Wildcat raises $100m

Mineral Resources (MinRes) has injected $19 million into Wildcat Resources as the lithium upstart announced a $100 million raise.

Wildcat rode the coattails of Monday’s drilling reveal, which included a hit of 180m at 1.1 per cent lithium oxide at its Tabba Tabba project in WA, to launch the raise at $0.76 per share.

Wildcat executive director Matthew Banks said the offer had been well supported.

“The demand for this placement was significant, by leading international and domestic institutions, and our existing supportive shareholders,” he said.

“The placement provides a strong balance sheet that allows the company to accelerate discovery drilling and progress development studies at our Tabba Tabba lithium project. We have an exciting 12 months ahead of us.”

Wildcat only completed its acquisition of Tabba Tabba in mid-October.

Prior to mid-May – when the acquisition was first announced – Wildcat held the Bolt Cutter lithium project and a suite of gold tenements, but Tabba Tabba grows the company’s presence in the Pilbara region considerably.

The mine’s proximity to Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora lithium operation – the largest independent hard-rock lithium mine in the world – is seen as particularly significant. The Wodgina lithium mine – shared by MinRes and Albemarle – is also just down the road.

All three of these mines are located within a proven lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) system, with Tabba Tabba first discovered as a lithium prospect in the 1980s by Pancontinental Mining.

Before that, alluvial tin and tantalum mining had been taking place at Tabba Tabba since the early 1900s.

The capital raise comes as MinRes entered into an agreement with Pantoro this week to acquire the lithium, copper, nickel and cobalt rights at the Norseman project in WA.

A binding agreement between the two companies involves a $60 million cash payment plus royalties.