PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Queensland Pacific Metals has completed a A$15-million capital raising through share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors.

The company on Monday told shareholders that it has placed more than 187.5-million shares, at a price of 8c each, with the shares to be placed under the company’s existing capacity.

Funds raised will be used to complete a definitive feasibility study on Queensland Pacific’s TECH metals project, in Queensland, along with regulatory approvals, and to fund corporate costs and working capital.

The company on Monday said that it would also open a share purchase plan, at the same price, to raise a further A$3-million.

Shareholders would be allowed to subscribe for up to A$30 000 worth of additional shares in Queensland Pacific.

“We are delighted to raise sufficient funding to complete the definitive feasibility study for the TECH project. This allows the Queensland Pacific team to focus on deliver this key study that will underpin the viability of the project and allow us to procure financing for the construction,” said CEO Stephen Grocott.

Queensland Pacific recently produced the first batch of nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate from its TECH pilot project, demonstrating the project’s flowsheet.

A 2019 prefeasibility study estimated that for the TECH project would produce some 26 393 t/y of nickel sulphide, 3 097 t/y of cobalt sulphide, 327 556 t/y of hematite, 20 079 t/y of magnesium and 9 920 t/y of aluminium oxide, with construction costs estimated at some $300-million.

The TECH project is expected to have a mine life of some 30 years.

A subsequent scoping study into the production of high-purity alumina (HPA) as a co-product demonstrated that an aluminium hydroxide co-product could be upgraded to produce a high value HPA.

The HPA scoping study assessed the production of HPA on a stand-alone basis, using aluminium hydroxide as a feedstock, and estimated that over plant design life of 25 years, the TECH operation could produce 4 007 t/y of final HPA product, at a recovery rate of 77.4%.

Capital cost for the HPA plant have been estimated at $59.8-million.