PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Emerald Resources has raised A$27-million through a share placement to fund development activities at its Okvau gold project, in Cambodia.
The company on Thursday said the share placement, priced at 3c a share, will take place in two tranches, with the first tranche consisting of 416.7-million shares to raise an initial A$12.5-million under the company’s existing placement capacity.
The second tranche of 483.3-million shares, to raise A$14.5-million, will be subject to shareholder approval at a December general meeting.
“Despite the challenging short-term market environment, we are delighted with the support received from our current and new institutional shareholders. The support demonstrates the robust nature of the Okvau gold project and the support for the company’s strategy of becoming the first modern large-scale Cambodian gold producer,” said Emerald MD Morgan Hart.
He noted that the funds raised from the placement will be used to start development activities at Okvau, as well as the repayment of unsecured loans, and to fund ongoing working capital requirements and costs of the placement.
In addition to the share placement, Emerald will also undertake a share purchase plan to raise an additional A$3-million.
The Okvau project is expected to require a capital investment of $98-million to develop a two-million-tonne-a-year operation delivering about 106 000 oz of gold, over an initial mine life of seven years.