PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold producer Pantoro on Tuesday announced that it would take a 19.9% stake in fellow listed Maximus Resources as part of that company’s plans to raise A$12-million.

Maximus on Tuesday announced that it would place more than 176.4-million shares, at a price of 6.8c each, to raise funds for its gold and nickel exploration and development strategy, in Western Australia.

The share placement will be conducted in two tranches, with the first tranche of more than 12.1-million shares to be placed under Maximus’ existing placement capacity, to raise an initial A$800 000.

The second tranche of more than 164.2-million shares would be subject to shareholder approval.

Pantoro will participate in the share placement as a cornerstone investor.

“We are delighted with the strong support received for the placement, which means Maximus is fully funded to advance our exciting gold and nickel exploration programmes across the Spargoville tenements, with particular focus on our Wattle Dam project,” said Maximus MD Tim Wither.

“We welcome Pantoro as a strategic investor, not just as a cornerstone shareholder, but as a successful high-grade gold producer with a wealth of knowledge and skills to support Maximus’ strategy. We also welcome a number of highly regarded investors as new Maximus shareholders and thank our existing shareholders for their continued support.”

“Both companies recognise the potential synergies between Maximus and Pantoro’s Norseman operations including tenements having similar geological settings. We will actively work together to explore opportunities to maximise the high-grade gold and nickel potential across both our respective tenement packages.”

“The strategic placement and introduction of cornerstone investor Pantoro marks another important milestone for Maximus as we pursue value creation for our shareholders.

Pantoro MD Paul Cmrlec said the company was excited by the opportunity to invest in Maximus Resources.

“Maximus has recently assembled a quality exploration and management team, which has delivered strong gold and nickel results consistently during the past twelve months. Pantoro is confident that Maximus now properly funded will continue its success in definition of substantial resources within its tenements. We look forward to assisting Maximus to achieve its goals, and ultimately realising the synergies that exist between our projects for the benefit of shareholders of both companies.”