CHASING A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY

WITH GOLD PRICES HITTING RECORD HIGHS, JUNIOR EXPLORERS ARE ATTRACTING INVESTMENT. AUSTRALIAN MINING LOOKS AT TWO ADVANCING PROJECTS IN PROVEN PROVINCES.

- 

When asked in September for the best time to be in gold exploration, Falcon Metals managing director Tim Markwell didn't skip a beat.

"The 1850s," he said, referencing Victoria's legendary gold rush. "But right now is a very close second."

With gold prices surging past $US4000 per ounce in October, Markwell's optimism is shared across Australia's junior exploration sector.

On the other side of the country, David Richardson has watched this moment approach for years. The Magmatic Resources managing director points to a pattern that has played out since the global financial crisis. When gold rallies, major producers recover first, then months pass before investors look further down the value chain.

"Juniors take three to six months to follow the majors after a recovery," he said. "At some stage, investors have to come down the value chain."

That shift appears to be underway. With consolidation at the producer level making new acquisitions harder to find, and years of under-investment in greenfields exploration, institutional and retail investors are turning attention to junior explorers with projects in proven Australian gold provinces.

Falcon's Blue Moon prospect in Victoria and Magmatic's Weebo project in Western Australia fit that bill perfectly, and each company is gaining a lot of attention as a result.

Window of opportunity