Raising funds across the Boards
THE FUND RAISER: Plenty of action this week on the junior exploration fund raising scene.
Oversubscribed Placement Raises $4.5 million
Rampart Energy (ASX: RTD) has raised approximately $4.5million (gross) through the placement of 90 million new shares to domestic and international institutions and sophisticated/professional investors.
The Placement is priced at 5 cents per share, a 7 per cent discount to the last close before the Placement.
The funds will be used towards the remaining payment for Rampart’s share of the Big Bend 3D seismic program (currently in progress) as well as for working capital purposes, including potential North Slope acreage acquisitions.
“We are delighted with the strong support shown for the Placement, particularly as it includes a significant number of new retail and Australian based institutional investors,” Rampart Energy managing director Torey Marshall said.
“I believe that the oversubscription is a very positive market signal on our ability to deliver, given the recent confirmation of our ACES funding facility.
“We will now seek with these additional funds to further our ongoing efforts to deliver success and value from Rampart’s North Slope acreage.”
$10 million Share Placement
Orbis Gold (ASX: OBS) has raised $10.02 million (before costs) via a placement of shares to Australian and North‐American‐based institutions and sophisticated investors.
The funds raised, together with existing cash reserves, will primarily be used to advance the company’s portfolio of gold projects in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
The Placement funds will facilitate:
Completion of resource drilling at Natougou with the aim of updating the current Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated Mineral Resources, allowing for update of pit shells and re‐optimisation of mining schedules;
Exploration for extensions to the high-grade Natougou deposit;
Acceleration of development studies at Natougou focussed on a large‐scale open pit gold mine; and
Exploration drilling on advanced‐stage exploration targets at the Bantou project, western Burkina Faso, where there is potential for multiple large‐scale gold discoveries.
Agreement for US$4 million working capital facility
Emerging ferrotungsten producer Hazelwood Resources (ASX: HAZ) has signed a term sheet for a US$4 million working capital loan facility with investment vehicle, Siderian Resource Capital Limited, which is backed by specialty minerals and metals trading house Wogen.
The Working Capital Facility is premised on the shared view of Hazelwood and Siderian that an additional $US4 million will help to provide the necessary working capital to allow Hazelwood to continue the ramp up of production and distribution of ferrotungsten to a targeted level of 1,500 tonnes in CY2014.
Since commissioning the Vietnam-based ATC ferrotungsten project in April 2013, Hazelwood has completed three successful production campaigns.
More than 500 tonnes of the tungsten master alloy has been shipped during this initial ramp-up phase, representing approximately $20 million of sales revenue.
The premium quality end product has been sold to steelmakers and foundries globally via specialty metals trader Wogen.
Raising $28 million
Troy Resources (ASX: TRY) has announced a capital raising of up to approximately
$28 million via an ordinary share Placement to institutional and sophisticated investors, and following that a share purchase plan to eligible shareholders to raise up to an additional $10 million.
The Placement comprises an issue of up to approximately 22.29 million ordinary shares at a fixed price of $1.25 per share.
The proceeds of the Placement together with the SPP will be used to advance development of Troy’s West Omai project in Guyana.
The Capital Raising proceeds will also enable Troy to commence brownfields exploration at both its West Omai and Casposo projects and provide additional working capital.
Raises $1.5 million for Fraser Range drilling
Ram Resources (ASX: RMR) has reached agreement to raise $1.5 million to fund exploration at its two key projects in Wetsren Australia’s Fraser Range belt.
The raising will be via the issue of up to approximately 187.5 million shares at 0.8 cents per share, together with a free one-for-two attaching option exercisable at 2.5 cents.
The proceeds of the Placement and SPP will be used to undertake the next phase of exploration across Ram’s Fraser Range project, which is located 20 kilometres west of Sirius’ Nova deposit, and to progress exploration on Ram’s recently-secured Fraser Range North project.
“The capital raising means we can immediately pursue the high-priority anomalies we have already identified and continue to systematically identify and qualify further prospects, giving investors exposure to an aggressive exploration program in a belt already known to host major deposits,” Ram Resources managing director Bill Guy said.
Completion of $5 million Placement
Reward Minerals (ASX: RWD) has completed a placement to raise $5 million before costs, resulting in the company having a cash position of over $8 million to fund upcoming activities.
The placement will provide funds to accelerate Potash exploration drilling over the company’s new tenement holdings (Karly/Lake Dora) and to finalise scoping studies and permitting processes related to the Lake Disappointment project.
The company is close to completion of heritage surveys on the expanded Lake Disappointment and Lake Dora West tenements, which will allow drilling program to begin.
The drilling program will focus on conductive (EM) palaeovalley targets aimed at establishing potash brine resources amenable to the production of sulphate of potash.