PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Phosphate developer Aguia Resources has raised A$8.5-million through a share placement to fund the completion of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) at its Tres Estradas project, in Brazil.
Aguia issued some 85-million fully paid ordinary shares to institutional and sophisticated investors, at 10c each, to raise the funds.
“We are grateful for the strong support received for this placement and are delighted to welcome a number of new institutional investors to our register that recognise the value that can be unlocked from Tres Estradas,” said Aguia MD Justin Reid.
“The strong demand from investors is a testament to the quality of the asset.”
The proceeds will be used to complete an infill drilling programme at Tres Estradas to start immediately, in order to convert inferred mineral resource to measured and indicated category for the BFS, to fully commission all engineering and appoint a lead third party to oversee the BFS to completion, as well as to undertake exploration of recently optioned projects adjacent to Tres Estradas.
“Aguia now has the necessary funding to carry us through to the BFS and we are continuing with an active works programme to achieve this critical milestone as soon as possible,” Reid said.
“We are well into the project development phase for Tres Estradas, and our immediate priority is to commence infill drilling at the project with rigs mobilised in the coming weeks.”
The project currently has the potential capacity to support 500 000 t/y of single super phosphate, along with some 630 000 t/y of calcite by-product.