Nusantara Resources made its debut under the ticker code NUS after raising A$16.2 milllion in its initial public offering.

The IPO included cornerstone investments by Lion Selection Group ($4.5 million), AustralianSuper ($3.9 million) and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed gold producer Zhaojin Mining Industry Company ($1.5 million).

IPO shares were priced at 42c, and the stock, though thinly traded, closed at 43c after peaking at 45c.

The company and its flagship Awak Mas project in Indonesia was demerged from Lion Selection-backed unlisted company One Asia Resources.

Awak Mas was discovered in 1988 and has a 1.74 million ounce resource.

Melbourne-based Nusantara owns the project 100% via a seventh generation contract of work with the Indonesian government.

The aim of the company is to grow the resource and advance the project to production via a large-scale open pit producing at a rate of around 2.5 million tonnes per annum over at least 10 years.

Nusantara has received environmental approval for the project and the CoW has been advanced to the three-year construction phase.

The Nusantara board features former Sandfire Resources chief operating officer Mike Spreadborough as managing director and former Gold Road Resources director Martin Pyle as chairman, along with Rob Hogarth and Boyke Abidin.

“We are excited by this strong start to our journey as a listed company today and look forward to delivering a steady flow of news about or exploration and development initiatives over coming months,” Spreadborough said.

“Our resource infill and extension drilling program commencing in August offers the potential to significantly increase the resource base at Awak Mas, in advance of updated mineral resource and ore reserve estimates, scheduled for early 2018, followed by the DFS in mid-2018.”