PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths developer Arafura Resources will raise A$11.5-million through a one-for-four non-renounceable entitlement offer, to progress the development of its Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project, in the Northern Territory.
The company said that some 143.9-million new shares will be issued at a price of 8c each, to raise the funds.
The capital raise will be conducted in two tranches, with the first consisting of an institutional entitlement offer conducted between August 13 and 14, while the second tranche will consist of a retail entitlement offer, opening on August 20.
Arafura said on Friday that funds raised would be used to progress the development of the Nolans project, by carrying out technology, engineering and piloting activities required to progress the project towards a definitive feasibility study, and to enable project execution readiness, as well as for general working capital.
Nolans was recently granted federal environmental approval.
Final project construction and operating approvals will be obtained once the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Resources issues a mining authorisation and approves the activities of the mining management plan.
The project is expected to have a maximum mining rate of five-million tonnes a year for the majority of the mine life, with steady-state beneficiation plant feed rate estimated at 525 000 t/y for the first 11 years of operation.