JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner Metorex has raised about R258-million by issuing about 129,5-million shares, as part of a larger capital raising plan to cover cost overruns at its flagship mine.

The JSE-listed Metorex has announced a R922-million debt and equity finance plan to complete the production and ramp up of its Ruashi copper/cobalt project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Metorex plans raise R744-million by selling 372-million shares at R2 apiece, and has arranged for a R178-million bridging finance loan from Standard Bank. The miner also restructured about R2-billion of its medium-term debt.

The company would seek approval from its shareholders to issue more shares on December 23, it said in a JSE announcement.

Metorex would use the funds to cover cost overruns at Ruashi, and because a longer-than-expected construction time at the project had meant that the firm had not generated the cash flow it had planned for.

Metorex said that it still needed R700-million to finance the cash flows required to complete the project and ramp up to full production.

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