TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Romarco Minerals, which owns the Haile gold mine in South Carolina, on Tuesday said it would raise $80-million from selling new shares, sending its stock down 4% on the TSX.

The company appointed National Bank Financial and BMO Capital Markets to lead a syndicate of underwriters, which will buy 70-million shares for $1.15 apiece.

Romarco had gained over 20% on Monday after it said the US Army Corps of Engineers had appointed Cardno Entrix to do an environmental study on the Haile mine, which has run into opposition.

The share slid to C$1.15 by 10:51 on Tuesday.

The Toronto-based company said it would use the proceeds of the bought deal offering, expected to close by October 19, to develop the mine and for general corporate purposes.

In July, the US Army Corps of Engineers requested a full-blown environmental-impact-statement process for Haile, rather than the simpler environmental assessment, which will delay the development of the mine by an estimated 12 months, CEO Diane Garrett said at the time.

The Haile project is expected to cost $275-million, with production averaging 150 000 oz/y in the first five years, at cash costs of $347/oz.
 

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