Lucapa Diamond to restart halted Merlin mine
The phased approach will begin with an 18-month initial phase focused on excavating and dredging five existing pits.
Australian lithium developer Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) has launched an underwritten institutional placement to raise gross proceeds of A$120 million ($77m). The company will be issuing a total of 50 million new fully paid ordinary shares at an offer price of $2.40 per share in two tranches, each totalling A$100 million and A$20 million.
The offer price represents a 12.4% discount to the Azure Minerals’ last closing price of $2.74 per share on Friday, August 18, 2023, being the last practicable date prior to the date of the announcement
Azure’s major shareholders, SQM and Yandal Investments Pty Ltd (Creasy Group), have each signed pre-commitment letters to participate pro-rata in the placement. SQM currently has a 19.98% shareholding, and recently made a A$901.4 million takeover bid that Azure rejected. Creasy Group’s shareholding is 13.37%.
In addition to the placement, the company will also be undertaking a non-underwritten share purchase plan at the same price to raise up to A$10 million, taking the fundraising total to A$130 million ($83m).
According to Azure, the placement marks a “critical step in the exploration and development” of the company’s Andover lithium project. The fundraising follows the company’s announcement of multiple broad, high-grade intersections (i.e. 209.4m at 1.42% Li2O and 183.1m at 1.25% Li2O), which have confirmed the project’s potential to be a “globally significant hard-rock lithium discovery.”
Azure’s managing director, Tony Rovira, said in Monday’s press release that the placement will provide a “strong capital base” to accelerate drilling at the Andover lithium and nickel-copper-cobalt project, as the company advances towards announcing a first lithium resource, which is targeted in Q1 2024.
“Additionally, the placement provides sufficient funding to progress various studies at Andover, including a scoping study, which is expected be finalized in 2024,” he added.
Upon settlement of the placement, Azure said it will be “well-capitalized” with a pro forma cash balance of approximately A$137 million (before costs), and in a “strong position” to accelerate exploration and resource drilling at Andover.
Located in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia, the Andover project already hosts several significant bodies of nickel, copper and cobalt sulphide mineralization. The resource is estimated at 4.6 million tonnes grading 1.11% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.05% cobalt.
