, the company is positioning itself within a district known for its polymetallic endowment and historic production.
Figure 1: Mount Hope Project Location Map (source: MHM)
Mount Hope listed on the ASX in December 2024, raising capital to advance exploration across several historical and underexplored prospects, including Mt Solitary, Mount Hope, and Black Hill. Since listing, Mount Hope has followed through on early promises of active, technically driven exploration.
ASX Code: MHM
Listing Date: 20 December 2024
IPO Offer Price: $0.20
Current Share Price (as at June 2025): $0.160
Market Capitalisation: $6.60 million
Industry Group: Materials
What Has Mount Hope Done Since Listing?
In their first full quarter of operation (March 2025), Mount Hope has delivered several foundational milestones:
✅ Exploration Programs Underway
Ground Gravity Survey: Completed across 97 km² using 1,732 stations. Data is being processed for 3D geological modelling by Southern Geoscience Consultants (Figure 2).
Soil Geochemistry: Orientation sampling across Mount Hope East and Black Hill confirmed anomalies of up to 710 ppm Pb, 680 ppm Cu, and 0.25 ppm Ag. A Stage 2 survey is in progress.
Figure 2: Gravity station locations, including infill stations (source: MHM)
Reprocessing of Magnetic Data: Enhanced structural understanding of mineralised corridors and highlighted prospective zones for drilling (Figure 3).
Regional Data Integration: Historic data within a 20km radius has been acquired to enrich the centralised geological database and refine targeting
Figure 3: Mount Hope aeromagnetic demonstrating structural interpretation & prospective areas (source: MHM)
✅ Mt Solitary Gold Exploration Target
On 10 June 2025, MHM announced an Exploration Target at Mt Solitary:
1.32–1.87 Mt @ 1.0–1.35 g/t Au for 42.5–81.4 koz of gold.
Based on historical drilling (83 holes), trenching, and production figures.
A 3,000m drilling campaign is planned for mid-2025 to test mineralisation continuity (Figure 4) and define a JORC-compliant resource.
Figure 4: Mt Solitary long section with mineralised envelope (source: MHM)
Use of Funds vs Prospectus
Since listing in December 2024, Mount Hope Mining Limited (ASX: MHM) has maintained a disciplined approach to capital deployment. According to the March 2025 quarterly report, the Company has spent approximately $960,450 out of the $5.48 million raised at IPO.
The majority of expenditure to date has been directed toward exploration groundwork ($118,093), while significant portions remain allocated for ongoing programs across the Mount Hope Project. Notably, the Company has fully paid its joint lead manager fees and incurred slightly higher-than-expected offer expenses.
With over $4.52 million in cash still on hand, MHM is well-positioned to fund its planned drilling campaign and advance resource development initiatives in the Cobar Basin.
Share Price Performance Since Listing
At the time of writing, MHM shares last traded at $0.160, with no volume recorded for the day and a market capitalisation of $6.60 million (Figure 5). The current bid/offer spread sits between $0.140 and $0.160, reflecting a relatively tight range.
While liquidity remains light — as is often the case in the early chapters of exploration IPOs — investors will be watching closely as the Company progresses toward its maiden drill campaign and builds momentum from the groundwork already laid.
Figure 5: MHM Share Price as at 17 June 2025 (source: ASX)
Mount Hope Mining Managing Director & CEO Fergus Kiley commented:
“MHM is pleased to announce the maiden exploration target for the Mt Solitary Project. This Exploration Target, which is predicated on substantial previous drilling and resource modelling, demonstrates the prospectivity of Mt Solitary. We have defined a route forward for resource conversion drilling and a clear pathway for value creation for the Company.
The physical attributes of this project, including its raised topographic setting, previously disturbed site, proximity to a major bitumen road (Kidman Way) and to the township of Mount Hope (power, water, people, accommodation etc.) while being less than 200km from seven different mills - many with excess capacity - makes this project the perfect candidate for a rapid development scenario.
In a rising gold price environment, we believe this strategy, in conjunction with our current exploration strategy, is the best way to crystallise value for all shareholders and we are excited to continue to grow the size of this project.
Samso’s Review: Early Days with Management of Exploration Anxiety to come.
Since its ASX debut on 20 December 2024, Mount Hope Mining is going through its paces and managing exploration activities in terms of timing and purpose. It's an early exploration play with appropriate expectations that are expected from raising money for discovery.
Importantly, the team has been quick to act on pre-IPO strategies, such as validating historical geophysical data, acquiring regional exploration datasets, and accelerating geochemical fieldwork. The announcement of a JORC-aligned Exploration Target at Mt Solitary within six months of listing is a commendable milestone. In a region with a history of blind discoveries like Wagga Tank and Federation, MHM is working methodically to replicate that success.
The board—led by Non-Executive Chair Ben Phillips and MD Fergus Kiley—has kept a tight rein on spending. As of March 2025, over 80% of IPO funds remain unspent, and exploration activities are ramping up towards a maiden drill program.
Samso Concluding Comments
At Samso, we’ve seen many exploration companies enter the ASX with bold ambitions, but due to a series of factors, execution has taken time. Mount Hope Mining, however, has come out of the gate with structured, data-backed work that aligns with investor expectations of progress in the early months.
The Cobar Basin has delivered significant shareholder returns over the past decade, and while MHM’s journey is only just beginning, they’re ticking the right boxes—early-stage surveys, geological validation, and a pathway to drilling. The pending 3,000m campaign at Mt Solitary will be the real litmus test for how much of that potential can be crystallised.
What stands out is the recent announcement of a maiden Exploration Target at Mt Solitary. While not yet JORC-compliant, it signals a clear path toward resource development. There is a need to have some caution in thinking that an Exploration Target is a ticket to discovery. Those that are not in this industry should take the Exploration Target as an indication of the faith of the person quoting that number/target.
The market has responded with cautious optimism, and rightly so. Mount Hope still has much to prove, but with a tight capital structure, significant cash reserves, and proximity to known mineralised systems, it is positioned to deliver meaningful news flow over the next 6–12 months.
The Mount Hope story is one that may have come on the market at the right time. With a market capitalisation of AUD $4.4M, this may be cheap enough to take a position. In my time working as a geologist and investing in this sector, the lesson learnt is that every story that has a legitimate case for discovery will take time, and with the market sentiment (as it is now), speculation will drive capital appreciation and that is simply the fascination of the game.
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