Chris Lee & Partners Ltd

Market News 25 May 2026

Johnny Lee writes:

Infratil

Infratil has made a second major announcement in as many weeks, informing the market that it had agreed to sell 5% of Contact Energy – roughly a third of its holding – in a bookbuild via Macquarie.

The agreed price was $9.25 per share.

This comes a week after announcing its largest ever data centre contract, which saw the share price of Infratil reach new records above $15 a share.

The selldown of its Contact Energy holding realised approximately $495 million, and “provides Infratil with additional flexibility to fund future growth opportunities.”

The remaining Contact Energy holding, approximately 9% of Contact, will be retained until “at least” August of this year.

The impact on the market was noticeable.

The market fell 1.2% almost immediately, with a number of large capitalisation stocks declining. Mercury, Meridian and Genesis all fell, as major investors shored up their books ahead of the placement. 

The prospect of a further sell-down in August will likely cast a shadow over Contact Energy for the next three months. This is, unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of companies having large shareholders. Auckland Airport shareholders will recall this well, when the airport share price struggled following ongoing and public discussion surrounding the possibility of the council reducing its stake in 2024.

Contact Energy shares fell after the announcement, following a brief period of trading halt. Realistically, 53 million shares is a significant amount of demand removed for the short-term, and the share price will take some time to find equilibrium.

Infratil has always prided itself on owning a diverse portfolio of assets, with a balance of profitable utilities (One NZ, Manawa, Wellington Airport) supporting its outperforming growth investments. This balance has changed over recent times, with Data Centres becoming an increasingly significant proportion of the portfolio.

Infratil reports its financial results to the market tomorrow. Investors will be hoping to receive some clarity on the use of the proceeds following the partial sell down of its Contact Energy shares, and the trajectory of the broader Infratil portfolio longer term.

Reporting Season

Reporting season has seen an excellent start so far, with a number of our mid-caps reporting meaningful growth across the board.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Ryman, Infratil and Mainfreight report this week. These are the four of the largest companies reporting in the May season, and will be the most useful in determining the financial health of their respective industries.

Outside of these four, the season is showing a few common, positive trends.

Napier Port reported rising revenues and profits, and bumped up its dividend.

Revenue rose 8.8%, while underlying profit climbed 21.5%. Reported profit fell, although this included last year's Cyclone Gabrielle insurance claim.

The 5.25 cent dividend compared to 6.5 cents the year before. However, this 6.5 cents included a 2.5 cent special dividend. The 2.5 cent dividend last year was a one off, “arising from the finalisation of the Cyclone Gabrielle insurance claim."

Container volume increased, with strength seen in squash, onion and apple markets. Bulk cargo was more mixed, with fertiliser throughput rising, offsetting a decline in log volumes.

Cruise ship traffic fell sharply. Cruise revenue fell 21%, following a significant decline in cruise ship arrival numbers.

The outlook is positive. While the geopolitical situation is unpredictable, Napier Port notes that the pipfruit season is shaping up to be a good one, while demand for the region's produce remains strong. 

Overall, the result was positive and saw the share price climb following the announcement. 

Turners Automotive had a strong result too, delivering another record as the company moves from strength to strength. Normalised net profit, which excludes a goodwill write-down, climbed 18% to $45.6 million.

Both auto retail and the financing arm saw growth. Revenue is climbing, while the company continues to invest in organic growth, with three new branches opened in Christchurch.

The finance arm, in particular, was impressive. Revenue from the finance division climbed 13%.

Last years dividend of 9 cents was maintained, moving the full year dividend to 33 cents, compared to 29 cents in 2025.

The company reiterated its earlier forecast of $65 million net profit before tax by 2028. Indeed, the company is hoping to reach this figure by 2027. The next goal is $100 million by 2031.

The last two years has seen Turners grow significantly, with shareholders seeing tremendous gains. The company has a goal to continue growing, and while Turners notes trading conditions are difficult at present, it remains confident in its strategy.

My Food Bag also produced a strong result.

Revenue climbed 5%, net profit rose the same amount, net debt is almost eliminated at $1.9 million, and the dividend climbed from 0.85 cents to 1.15 cents.

Customer retention and spend per customer both climbed. 2026 was also the first year of the My Food Bag shop, allowing customers and non-customers alike the option of ordering one off meals, gifts and care packages.

Outlook remains strong, with a good start to FY27. While the company acknowledges that rising fuel costs have impacted margins, the growing suite of products, ranging from the lower cost offerings to the more niche products, is helping to increase overall retention.

The ongoing strategic review remains exactly that – ongoing. The company provided no hints as to where this may lead, other than to reiterate its view that the share price has consistently undervalued the company. 

While My Food Bag’s first two years as a listed company saw disastrous loss of wealth for shareholders, more recent years have seen it emerge as a consistently profitable, low-debt, cash generative business. Dividends have grown, and demand for its product has been resilient, despite a challenging economic environment. 

While the prospect of returning to its IPO price ($1.85) seems far-fetched for now, more recent shareholders will be pleased with the performance, with the share price up 50% over the last 12 months, and 80% over the last 24 months.

With net debt almost eliminated, the next decision for the company to make may be the best use of excess capital going forward. The strategic review may inform this decision.

New Financial Advisor Position

We are currently looking to add an experienced Financial Adviser to the Chris Lee & Partners team.

This is a Paraparaumu based role, working closely with our long-standing clients throughout New Zealand.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact us confidentially at office@chrislee.co.nz

Travel

28 May - Kerikeri - David Colman

29 May - Whangarei - David Colman

2 June - Wairarapa - Johnny Lee

Chris Lee & Partners Limited

Market News 18 May 2026

Johnny Lee writes:

Pacific Edge is back with another capital raising, this time raising up to $31.4 million at a price of 17 cents per share. $25.4 million has already been raised from wholesale investors, with $6 million to be raised from retail shareholders. The offer comes less than a year since the most recent capital raising. PEB raised $20.7 million in August of last year at a price of 10 cents per share. 

The money is being used to ensure “Pacific Edge has the resources and capacity to regain Medicare coverage, achieve reimbursement for its tests, and to position the business for growth.” 

Last year, the company lost $35.7 million. The company’s cash position on 31 March 2026 was only $7.8 million, giving it about three months of runway at its current cash burn rate. 

Pacific Edge also provided an update on the conditions at the frontline, providing its unaudited, preliminary 2026 results.

The loss of Medicare coverage saw revenue decline sharply, leading the company to instead focus on reducing its costs. Revenue fell from $21.8 million to $11.5 million – a 47% decline – while expenses also declined, down 10% to $49.3 million.

At the time of the announcement, the offer looked unattractive and may have struggled to garner support from its beleaguered retail base. The discount to prevailing prices was minimal, and the long struggles of Pacific Edge would weigh on many potential investors decision-making.

However, an announcement on Friday – the very next day - gave investors a glimmer of hope.

A draft Local Coverage Determination has been published to the Medicare Coverage Database, covering hematuria evaluation for the first time. Pacific Edge’s products, Cxbladder Triage and Triage Plus, were both proposed to be reimbursable. 

The share price rallied sharply after the announcement, moving from 17.5 cents to 34 cents. It retraced shortly after, returning to nearer 24 cents. The offer at 17 cents now represents a meaningful enough discount for those interested to consider.

All the directors have committed to participate in the offer. The Chair, Simon Flood, has stated his intentions to apply for up to $500,000 of shares.

The online offer is open now and closes on the 28th.

-

Both Meridian and Mercury had announcements last week, signalling further commitments to increase the nation’s electricity supply.

Mercury Limited is ramping up its geothermal pipeline, with the company committing to spend $75 million to appraise the capacity of two of its sites near Taupo. 

Mercury signalled that, assuming the drilling results are favourable, the investment into the projects could total up to $1 billion and introduce 1 TWh of new geothermal generation by 2030.

At this stage, growth is being funded from existing provisions, with no signal given regarding a capital raising. 

Meridian announced that it had received consent to include a 120 MW solar farm alongside its planned battery storage investment in Bunnythorpe, north of Palmerston North.

While these announcements will be of interest to Meridian and Mercury shareholders specifically, they carry ramifications for the rest of the electricity sector.

All four generators are in the midst of a scale-up of new generation, with geothermal, wind and solar generation advancing significantly over the next five years. This new generation is designed to meet the expected increase in demand of electricity.

The demand growth is being driven by a number of factors, including an increase in our population, trends towards electrification and new industry coming to market.

The first point is self-explanatory. More people in the country will mean more lights being turned on and more cups of tea being made. New businesses and industry will follow, requiring more capacity in the grid.

Electrification is more difficult to forecast. Fonterra’s decision to electrify its boiler network, as part of its commitment to eliminate coal use by 2037, requires planning by the electricity generators. 

The trajectory of electric vehicle take-up is also difficult to predict, as is the trajectory of at home solar generation. These often hinge on incentives and disincentives, and in the case of electric vehicles, other factors like vehicle cost and the oil price can impact demand.

New industry is another difficult facet of demand to predict. The proliferation of data centres is a well-known modern phenomenon, as is the very large electricity requirement for these facilities. The Datagrid “AI Factory”, planned for Makarewa near Invercargill, is set to require 280 MW of constant generation.

The electricity generation sector then has the unenviable job of trying to plan its generation around a demand profile that is fast-moving and difficult to predict, and vulnerable to oversupply should that demand profile markedly change. PPA, or Power Purchase Agreements, are increasingly used to de-risk both sides of this market, particularly in the case of very large-scale projects.

Competition makes this harder still. While Mercury and Meridian have their new generation pipelines advancing, Contact and Genesis are also planning new projects to increase the supply of our nations power. These are all staggered over the next few years, and all four will be basing the viability of their projects on wholesale prices that will remain in flux. 

Technological advancement will continue at the same time, hopefully leading to cheaper and more efficient ways to both produce and consume electricity. 

All four of our listed generators are investing aggressively into the electricity market, with dozens of projects now planned across the country. Some of these projects may not proceed, as the economics change with supply and demand. However, it is clear that as we welcome more people, convert more technology to electricity and introduce more industry like data centres across the country, we will need to produce more power.

-

The May reporting season is now formally underway, with fishery company Sanford Limited publishing its result to market.

The result saw a record net profit of $42.4 million, up 24.6% on last year. However, an asterisk should be beside these numbers, due to the extraordinary conditions from the prior corresponding period.

Revenue actually fell for the half, down 5.5%. This must in turn be viewed through the context of last years half year result, which saw the company accelerate its sale of salmon and mussels to reduce the risk of adverse US tariffs devaluing its inventory. 

Capital expenditure has also been markedly reduced. The company has reiterated its commitment to “no cost and low-cost opportunities”, including two new vessels which were purchased during the reporting period. Sanford has also committed to expanding its mussel farm in the Coromandel, with a return on this investment expected within 10 months.

The financial trajectory of the company of late has been reassuring. After five years of consecutive losses from 2018 to 2022, the last four years has seen the company turnaround and produce growing profits. 

This has not been met with a commensurate rise in shareholder distributions. Instead, the company has focused on reducing its debt, which has halved over the last two years. 

The next year is expected to be difficult. Costs are rising, debt may become more expensive, and pricing – particularly on mussels – will be volatile. 

The last few years has seen Sanford in the news for all the wrong reasons, including ammonia leaks, trawling in a protected area and the death of an employee. These issues, justifiably, often deter investors from considering the company as an investment.

Nevertheless, the $750 million market capitalisation places it as a midcap on our exchange similar to Turners Automotive, Tower or Napier Port. It is no minnow, and is in fact one of our oldest publicly listed companies, having listed back in 1924. 

The share price touched 5-year highs following the result, having more than doubled over the last 18 months. The strategy of debt reduction and small, consistent dividends looks set to continue for now, as the company looks to build a long-term foundation going forward, while entering what is shaping up to be a difficult trading environment.

-

Travel

28 May - Kerikeri - David Colman

29 May – Whangarei - David Colman

30 June - Christchurch - Chris Lee

1 July - Christchurch - Chris Lee

Market News - 11 May 2026

Johnny Lee writes:

The collapse of US budget airline Spirit Airlines has raised two important questions for investors, one regarding the short-term future of aviation, and the other contemplating the more philosophical question of anti-competition regulation and its role in the modern economy.

Spirit Airlines was an “ultra-low-cost airline”, similar to RyanAir in Europe or arguably Jetstar more locally. Spirit sought to offer lower prices than its peers, in exchange for reduced service and charging fees for options such as food or a paper ticket.

This business model was placed under extreme stress in March following the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The soaring oil price led to the company making huge short-term losses, an experience shared by most aviation companies at the moment.

Spirit had also developed a reputation for poor service over the years, with formal surveys ranking them among the lowest for customer satisfaction. One survey from 2025 ranked Spirit as having the worst corporate reputation in the United States.

Spirit had encountered financial difficulties a number of times in its history, even filing for bankruptcy on several occasions. The airline had raised alarm bells as recently as mid-April, formally seeking a bailout from the US Government in exchange for a controlling stake in the company. However, by May 1, the company had announced immediate cessation of all activities and by May 2 the company had flown its last flight.

Whether Spirit’s collapse is due to jet fuel pricing, reputation or a third possible reason, discussed below, will be up for debate. 

What is undeniable is that airlines, including our own Air New Zealand, will be facing intense short-term stress at present. The elevated cost of fuel is forcing all airlines to reconsider their staffing and capacity requirements and cutting back services which simply cannot be run profitably.

Locally, the effects have been notable. Air New Zealand has now completed a third round of domestic route cuts and has already begun lifting prices for forward sales. 

This stress is being reflected Qantas’ share price is down 20% this year, while Ryanair is down 27%. Air New Zealand has fallen 30%.

For Air New Zealand, analysts are now expecting the company to announce significant losses this year, with further losses anticipated in 2027. This decade had already been one to forget for the company, with a string of large losses throughout the COVID period. 

The difficulty now will be in how the company can recoup the losses it has made. While the obvious answer may be to “lift prices”, this will act as a significant disincentive for travellers, especially those with flexibility around their travel.

Government ownership will be helpful, especially if conditions worsen and additional capital is required. Fortunately, the taxpayer has consistently expressed its availability for such bailouts, citing the necessity of having a national airline.

Ideally, conditions across the Strait of Hormuz moderate and the oil price stabilises nearer January levels. From there, discussions can be had with regards to insulating the airline from future shocks, if at all possible. Share buybacks, which were a feature of the company’s capital programme just last year, may need to be shelved.

The second thought for investors to consider is that of anti-competitive behaviour and the legislation surrounding this topic. 

Spirit received a bid from a competitor, JetBlue, in 2022. Its shareholders voted to approve the deal. However, the US administration at the time blocked the takeover in 2024, citing fears that allowing two competitors to merge would result in less competition.

Some now argue that the decision to block the takeover has contributed to the failing, itself resulting in reduced competition.

This is never an easy decision for regulators. The benefit of hindsight is not available when these judgment calls are made, and no one in 2024 would have foreseen the events occurring now across the Middle East.

Such regulatory interventions are rare in New Zealand. Auckland Airport, Sky TV and The Warehouse are examples where regulators have blocked corporate activity, usually on “Market power” or “National importance” grounds. More recent transactions, such as the Contact Energy tie up with Manawa, or the Gull merger with NPD, have seen approval.

The collapse of Spirit Airlines should serve as a reminder for investors, particularly those persisting with an Air New Zealand shareholding. Conditions for the sector are clearly difficult, and 2026 is unlikely to be stellar year for shareholders.

Air New Zealand next reports in August.

a2 Milk

Three other major developments occurred last week, each of which saw significant price movements across the New Zealand market.

The first announcement came from a2 Milk, which announced a voluntary recall of some of its USA label Infant Milk Formula product.

The recall follows the detection of cereulide in a small batch of its products, manufactured by Synlait Milk. Cereulide can induce nausea and vomiting shortly after ingestion, and although there have no incidents yet of infant illness as a result of the contamination, the company is taking no chances and is recalling all 63,078 tins in the batch.

Cereulide contamination has led to at least two other infant formula recalls this year, with both Nestle and Danone recalling product in January.

While the recall is not financially relevant to a2, Infant Milk Formula is a very sensitive market and maintaining a strong reputation for safety standards is a crucial part of the trust in the sector, especially for an exported product.

The share price of ATM fell 10% following the announcement, shedding about $600 million of market capitalisation. Year to date, the share price is down 25%. 

Gentrack

The second market development came from technology company Gentrack, which provided a market update, formally downgrading its earnings expectations.

Gentrack now expects revenue of between $229 million and $238 million, about 10% lower than previous guidance late last year. This compares to 2025’s figure of $230 million.

On the same announcement last week, Gentrack announced its intentions to initiate a buyback of its shares. This has been partly driven by an apparent surplus of cash on hand, and a view that the share price remains well below fair value. The full year update last year reported a net cash position of $85 million.

The share price has plummeted this year, marking it as one of the worst performers of 2026. Over the last 12 months, the share price is down around 70%, seeing the market capitalisation move from $1.3 billion to today’s figure of nearer $450 million. 

The company has framed the update as “prioritising growth and global leadership over short term EBITDA”. While the market did not reward this decision, the question now will be whether the enormous decline in value is justified, and whether the company can rebuild confidence in its ability to convert opportunity into sustainable, recurring revenue.

Infratil 

The last development of note was a more positive one, after Infratil announced the signing of a major new customer within its data centre business, CDC. 

CDC is 49.7% owned by Infratil.

The new contract is for 30 years, and the 555-megawatt capacity will bring CDC’s total contracted capacity to over 1 gigawatt. This new deal is almost half of the total operating capacity currently in Australia.

The identity of the customer was not disclosed in the agreement, beyond being “US-based”. 

The deal will be transformative for Infratil and is expected to be part of a strategy to deliver $2 billion of EBITDAF once fully deployed. It is simply an outstanding achievement, and further cements Infratil as one of the great success stories across our listed market.

The agreement will, of course, require significant investment from CDC. Infratil’s announcement stated that CDC now expected capital expenditure to be approximately $4 billion in the next financial year. This will not require further shareholder equity, although Infratil stresses that this is based on CDC’s “current growth plan”. 

CDC recently received a credit rating from Moody’s, which has improved access to funding and given the company more options to fuel its growth. 

It would be fair to say that data centres are a controversial topic for some. Whether with respect to the environment impacts of operating the centres, the use of Artificial Intelligence across society or simply the sustainability of the growth seen in the sector, data centres are a huge part of the global growth story. The proliferation of these facilities has led to some impressive share price growth, especially in the US. 

Infratil’s share price soared on the news, rising above $15 a share to a new record high. With almost exactly a billion shares on issue, this $15 billion valuation places it behind only Meridian ($15.7b) and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare ($21.1b), having now surpassed Auckland Airport ($14.4b).

At a time when most growth stocks are struggling, Infratil continues to find success with its data centre business. If these developments conclude successfully and these long-term revenues begin to accumulate, further share price gains are likely to follow. 

Travel

28 May - Kerikeri - David Colman

29 May - Whangarei - David Colman

Chris Lee & Partners Limited

Follow us on Linkedin using the link below:https://www.linkedin.com/company/107542123/

Market News 4 May 2026

David Colman writes:

I was pleased to attend the inaugural NZX Resources & Exploration Investor Day which was held at the NZICC on Friday 24 April.

The event allowed mining companies with projects in New Zealand at various stages of development to present and meet with prospective investors, industry representatives, and each other.

The New Zealand mining industry has a strong focus on gold mining, with larger projects such as Santana Mineral’s Rise and Shine deposit and OceanaGold’s Wharekirauponga deposit being rare examples of gold resources in excess of a million ounces (there are estimated to be less than 500 mines globally with deposits of over 1 million ounces with less than 200 classified as producing mines) but there are other resources targeted.

Hon Shane Jones, NZ Minister for Resources, was a key speaker at the event and expanded on the government’s Fast Track Approval legislation, Minerals Strategy to 2040, and Critical Minerals List which have been established to unlock New Zealand’s mineral potential.

The Critical minerals list identifies 37 minerals from Aggregate to Zirconium that are economically vital, vulnerable to supply disruption, and/or assist in the gaining of other critical minerals.

Demand for the minerals (many of which support renewable energy, medical technology, and other uses demanded by developed countries) is expected to increase rapidly.

Mining initiatives in New Zealand face regulatory hurdles and must address environmental and safety concerns from the local and wider communities with the Fast Track approach seen as easing the transition from explorer to producer.

Discussions regarding government policy in line with unlocking the range of minerals include promoting more royalties to local affected regions and limiting the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) role in mining decisions.

The mining sector already contributes significantly to the economy and government plans to increase mining export revenue are intended to help fund New Zealand’s standard of living and attract foreign investment.

Several attendees were keen to reference a bullish investment attractiveness ranking produced by the Fraser Institute in 2024, which largely due to the Fast-Track Approvals Act, ranked New Zealand 12th in a list of 350 countries and states. No Australian states were in the top 15 then.

Notably, it is a volatile study with survey results varying greatly from one release to the next. The more recent study by the Fraser Institute, released in February 2026, showed New Zealand has now slipped to 40th with several Australian states back near the top of the study.

The NZX has welcomed several mining companies to its exchange of late with entrants to the sector attracted by pro-industry policies, fast-track consenting, historically high commodity prices, a weaker NZD, and hopes that New Zealand will provide an attractive investment environment.

Below I provide descriptions of each company present at the event.

Endura (privately held – no shares listed)

Endura is a private Australian company with strategic plans to build an ASX-listed portfolio of gold and copper mines in Tier 1 jurisdictions including New Zealand.

The company’s primary asset is the fully permitted Snowy River Gold Mine on the West Coast of the South Island.

The Snowy River Project ‘Birthday Reef’ was originally discovered in 1905.

Two shafts were mined to a depth of 800 metres producing over 700,000 ounces before the collapse of the Blackwater Shaft in 1951 brought the project to an end.

The mine was still profitable before its closure and is still considered a rich and consistent gold reef of world class.

Snowy River is currently being developed by Endura with first gold production expected by the end of 2026.

Endura’s presence at a New Zealand hosted event may well signal the company is considering a listing on both the ASX and NZX.

Minerals Exploration (NZX code: MEX)

MEX (formerly known as Uvre) listed late last year and is focused on brownfields gold exploration in New Zealand.

Brownfields refers to the company’s exploration in both the North and South Islands focusing on underexplored areas with historically rich mineral deposits.

Norman Seckold is the company’s chairman and was a founder and former chairman of Santana Minerals.

Executive Director, Brett Mitchell has been involved in corporate finance for over 25 years and has founded, financed and managed many companies (listed and non-listed) and is the director of a corporate advisory and equity capital markets firm.

Peter Zitnan is the NZ based CEO and chief geologist. He has explored for minerals in Finland, Austria, Japan and Slovakia. In the latter he was involved in the discovery of an estimated one million-ounce plus gold resource in the Western Carpathian Mountains but due to legal, environmental and local barriers it has not been mined.

MEX’s North Island portfolio comprises the advanced Waitekauri Gold Project and the Waiorongomai Project (under application) both in the Hauraki Goldfields.

Waitekauri, is MEX’s primary project and is located close to four over-million-ounce gold and silver deposits and immediately along strike from OceanaGold’s 2.2 million-ounce Wharekirauponga deposit.

MEX’s Waiorongomai application area covers a historic brownfields epithermal goldfield.

In the South Island MEX has two projects in the Otago Goldfields: Invincible and Oturehua which are positioned near major deposits such as Oceania’s Macraes mine and Santana’s Bendigo-Ophir discovery.

MEX’s approach is consistent with the mining industry of today where exploration is centred on known areas of historic mining.

New Talisman Gold Mines (NZX code: NTL)

New Talisman Gold (formerly Heritage Gold NZ Limited) holds a mining permit and an exploration permit over the Talisman Gold mine project in the Hauraki Gold Field.

The company recently completed a strategic review following a difficult 2025 where bulk sampling efforts had disappointing results.

Further funding is required to progress a program aimed at converting inferred resources into measured and indicated categories, growing the company’s resource base, and to provide technical information in support of future feasibility studies and planning infrastructure needs.

Survival for the business has relied on multiple capital raisings, such as rights issues, for many years and the recent rights issue raised $1.3 million which was well short of the approximate $7.6 million required to fully implement the strategic plan. I suspect the company holds the record for the highest number of rights issues (8) for an NZX firm.

The company has been listed for almost 40 years and is an example of just how long, and how much capital is required, for a mining endeavour to even aspire to become an economic mine.

Rua Gold (NZX code: RGI)

Rua Gold is an exploration company (15% held by New Zealand investors), focused on two prospective high-grade gold projects with one in Reefton (Auld Creek) and another in the Hauraki goldfield (Glamorgan).

The Company has submitted its application for its Auld Creek Project to be considered under the Fast-Track process as a starter mine in the Reefton Goldfield.

If successful, RGI can then progress towards securing mining permits, resource consents, water use permissions, and wildlife approvals, through the Fast Track Approval process.

RGI acknowledges support of Ngāti Waewae, the Reefton and West Coast communities, and government stakeholders. It noted that OceanaGold helped provide environmental baseline data, which was required for its submission.

Simon Delander, Vice President anticipates a decision on the application for inclusion on the FTA over the coming three months.

The Reefton Project is intended to ultimately include the mining of gold and antimony.

Antimony is on the Critical Minerals list and is used in flame retardants, batteries, and infrared sensors among other uses. If the mine becomes operational it would be an important source of a mineral of increasing geopolitical significance.

Santana Minerals (NZX & ASX code: SMI)

Santana Minerals discovered the most significant single gold deposit in New Zealand in over 40 years at the Bendigo-Ophir project, about 20 km north of Cromwell in Central Otago. 

The company is well-known to our readers and is working through the Fast Track Approval process to gain consent to develop an environmentally responsible, economically sustainable mining project.

The project, if consented, will involve open cast mines and eventually underground mining that will provide up to 300 jobs, produce 120,000 ounces of gold per annum, $6 billion dollars of revenue, and an estimated $1 billion in taxes and royalties over the life of the mine.

This project will be followed closely by the industry due to its prominence and that it is already partway through the consenting process with the expert panel’s decision expected on 29 October.

Taiko Critical Minerals (NZX code: TCM)

Taiko Critical Minerals (formerly known as TiGa Mines and Metas) is focused on mining ilmenite, garnet, zircon, gold and rare earth elements (all on the Critical Minerals list) in the Barryton area of the West Coast.

Resource consent to mine minerals and heavy metals on private farmland at the Barrytown Flats on the West Coast, New Zealand was granted in April 2024.

In October last year TCM was also granted a resource consent for a minerals separation plant at Rapahoe with the new plant intended to process minerals into final value-added products for export.

Its drilling campaign revealed a resource base suggesting a 20 year-plus mine life.

Robert Brand, Tāiko Managing Director, provided the company’s financial model report in mid-March which assumes life of mine revenue of over US$3 billion.

The same announcement noted the company is expected to complete a Definitive Feasibility Study later this year and is finalising its application to be considered under the Fast-Track Approvals Bill.

A recent survey of the global market for the Barrytown Minerals Project ilmenite and garnet products showed growing demand.

Chatham Rock Phosphate (Toronto (TSX-V) code: NZP.V and NZX code: CRP)

Chatham Rock Phosphate first listed in October 2006 initially on the NZAX (the now discontinued NZX Alternative Market for small issuers).

CRP’s ambitions are to supply New Zealand sourced phosphate to the local and international agricultural sector.

Its ultimate aim is to obtain consent for its Chatham Rise initiative where phosphate rich nodules lie on the seafloor 400m below sea level. Plans include effectively vacuum the nodules up and process them on board a ship with unused material dropped back on the seafloor.

The Environmental Protection Authority refused to consent the mining of the Chatham Rise seabed in February 2015 but the company is preparing to apply again for consent in the years ahead.

CEO, Chris Castle is confident that in time the project will make sense to a favourable government and will be permitted but has the difficult and costly task of convincing an authority that the projects merits outweigh the environmental concerns.

The idea of locally extracting phosphate, used in fertiliser, for the farms of New Zealand instead of importing largely from Morocco is still a novel one especially from a supply security perspective.

Admittedly, a New Zealand marine minerals sector still seems a long way off – Manuka Resources, which withdrew its application to mine iron sands off the Taranaki coast seafloor after the Fast Track Approvals panel issued a draft decision to decline its subsidiary TTR’s application in February, did not present at the event.

Jetex

Jetex was a last-minute inclusion at the event. It is not listed.

The US-owned, and Denver based, oil and gas junior has applied for a permit to drill for gas near the Huntly power station in Waikato.

It is seeking to target gas contained deep underground in unmined parts of the Renown and Kupakupa coal seams just north of Huntly (conveniently close to coal-burning Huntly power station).

Jetex applied for a permit for two wells recently, committing to drill them within three years if permitted with hopes of reviving previous Solid Energy coal gas extraction plans in the Waikato region.

Horizontal drilling (or HDD) is planned, which allows for drilling multiple holes from a single rig, significantly reducing environmental impact and surface disruption. The technique is commonly used to steer within the coal seam, creating long, in-seam boreholes that maximize the exposure to gas-bearing coal, increasing production efficiency.

The company is aware that New Zealand production has halved since 2000 with imminent closure anticipated for the giant Maui Field.

The Government has implemented new guidelines effective September 2025 for increased oil and gas permitting but high gas prices have already seen gas reliant companies close. 

Jetex’s plans are a rare sign of activity in the domestic oil and gas exploration industry.

New Zealand mining is conducted under scrutiny and many of the companies in attendance still have considerable work ahead of them.

They face known and unknown challenges before they can extract resources and sell them.

The prices of the minerals can be volatile affecting the financial models the companies have based their projects’ futures on.

Timelines to production can extend from months to years.

Environmental concerns and community resistance can outweigh the projected financial, and other, benefits.

For now, the Fast Track Approval process is seen as an attractive option for explorers to more quickly progress to producers.

I welcome the various companies’ efforts in a country that cannot ignore financial opportunities if it wishes to afford a high standard of living.

There is much more information regarding the projects above available on their respective websites and we encourage seeking advice before considering investing in any of the above listed companies.

Travel

22 April - Auckland (Ellerslie) - Edward Lee

23 April - Auckland (Albany) - Edward Lee

28 April - Wellington - Edward Lee

6 May - Christchurch - Johnny Lee

28 May - Kerikeri - David Colman

29 May - Whangarei - David Colman

9 June – Blenheim - Chris Lee