Artemis announces $129 million equity financing, shares down

Artemis Gold (TSXV: ARTG) announced on Monday it plans to raise up to C$156 million ($129 million) to make its final cash payment to New Gold for the Blackwater gold project in British Columbia and to fund the project’s permitting and development costs.

Artemis has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by National Bank Financial and BMO Capital Markets, under which the underwriters have agreed to buy, on a bought deal basis, 16.98 million common shares at a price of C$6.10 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $100 million.

The company is also undertaking a non-brokered private placement, whereby up to 9.2 million common shares will be issued to insiders and to a president’s list, at the offering price, for gross proceeds of up to C$56.12 million.

In June 2020, Artemis agreed to acquire New Gold’s Blackwater project, a proposed open-pit mine located 160 kilometres southwest of Prince George, for total consideration of C$190 million.

Artemis plans to initially develop the Blackwater project into a 248,000 oz/y operation, which will cost nearly C$600 million, and then finance two subsequent expansion stages from future operating cashflows.

Overall, Blackwater, which has an estimated 23-year mine life, would require C$1.5 billion in capital investment, making it one of the largest capital investments for the region over the last decade, according to the company.

Shares of Artemis were down 7.1% by noon ET on the TSX Venture Exchange, giving the BC-focused gold miner a market capitalization of C$761.8 million.