PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior miner MinQuest has raised some A$2.29-million through a share issue and convertible loan facility to progress the acquisition of the Wolverine zinc project, in Canada.
The convertible notes would be issued to US investment firm Magna and would yield some A$1.35-million, while the issue of 37.4-million shares, at a price of 2.5c each, would raise the balance of the funding.
“The success of the capital raising demonstrates the depth of investor interest in our emerging plans for Wolverine and Fyre Lake. The successful redevelopment of these projects is an exciting step for MinQuest and its shareholders and will provide significant economic benefits for the people and businesses of the Yukon,” said MinQuest MD Jeremy Read.
MinQuest in July announced it would acquire the Wolverine zinc mine, with plans to use the existing processing and tailings management facilities at the mine to fast-track the development of the Fyre Lake copper project.
Commercial production at Wolverine started in 2012, with full design capacity of 750 000 t/y achieved in the first quarter of 2013. The mine was, however, placed on care and maintenance in January, as owner Yukon Zinc faced some financial difficulty.
MinQuest has been selected as the preferred bidder for the mine and a court hearing has been scheduled for August 14, at which time the court would determine if the MinQuest offer had been approved or whether an alternative restructuring proposal for creditors of Yukon Zinc would be preferred.
ASX-listed MinQuest noted that discussions with potential financiers regarding finance for the proposed acquisition were ongoing.