Appointed: Brendan Borg Now BUS MD
Proven small-cap success story Brendan Borg takes the reins at Victorian gold explorer BUS. We dive into his credentials and what it could mean for this tiny $7m company
Bubalus Resources (ASX: BUS) just added serious firepower to its Victorian gold hunt, appointing renowned geologist Brendan Borg as Managing Director.
BUS, the tiny explorer searching for high-grade gold in Victoria, has cemented itself as a must-watch stock for ASX small-cap enthusiasts.
Brendan brings exploration success as a geologist and the rare experience of taking projects from a patch of dirt to a producing mine.
His resume speaks volumes - one company up nearly 1000% in twelve months, another taken from discovery through to production in West Africa.
We dare say there is no other 13c, $7 million valued company with a Managing Director of Brendan's calibre.
For those following our December investment, we now have the perfect storm: a drill-ready, permit-in-hand company targeting gold during a bull run, in a tier-one location known for success. All while being led by a proven small-cap success story director.
This has the potential to turn from small-cap to something much bigger very quickly.
The Success Of Brendan Borg
To understand why landing Brendan at Bubalus matters, let's look at his track record in junior explorers.
Back in 2017, Brendan took the reins as Managing Director at Celsius Resources, a small cobalt explorer in Namibia. Up until that point in time, Celsius was a junior explorer with a small valuation that hadn't had much success.
Within twelve months, Brendan took Celsius Resources from 2.8c a share to 24.5c a share, an increase of 875%, all on the back of his exploration success.
Celsius went from a small-cap to a near $200 million valuation on the back of cobalt drilling success. An incredible feat for any junior explorer.
But that's only half the story.
In late 2018, Brendan joined the board of Birimian Ltd, a small lithium hopeful in Mali.
Fast forward to today, Birimian, renamed Leo Lithium (ASX: LLL), took that small deposit and drilled it out extensively to over 260 million tonnes of high-grade lithium, making it a top 5 hard rock lithium deposit globally.
Brendan was there at every stage: extensive drilling to build a 260-million-tonne resource, feasibility studies, JV partnerships, and construction of a mine employing over 2,000 workers.
The journey culminated in Q4 2024 with production of its first lithium concentrate, followed by a full sale to global lithium giant Ganfeng Lithium.
Brendan was a board member from early exploration all the way through to mine sale.
Past success doesn't guarantee future results, but Brendan's eye for value is hard to ignore and gives us further confidence in BUS.
Time To Back up the BUS?
Our team analyses companies every week, and BUS has all the hallmarks of what we look for in a junior success story: prime location, strong geology, and now, proven leadership.
It could help explain why such a credentialed director would take the top job at a tiny explorer.
With drilling set to start in Q2, BUS could follow a similar path to Celsius - rapid share price appreciation on exploration success.
The beauty of BUS is this isn't drilling for cobalt in Africa or producing lithium in Mali.
This is gold exploration in Victoria, Australia. A commodity that's been on a tear for over twelve months, with many analysts expecting the run to continue through 2025.
(If you want to dig more into our investment case read this)
JP Morgan, the world's largest investment bank, sees gold hitting USD$3,150/oz by year-end - another 16% increase from current levels following 2024's 26% rise.
The timing for gold investors looks perfect. With global debt at record highs, trouble in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, US-China friction, and economic uncertainty, gold's appeal has rarely been stronger.
"The newly optioned Victorian Gold Projects appealed to me as a high-quality exploration opportunity to augment the company's existing project portfolio. The low initial valuation and targets that are ready to drill present a compelling investment case in the current high gold price environment."
- Bubalus Managing Director Brendan Borg
Region With Remarkable Success
Bubalus’ tenements sit strategically between two of the highest-grade producing gold mines in the country, in a region known for remarkable success.
The geological work at their Crosbie target shows striking similarities to Fosterville, a 4.5-million-ounce deposit at 4.3 g/t gold only a stone's throw away.
Early signs here have shown exciting signs for gold exploration - exposed granite linked to underground chargeability anomalies and quartz vein systems that mirror the geological setting of Fosterville.
On the other side sits Mandalay Resources' Costerfield, Australia's second-highest-grade gold mine at 9.8 g/t, which also produces antimony. With Chinese export restrictions driving a 400% increase in antimony prices, this could be a valuable bonus to any gold discovery.
Nearby, Southern Cross Gold (ASX: SXG), which was listed on the ASX in 2022 at 20c, now trades at $3.50 after having gold drilling success. SXG will likely be a takeover target and is now valued at close to $1 billion.
In the midst of all this is S2 Resources (ASX: S2R), a junior gold explorer valued at nearly $50 million, led by Mark Bennett, the man who discovered the Nova Nickel deposit in WA and saw it sold for $1.8 billion.
The brightest minds in mining are flocking to Victorian gold for good reason - the success rate here is hard to ignore.
Meanwhile, BUS sits at 13c with a tiny $7 million valuation. With drilling scheduled for Q2, we won't have to wait long to see if they can replicate the success of their neighbours.
With Brendan Borg in charge and BUS drilling soon, any success that replicates that of others in the region could have the share price multiply many times.
