Shares in Premier African Minerals Ltd (AIM:PREM, OTC:PRMMF), the AIM-listed mining company whose stock has lost more than 80% of its value over the past year, fell a further 8% to 0.022p after the company raised £500,000 through a discounted share issue to keep its Zimbabwean lithium project afloat.
The fundraise, completed at an issue price of 0.0185 pence per share, a steep discount to the already depressed market price, will provide working capital to support ongoing operations at the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Zimbabwe.
A further £100,000 of outstanding supplier invoices was settled through the issue of new shares at the same price, suggesting the company is conserving what little cash it has.
The funds will primarily support the installation and commissioning of a 15 to 20 tonnes-per-hour flotation plant manufactured by Xinhai Technology Processing, which the company said was essential to reaching commercially acceptable levels of lithium grade and recovery.
Premier issued an operational update on 4 March, flagging difficulties at Zulu, and the latest fundraise underlines the fragile financial position of the project.
Graham Hill, chief executive, said maintaining momentum on the flotation plant installation was vital as the company moved towards stable operations.
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