GBM Resets the Gold Clock with $13M Raise and Board Shake-Up

In a bold repositioning move that wipes the debt slate clean and refocuses the business on core gold exploration, GBM Resources (ASX: GBZ) has announced a $13 million capital raise, a board restructure, and the full consolidation of its Twin Hills project. The manoeuvre positions the junior explorer to aggressively pursue its 1.84Moz Drummond Basin gold portfolio.

At the centre of the transformation is a two-tranche placement priced at $0.006 per share, attracting fresh capital from both new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors. Notably, Ian Middlemas—well known in Perth’s mining circles for his directorships across a clutch of ASX-listed success stories—joins as Chairman and is chipping in $1.2 million of his own capital. Fellow incoming non-executive directors Peter Fox and Robert Behets bring decades of project development and exploration chops to the table.

GBM will use the funds to immediately retire a $6.2 million convertible note held by Collins St Asset Management (CSAM). In a nod to the company’s improved outlook, CSAM is accepting part of its early redemption in shares and options rather than demanding the full amount in cash. That’s not a small gesture in small-cap land.

In parallel, the previously announced farm-in agreement with Wise Walkers Ltd (WWL) over the Twin Hills project has been scrapped. Instead, WWL is becoming a cornerstone investor, converting its $2 million farm-in spend into equity and tipping in another $2 million through the raise, leaving it with a 19.99% stake and a future board nomination in its back pocket.

With the placement completed, GBM’s capital structure will expand to over 3.85 billion shares on issue, and its market cap will sit just over $23 million—still modest considering the size of its JORC resource base. Importantly, the company will be debt-free and cashed-up to drill.

Executive Director Andrew Krelle summed up the strategic reset as both a fresh start and a culmination of past efforts: “With a strong debt-free balance sheet, GBM now has a great opportunity to deliver value to shareholders through an accelerated exploration program across Twin Hills and Yandan.”

It’s a statement that will be tested in the field. GBM plans to deploy $4.7 million of the raise directly into the ground—$3 million of that for new drilling across the 309 and Lone Sister deposits at Twin Hills, with another $1.7 million for broader exploration at Yandan. These projects anchor a growing portfolio in Queensland’s Drummond Basin, a region already hosting several mid-tier success stories and the kind of low-sulphidation epithermal gold systems that can scale quickly.

The new board brings fresh eyes to that opportunity. Middlemas, a former senior exec at Normandy Mining, is best known for his involvement with ASX high-flyers including Mantra Resources and Papillon. Behets, a veteran exploration geologist, was a key player in the development of Mantra and Berkeley Energia. Fox adds project finance and deal-making credentials, particularly in upstream development. Collectively, they represent a boardroom upgrade aimed at institutionalising the company’s next phase.

GBM’s share price has languished in recent years under the weight of non-core assets and legacy debt, but this recapitalisation may be the circuit breaker. A consolidated ownership of key gold assets, a fresh funding base, and an experienced board signals a more focused, growth-oriented phase.

While execution remains key—as always in junior exploration—the company now has both the capital and the leadership to turn its substantial resource base into shareholder returns. If the drill bit delivers, GBM might finally live up to the promise that’s long been buried beneath the Queensland soil.