Gold Road’s strategic grip on Australia’s best undeveloped gold project will loosen after the acquisitive company subscribed for only a portion of the new De Grey Mining shares it is entitled to.

De Grey is raising $600 million to accelerate development of its Hemi gold project in Western Australia, which will rank among Australia’s top five gold mines by volume if built to plan. The De Grey raising shaped as a sliding doors moment for Gold Road’s long-held takeover ambitions, which had previously seen it acquire 19.9 per cent of the pre-revenue developer, which now has a market capitalisation of $2.3 billion.