PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Galaxy Resources’ share price tumbled by nearly 60% on Tuesday as the company resumed trading for the first time since April.

Galaxy announced to shareholders that it had raised some A$17.2-million under its one-for-one pro-rata entitlement offer, and the shortfall was 43% above the minimum required under the raising.

The proceeds from the raising would be used to partially repay debt from Chinese lenders, as well as fund working capital for the Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant and the Sal de Vida project, in Argentina.

Interim MD Anthony Tse said that the company was pleased to have received strong shareholder support to date, and added that the strengthened balance sheet would allow Galaxy to implement a range of strategic initiatives and manage its finances to progress operations.

“We believe that the successful raising, together with ongoing balance sheet initiatives will allow the company to focus on its operations and production ramp-up. Moreover, we remain firmly committed to our strategy of becoming a significant global lithium producer,” said Tse.

The entitlement offer, which was launched in May, was initially aimed at raising some A$47-million and was undertaken to replace the lost A$66.2-million investment from the East China Mineral Exploration & Development Bureau, which was lost following a November incident at the Jiangsu plant that claimed the lives of two workers.

Galaxy said on Tuesday that it would now focus on accelerating the ramp-up to full production at Jiangsu, with the project remaining a core asset for the company.

Meanwhile, Galaxy was looking to reduce its corporate spend in 2013 from A$17.6-million to some A$12.2-million, and would cut a further A$7-million over 2014.

The lithium miner has also flagged the potential sale of its noncore assets, adding that it was undertaking a number of financial and operational restructuring initiatives to reduce costs and debt.

Galaxy shares were trading at a low of A$0.073 on Tuesday, down from a high of A$0.10.