Emmerson plc has raised US$2.175 million to tide it over while Morocco's CRUI committee reviews a revised environmental submission for the Khemisset potash project.
The CRUI is expected to review the EIA submission, particularly focusing on the amendments, over the coming weeks, and any updates will be announced in due course.
Emmerson was asked to resubmit its application, adding that water consumption and the elimination of brine disposal are improved considerably under the new proposal.
Major shareholder GSM is putting up most of the money in the funding round, which comprises a subscription agreement at 1.75p per share with Global Sustainable Minerals and Gold Quay Capital adding US$2 million and US$175,000 respectively.
Each placing share comes with a warrant exercisable at 3p per share that expires on 31 December 2024.
GSM will also have the right to appoint a representative to Emmerson's board.
A retail offer at the same price will also be available on the REX platform.
The placing price represents a discount of 16% to the preceding five-day average.
On completion of the subscription, GSM and GQC will be beneficially interested in 20.30% and 2.64% respectively of the Emmerson's issued share capital.
Graham Clarke, Emmerson’s chief executive, said: "Following the news last month that the Ministerial Committee had upheld the referral of our environmental approval, we have been working to update the EIA to incorporate the various improvements that the KMP has enabled.
“While we maintain the previous EIA submission was adequate, we believe this, in addition to the previous optimisations, makes the revised EIA even more environmentally robust, and addresses all material concerns related to water that have been raised in the past.
"The US$2.175 million subscription with our Strategic Investors is a sign of their continued support for the project.
"This cornerstone funding has strengthened our balance sheet, thus allowing us to continue our work advancing the KMP towards Feasibility Level.
Mark Zhou, GSM’s chief executive, added: "We are delighted to be able to demonstrate our commitment to Khemisset, which we believe is an outstanding project."