A takeover battle for Zenith Minerals, the explorer behind Central Queensland’s Red Mountain gold and Develin Creek copper projects, has reached the federal Takeovers Panel.

The Panel said it had received an application from Ida Metal Investments, a substantial Zenith shareholder, over Forrestania Resources’ recommended bid for the company.

Zenith (ASX: ZNC) is the subject of a recommended off-market scrip bid from Perth-based Forrestania (ASX: FRS), announced on 9 June 2026.

The offer valued Zenith at one Forrestania share for every 4.3 Zenith shares.

Related: Zenith attracts backing for ‘Going for Gold’ strategy

The Panel stressed it had not appointed a sitting panel, made no decision on proceedings, and offered no comment on the application’s merits.

Ida’s central concern was Forrestania’s $300 million acquisition of the Edna May gold mine, announced on 29 June 2026, weeks into the bid.

The applicant submitted the deal was “a transformative transaction that materially altered Forrestania’s capital structure, funding requirements and risk profile”.

Forrestania funded the purchase partly through a $310 million placement priced at 40 cents a share, well below the price underpinning its Zenith offer.

That placement proposed issuing more than one billion new Forrestania shares, lifting its shares on issue by 77 per cent since the bid.

Ida argued Zenith’s board had reaffirmed its recommendation without commissioning an independent expert’s report on the changed value and risk of the offer.

The applicant also questioned Forrestania’s earlier purchase of about 9 per cent of Zenith while bound by a confidentiality deed and standstill.

It raised the award of 22 million performance rights to Zenith directors on 23 March 2026, days before that confidentiality deed was signed.

Ida submitted the contest for control was not occurring in an efficient, competitive and informed market, contrary to the Corporations Act.

The applicant sought orders voiding acceptances lodged on or before 29 June, corrective disclosure, an independent valuation, and cancellation of the directors’ rights.

It also asked that Forrestania’s Zenith shares bought between 31 March and 8 June be vested in the corporate regulator for sale.

Zenith counts among central Queensland’s active explorers, with Develin Creek hosting a copper-zinc-silver resource and Red Mountain a gold discovery in the Auburn Arch.

Ida had earlier backed Zenith’s Red Mountain program, investing $7.65 million to accelerate drilling at the central Queensland gold project.

Zenith released the Takeovers Panel notice to the ASX without comment. The company was contacted for comment.

The Takeovers Panel is Australia’s main forum for resolving disputes about company takeovers. It’s a Commonwealth government body set up under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act.

Its members are part-time appointees drawn mostly from the corporate, legal, investment banking and accounting worlds.