Gold steadies as traders weigh outlook for Fed rate cuts
Bullion traded near $2,626 an ounce in thin trading after closing 1.1% higher on Friday.
Lucky Minerals (TSXV:LKY) has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to 33 million for gross proceeds of approximately C$1.85 million. The units are priced at C$0.056, each comprising one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at C$0.10 for three years.
Investors in the offering include strategic investor Michael Gentile, who intends to increase his share ownership in the company potentially up to approximately 19.9% on a partially diluted basis.
Gentile is considered one of the leading investors in the junior mining sector, owning significant positions in over 15 small-cap mining companies. He is currently a strategic advisor to Arizona Metals and Geomega Resources, and sits on the board of Northern Superior Resources, Roscan Gold, Radisson Mining Resources and Solstice Gold.
Proceeds of the offering will be used to fund the company’s first drill program at the Fortuna gold project in Ecuador. A 550 km2 land package containing 12 mining concessions, the Fortuna property is situated on Shincata trend, a highly prospective yet underexplored gold belt.
Current exploration is focused on three prospects on just a small portion of the concessions. The initial drilling will begin at Wayka, an epithermal gold discovery located within the central portion of the Fortuna concessions.
Commenting on the imminent drilling at Wayka, Gentile said the potential for a “major new discovery is high, as the company begins drilling directly under some of the wide and high grade trenches uncovered in 2021 and 2022.”
Gentile pointed out that drilling under trench T-14 (8 g/t gold over 9 m) and trench T-21 (5.24 g/t gold over 14 m) “greatly increases the odds of success and positions Lucky Minerals well for the 2022 drill program.”
“This new mineralized system is showing a large footprint that continues to expand with additional surface work and trenching,” he added.
Shares of Lucky Minerals surged 46.1% by 11:50 a.m. in Toronto. The junior gold explorer has a market capitalization of C$13.2 million.
