Independence is now valued at more than $420 million, compared to a recently reported net profit after tax of $35 million and cash flow from operating activities of $44.3 million.

In a corporatefile interview this week, Independence managing director Chris Bonwick said the new Tropicana gold find being assessed by AngloGold Ashanti (and in which Independence has a 30% stake), could, if shown to be economic, “dramatically increase our free cash flow and profitability in future years” – in combination with the Long nickel operations.

Elsewhere in the interview, Bonwick indicated the new McLeay nickel find at Long could add 20,000t of contained nickel (in addition to the 13,200t of reserves already defined), with the company currently having nearly 47,000t of reserves in total.

Independence is forecasting flat production of around 8600-8800t of contained nickel in the current year, with cash costs rising from $3.75 per pound to $3.90-4.10/lb. Under an offtake agreement with BHP Billiton, around one-third of production is attributed to BHPB.

Shares in Independence were up nearly 7% at $4.01 in midday trade, after earlier reaching $4.09.

Independence will be among the companies presenting at the Excellence in
Mining and Exploration conference, to be held at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney
on 8-10 October. Click here to
find out more about the conference.