JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Canadian explorer Orca Gold has unveiled plans to raise $15-million in a nonbrokered private placement to fund ongoing operations at its 70%-owned Block 14 gold project, in Sudan.
The TSX-V-listed junior will place 37.5-million units, comprising one common share and one half share purchase warrant, at $0.40 a unit.
The proceeds will be used to advance the Block 14 gold project, where Orca recently initiated a feasibility study, which is targeted for completion in the first quarter of next year. The feasibility study will include 25 000 m to 30 000 m of drilling towards further expanding the resource at the Galat Sufar South and Wadi Dorum deposits.
Orca said that a recently announced revised preliminary economic assessment (PEA) demonstrated that the current designs of the openpits were restricted from going deeper, owing to a lack of data and the limits of the existing resource model. Drilling beyond the currently designed pit boundaries is expected to increase the resource base at Block 14 and expand the open pits even further.
In parallel with the new drill programme, the feasibility study will also examine the potential of increasing the process throughput of the project beyond 3.4-million tonnes a year.
"This equity financing marks the first time that Orca has raised any significant funds since our reverse takeover of Canaco Resources in April 2013. In a very short period we have advanced Block 14 from an artisanal working to a robust gold project with strong economics and further upside to be determined," commented Orca Gold CEO Richard Clark.
The PEA on Block 14 indicates that the project, at a gold price of $1 200/oz, has an in-pit indicated resource of 1.93-million ounces and inferred resource of 173 000, for an after-tax net present value of $227.7-milion.