Fresh start

Junior gold explorer Kalgoorlie-Boulder Resources has completed a placement of $750,000 by issuing 9,375,000 shares at 8 cents each. The issue, at a discount to its current trading price of 12 cents a share (it had a 1:5 stock split on 22 December), was placed with underwriters Paul Poli and Andy Viner of Matsa Resources.

Matsa was acquired by Kalgoorlie-Boulder in a reverse takeover on December 18. Kaloorlie-Boulder will indeed be changing its name to Matsa Resources as of January 13.

Matsa Resources, which brought to the to the table projects in Western Australia and South East Asia, was issued 80 million shares and 20 million options, expiring 1 July 2011 as part of the acquisition. Poli, a Perth-based accountant and Viner, a geologist and former Jackson Gold managing director, have also joined the board, with former chairman Michael Atkins staying on as a non-executive director. Board members Stanley Lewis, Richard Alter and Trevor Matthews left the company in late December.

Major shareholder RASL AU , based in New York, is selling its share to Poli and Viner.

Poli is the brother of Aquila tycoon Tony Poli, but while other family members are investors in Matsa, the iron baron Tony is not.

The renamed Matsa will press forward with its exploration work in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, but Kalgoorlie's Norseman gold project will remain a key focus.

Kalgoorlie was advised by Montagu Stockbrokers' corporate division in Perth and William Buck Financial Services, which provided an independent expert's report on the takeover.

Matsa lead the reverse acquisition internally, Paul Poli was assisted by lawyers Steinepreis Gregory.