Focus Minerals has launched a $45.7 million fundraising campaign as the company looks to recommence its Coolgardie gold project in Western Australia.
The non-renounceable entitlement offer will cost investors $0.25 per share and earn them one new share for every one existing Focus share priced at the close of December 8.
This is a discount of approximately 12.3 per cent to the closing price of Focus shares on Thursday December 2.
Focus has also introduced a safety net for the fundraise through its ‘top up facility’ accompaniment.
Eligible shareholders who take up their entitlement in full will be able to apply for additional shares in excess of their entitlement under the top up offer.
“The issue of additional new shares under the top up offer will be dependent on there being a shortfall in the take up of pro rata entitlements under the entitlement offer,” Focus stated.
“As such, there is no guarantee that a shareholder who applies for additional new shares will receive all or any of the additional new shares that they subscribe for.”
Focus stated the funding would be used to support the operation, exploration and assessment of the Coolgardie project, which the company hopes to bring back into operation in 2022.
Focus is in the process of selecting contractors to evaluate and undertake what’s required regarding critical engineering works before mining can restart at Coolgardie.
A detailed evaluation of the costs involved with recommissioning the 1.4-million-tonne-per-annum Three Mile Hill processing plant will be investigated.
Focus completed an updated pre-feasibility study (PFS) in September 2020 which highlighted the potential to revive Coolgardie through a fast-tracked, low-cost avenue.
Coolgardie covers 138 square kilometres of prospective tenements on the outskirts of the Coolgardie township in the Goldfields region.
The 2020 PFS suggested a 68 per cent resource to reserve conversion from a combined total measured, indicated and inferred resource of 7.5 million tonnes at 2.56 grams per tonne of gold for 619,000 ounces of gold. This represents 24 per cent of Coolgardie’s global mineral resource.
Focus’ entitlement offer opens on Friday December 10 and will close at 5pm on Thursday December 23.
The company has also established a maiden mineral resource of 45,600 ounces for its Green Light gold deposit within the Coolgardie complex, which shapes as an open pittable resource option for the Coolgardie restart.