Red Hill Iron's transformation from a gold and base metals miner into predominantly an iron ore miner was greeted enthusiastically by investors yesterday, on its first day as a listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The stock opened at 42¢, more than double its 20¢ issue price, and raced to a high of 50¢ before closing at 47¢. Trading was heavy with more than 1.45 million shares (4.4 per cent of the shares on issue) changing hands.