Aim-listed investment company Kazera Global has raised £1-million, before expenses, through placing 100-million new ordinary shares at a price of 1p apiece with new and existing investors, representing a 5% premium to the closing price on June 4.

Kazera invests in South Africa-based diamond and heavy mineral sands projects, as well as Namibia-based tantalum and tantalite projects.

Simultaneously with the placing, Kazera’s largest shareholder Align Research has agreed to convert £111 315 worth of debt owed by Kazera into 11.13-million new ordinary shares at the issue price.

In addition, Kazera CEO Dennis Edmonds will subscribe for five-million new ordinary shares through converting his accrued salary into ordinary shares at the issue price.

As such, Kazera will issue 116.13-million new ordinary shares, following the placing and allocation to Align Research and Edmonds.

He says the oversubscribed funding, supported largely by existing shareholders, takes Kazera Global “firmly” into the next stage of its development.

“Not only will this substantial raise enable [Kazera] to accelerate its route to becoming cash flow positive and self-sustaining, it also puts it into a position of strength when dealing with those third parties who have expressed an interest in our, as yet, unexploited lithium and nickel resources,” says Edmonds.

These new ordinary shares will be issued out of the authorities granted to the directors at Kazera’s most recent annual general meeting.

The proceeds from the placing will be used to accelerate the production of Kazera’s tantalum resource.

In addition, in light of recent expressions of interest from corporate third parties into both Kazera’s lithium and nickel deposits, the company will also use the proceeds to undertake further exploration in the immediate term into these two, previously underexplored resources.

The funding will also enable Kazera to continue to explore other complementary and opportunistic acquisitions in the battery and rare earths metals space.

Further, Kazera has also issued warrants, with one warrant being attached to each new ordinary share issued following the placing and allocation to Align Research and Edmonds and exercisable at the issue price on or before May 31, 2023.

In the event that Kazera ordinary shares trade at or above 1.5p on a volume-weighted average price basis for a minimum of 20 days during the life of the warrants and the aggregate traded volume during this period is in excess of 50-million ordinary shares, Kazera has the right to call upon the holders of warrants to exercise their warrants in full. Failing to do so will result in such warrants being immediately cancelled.

Kazera’s Tantalite Valley mine, in Namibia, covers “exceptional acreage” with the presence of these key metals that are at the forefront of the electrification of the global economy, he says.

“Given the supply:demand dynamics of lithium in particular, I am very optimistic that our plans to develop these further will be materially value-enhancing for shareholders. My optimism for the remainder of 2022 as we continue to wait for a resolution to the delayed heavy mineral sands licence application grows by the day. This is an exciting time for Kazera,” concludes Edmonds.