True North Copper will raise $15 million to fund the restart of the Great Australia mine in Cloncurry, Queensland.
The two-tranche placement is comprised of a $10.7 million cash raise (125 million new shares at an issue price of $0.12 per share) and $4.3 million in debt converted. This placement was strongly supported by investors.
The cash injection is expected to fund the restart of True North’s Great Australia copper-gold mine. The mine has been closed since 2018.
The JORC 2012 compliant resource at Great Australia includes almost 100,000 tonnes of copper, 79,500 ounces of gold and 1860 tonne of cobalt.
True North is targeting copper sulphate production from the mine in January 2024, with a production target of 12,000 tonnes of copper per annum. Great Australia has an initial seven year life of mine.
This placement represents a substantial de-risking of the Great Australia mine restart,” True North Copper managing director Marty Costello said.
“We expect completion of the mining study and FID (final investment decision) by early December 2023.”
True North has indicated that it will be ready to commence mining four weeks after the FID. It is currently in the process of reviewing final draft agreements for tolling and offtake.
The cash raise will also fund exploration works at the company’s broader Cloncurry operation. The miner recently unearthed an impressive one metre intercept of 14.05 per cent copper at its Wallace North prospect in Cloncurry as part of an exploration campaign.
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