PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold developer Blackham Resources has raised A$20.3-million through a share placement to fund its 4.7-million-ounce Matilda gold project, in Western Australia.

The shares have been placed under the company’s 15% placement capacity and would be priced at 45c each, representing a 9.9% discount on the company’s 15-day volume weighted average price.

“Blackham is pleased with the strong support received for the placement,” MD Bryan Dixon said on Monday.

“The funding allows the plant refurbishment to be fast-tracked at the Matilda gold project and delivers additional financial strength and flexibility to Blackham.

A prefeasibility study in late 2015 found that the Matilda mine would require a capital investment of A$28-million to deliver an average 98 000 oz/y over a mine life of nearly five years, at a life-of-mine C1 cash cost of A$920/oz.

It was expected that the project would make use of mining contractors and would employ openpit operations for the Matilda, Williamson and Galaxy deposits, while two underground mines have also been designed for the Wiluna deposit.

Proceeds from the placement would be used to immediately start the refurbishment of the Wiluna gold plant, which would allow for gold production to start in the third quarter of this year.

Funding would also be used to fast-track reserve and exploration drilling, as well as for additional working capital.

“To date, Blackham has focused its efforts on reworking known resources from or adjacent to existing openpit and underground workings within the Matilda and Wiluna goldfields.

“Blackham has only just begun to unlock the geological potential of the Matilda, Quartz reefs and Lake Way extensions and regional prospects. We will continue to strengthen and lengthen our reserves as well as ramp up our search for game-changing discoveries in a gold project with a nine-million-ounce gold endowment,” said Dixon.