Southern Palladium secures A$8m to fast-track Bengwenyama mine development
Image: AFP
Southern Palladium said on Thursday it had raised A$8 million (R93m) in a share placement to accelerate development of its Bengwenyama platinum group metals (PGM) project in South Africa.
The company issued 16 million new shares at A$0.50 apiece, matching its last closing price on June 6 and representing a 10.5% premium to its 10-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP). No options were attached to the placement.
One of the company's largest shareholders provided A$4.6m as a cornerstone investment, with the remainder backed by new and existing institutional investors.
Southern Palladium said the funds would support the next phase of its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and staged mine development at Bengwenyama, following recent environmental approval for a Mining Right.
"This strategic placement provides the group with targeted funding support at an important juncture as we execute on the transition of Bengwenyama, a tier-one PGM project globally, towards staged mine development,' executive chairman Roger Baxter said in a statement. "In particular, we are pleased to have attracted such strong support from our existing institutional investors, led by a cornerstone investment from one of our largest shareholders, while also attracting new institutional investment - marking a vote of confidence for both the quality of the resource and our stated development strategy for the Bengwenyama PGM project"
The company plans to publish an optimised Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) shortly, incorporating a two-stage development strategy aimed at reducing initial capital costs.
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Baxter said the placement would give the company a strong cash runway as it progresses towards early-stage mine development at what he described as 'one of the last premier greenfield PGM opportunities in the Bushveld Complex.'
Shares issued under the placement will rank equally with existing shares and be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The placement was conducted within the company's existing issuance capacity under ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A.
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