Can Ordell Minerals (ASX: ORD) turn its 82% yearly loss around with Barimaia’s maiden resource in 2025?

Ordell Minerals Limited (ASX: ORD) has intensified efforts to revive market confidence after raising A$3.85 million through a share placement aimed at accelerating exploration at its flagship Barimaia Gold Project in Western Australia. The capital raise, announced in mid-July 2025, comes at a time when the explorer is grappling with an 82.5% one-year share price decline, a steep fall that has pushed the stock into high-risk, high-reward territory for investors.

The placement was backed by both existing and new institutional investors, with 11.32 million new shares issued at A$0.34 per share. This price represents an 18.1% discount to Ordell’s last closing price before the announcement and a 9.6% discount to its 15-day volume-weighted average price. Settlement of the shares is expected by late July, giving Ordell the liquidity needed to sustain a busy drilling schedule across its Western Australian gold assets.

How could Ordell Minerals’ Barimaia drilling and maiden resource estimate influence its re-rating potential in 2025?

The capital injection is designed to fast-track drilling at Barimaia, where Ordell is targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate later this year. The explorer also plans first-pass drilling at the Goodia and Fisher South prospects and initial metallurgical test work, which analysts believe will be critical for establishing early-stage economic potential.

Recent drilling at Barimaia’s McNabs East prospect has returned promising shallow intersections, including 14m at 1.36 grams per tonne of gold from 10m, 21m at 0.69 grams per tonne from 33m (including 6m at 1.22 grams per tonne), and 5m at 1.38 grams per tonne from 37m. These results confirm open-pit potential and extend mineralisation across the western side of McNabs East. Pending diamond drilling assays, expected in August, could further improve confidence in the deposit’s scalability.

The Barimaia intrusion is now interpreted to extend more than seven kilometres, making it one of the more significant intrusion-hosted systems in the Murchison district. The project’s geology has drawn comparisons with Ramelius Resources’ Eridanus deposit, which has a current mineral resource of 1.2 million ounces of contained gold. Such analogies, combined with Barimaia’s proximity to Ramelius’ Mt Magnet mill, have prompted speculation that Ordell could emerge as a joint venture or takeover target if it delivers a substantial maiden resource.

Industry observers note that mid-tier gold producers are increasingly targeting brownfield expansion projects in Western Australia as head grades decline across older operations. Barimaia’s location in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction and its access to established processing infrastructure make it strategically attractive. However, market sentiment suggests that Ordell must deliver clear metallurgical test work, high-confidence resource classification, and a pathway to economic studies before larger producers or institutional investors assign it a development-stage valuation.

Institutional interest in the placement shows cautious optimism. While the discounted raise provides immediate working capital, investors remain focused on upcoming drilling milestones. Market watchers believe the stock’s re-rating potential depends heavily on the quality of diamond drilling results and the maiden resource estimate’s scale.

What could drive Ordell Minerals’ share price momentum in the months ahead?

The next six months will be crucial for Ordell as it seeks to stabilise its share price and regain investor confidence. Analysts believe that strong assay results, combined with a resource estimate that confirms open-pit, near-surface potential, could trigger renewed institutional buying. Success at Barimaia might also help reposition Ordell from a pure explorer to a brownfield development candidate, a shift that typically attracts greater market attention and more stable institutional backing.

However, until resource ounces are confirmed and early-stage economic indicators are available, Ordell will remain highly leveraged to exploration success. News flow from ongoing drilling campaigns will likely dictate short-term share price movements, with volatility expected as results are released. If the maiden resource estimate meets or exceeds market expectations, Ordell could quickly re-enter the radar of larger regional producers looking to consolidate scalable gold assets in the Murchison.