IGO is now Australia's only diversified mid-tier mininghouse with four operations spanning nickel, copper, zinc and gold.

While gold was previously strong and base metals weak,the reverse is starting to occur.

"The reason we like being a diversified business isthat it reduces our exposure to any single commodity," IGO managing director Peter Bradford said on a media site visit to Nova yesterday.

"It provides a natural hedge."

Bradford denies the company missed out on the "gold premium" this year, arguing that when sentiment turned away from gold asit has done in recent weeks, IGO doesn't tend to fall by as much as its pure-play gold peers.

"You may not be the best performer, but you'rethe most consistent performer over time," he said.

The tier one Nova nickel-copper mine has just come online, heavily weighting IGO's portfolio to the nickel side.

Bradford said IGO did not want to be a nickel company.

"We liked the look of IGO prior to the Sirius transaction, and that's what we'd like to get back to," he said.

The ideal mix for IGO is 50% base metals and 50% gold.

So any new opportunities for the company would likely be in gold, but possibly copper or zinc.

IGO did look at MMG's Golden Grove zinc-copper mine, but is no longer in the running for it.

"Nothing stands out currently, but we'll continue the search," Bradford said.

He added that zinc was hard to find and copper was a very competitive space.

Having two long-life projects in Nova and Tropicana means there is no rush.

"We're not compelled to act today - we can take our time to find the right opportunity for IGO," Bradford said.

All of IGO's operations are within 300km of Kalgoorlie, but Bradford admits the company may outgrow that region.

"We may have to look outside the swimming pool," he said.

"Another jurisdiction could be the Northern Territory. Just as equally, a second hub could be overseas."

In the NT, IGO has the Lake Mackay joint venture with ABM Resources.

"Lake Mackay is an interesting beast," Bradford said.

Completing geochemical work over just 7% of the ground generated four strong targets.

"The first two we drilled hit ore-grade mineralisation," Bradford said.

"Whether or not either of them become a mine is irrelevant. We've demonstrated the system is fertile and motivates us to keep going."

IGO shares gained 1c to $4.18 yesterday.

On Tuesday: a more in-depth look at Nova, Australia's newest mine. Kristie Batten travelled to Nova as a guest of IGO.