West Australian gold miner Red 5 isn’t resting on its laurels after listed peer Silver Lake Resources’ sharemarket raid earlier this month. The purchase of an 11 per cent stake by Luke Tonkin’s Silver Lake didn’t just put Red 5 into play, it threw down the gauntlet to Raleigh Finlayson’s Genesis Minerals.

Now, Street Talk can reveal Red 5, whose shares have risen nearly 30 per cent since Silver Lake’s arrival for a market value of $941 million, has drafted in Gresham Partners as defence adviser. It’s a wise move: Finlayson isn’t likely to let a cashed-up Silver Lake swoop on Red 5 without a fight, and recent buying suggests we may see another shareholder notice from the former in coming days.