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Few candidates have the muscle behind them that has propelled Russia’s disreputable Rosneft to a £39 billion price tag on the London Stock Exchange. But more modest and legitimate players are still preparing to  take the plunge.

South African entrepreneur Terry McConnachie has raised £12 million on AIM at 30p for Aussie-listed chrome and platinum tailing and mine development hopeful Sylvania Resources, now still worth a modest gamble at 38p. Michael Hudson, boss of Mawson Resources, a Toronto Venture Exchange-quoted pursuer of gold and uranium projects in Scandinavia, is thought to be considering a similar London move.

Mawson, trading at the equivalent of 73p on the TVX, claims high-grade gold deposits in Sweden and has lately been enthusing about a potential Swedish uranium deposit of two million lbs – worth a gross £44 million at current prices – at Klappibracken. Mawson acquired the property in late 2005, when uranium prices were well below today’s levels.

If Mawson decided to tap AIM, it might be a candidate for investment by Geiger Counter, Rio Tinto veteran Terrance Ward’s uranium-focused investment group which recently raised £12 million at 50p on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange. So conceivably could another AIM uranium spec, UMC Energy, whose depressed shares have rallied to 27p as it negotiates to acquire 80 per cent of a Madagascan concern with eight local uranium exploration permits.

Rowan backing coal float

Young entrepreneur Conrad Wyndham is also considering a float, this time on PLUS Markets (formerly Ofex) for a new coal venture, Oracle, with the backing of Beowulf Mining chief Dr Bob Young and ubiquitous small resource company investor Bruce Rowan. Wyndham is a director of Rowan’s entrepreneurial investment vehicle All Star Minerals, itself available for punters on PLUS Markets at 2.62p. All Star is thought likely to support a small sub-£1 million issue for Oracle, which wants to identify coal deposits in Pakistan to feed that region’s strong demand for electricity generation.

RAB Capital now has 16 per cent of All Star, which could add spice to the Oracle project. Market watchers suggest small company investment concern St Helen’s Capital, where Wyndham is dubbed ‘the boy wonder’, might be interested in handling a PLUS Markets float for the company, whose longer-term goal could be a move
to AIM.

It could well be rewarding. But try not to be there when the music stops.

Resource cheer for Cluff

West African prospector Cluff Gold has risen 22 per cent to 77p on AIM since Growth Company Investor’s last issue, which discussed potential diamond ploys for the company and its partner Ronald Winston. We also mentioned Cluff’s bullishness about its Angovia gold project in Cote d’Ivoire.

Since then, drilling has unearthed a new ore body at Angovia, with intersections of 6.23 grammes of gold per tonne of ore along 19 metres and 3.39 grammes a tonne along 20 metres. Individual intersections have shown grades of more than 40 grammes
a tonne.

Cluff, which had previously estimated a potential gold resource of 900,000 oz at Angovia, now says there is potential for the resource to ‘increase significantly’ when all the new data is assimilated. Hold on.

Sounding out Indonesia

AIM-listed Sound Oil will drill soon at its Indonesian gas prospects in Java and Kalamantan. With £10 million cash, Sound raised £11.7 million at 7.25p and bought local group Mitra by issuing £16.2 million in shares to Mitra’s founders, including Ilham Habibie, son of ex-President BJ Habibie, protégé of erstwhile despot Suharto. The shares are a punt at 5.63p.