JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Tiger Resources has announced a share placement to “professional, sophisticated and other exempt investors” at an issue price of A$0.34 apiece in a bid to raise some A$20-million.

In addition to the placement, Tiger had sourced a $25-million offtake prepayment facility, having signed a nonbinding term sheet, which it expected to finalise in the coming weeks.

About $21-million of the proceeds of the placement and prepayment facility would be used to implement discretionary early works capital expenditure (capex) for Phase II and Phase III of the planned expansion programme at Tiger’s 60%-owned Kipoi copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Tiger said in a statement on Friday that it had decided to bring forward a number of capex items currently budgeted in Phase II and Phase III of the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) expansion programme.

These items included an upgrade to the power distribution network and site works for the installation of 30 MVA electrical transformers, the early development of heap leach pads 2, 3 and 4, and the installation of a conveyor and stacker system to replace the current 800 m truck haulage requirement of ore to the heap leach operation.

These initiatives were expected to materially reduce unit operating costs in Phase I, as well as facilitate the implementation of the Phase II and Phase III expansion.

In addition, some $10-million of the raised funds would be extended as a loan to Société de Exploitation de Kipoi, a 60% subsidiary of Tiger and the operator of Kipoi, to settle the DRC government’s 5% interest in the Kipoi project.

The balance of funds would be used to provide the company with “additional working capital flexibility” to provide adequate reserves against any unforeseen delays or costs during the SX-EW ramp-up.