White Cliff Minerals Ltd (ASX:WCN) has completed an oversubscribed $1.5 million share placement to professional and sophisticated investors.
200 million shares were issued at $0.0075 with a 1:3 attaching option exercisable at $0.013, expiring 31 December 2018. A share purchase plan raising up to $1.25 million is also planned.
The placement was underwritten to the amount of $750,000 however investor demand was well in excess of this amount.
Funds will be used primarily for exploration at the Aucu gold project in central Asia and the Merolia gold project in Western Australia.
Todd Hibberd, managing director, commented: "The quality of the company’s high grade gold project in Central Asia and Western Australian gold projects has generated significant interest.
"Ongoing drilling in Kyrgyz and accelerated drilling of our Western Australian gold projects is expected to generate a constant supply of positive exploration results."
Background
White Cliff is advancing its 89% owned Aucu gold deposit located in the Kyrgyz Republic and its 100% owned Merolia gold project located near Laverton, Western Australia.
Aucu hosts a resource of 1.15 million tonnes grading 4.2 g/t gold for 156,000 ounces of contained gold at a 1.0 g/t cut off grade.
Drilling has discovered significant surface expressions of visible gold along strike from this resource including 8 metres at 55.2 g/t gold and 4 metres at 59.9 g/t gold.
Merolia hosts the Ironstone, Comet Well and Burtville East gold anomalies.
Historical drilling intersected substantial mineralisation including 5 metres at 33 g/t gold, 2 metres at 6.65 g/t gold and 3 metres at 5.3 g/t gold.
Most recently, White Cliff sampled gold grades of up to 38 g/t gold from surface rock piles at the Burtville East gold prospect.
Use of funds
Funds raised pursuant to the Placement will be used primarily to fund the following exploration:
- Further drilling at the Aucu gold prospect where significant surface expressions of visible gold have been discovered along strike from the company’s existing gold resource of 156,000 ounces at 4.2 g/t of gold from surface;
- Conduct metallurgical test-work on high grade samples recovered from this year’s drilling, and update its JORC gold resource at the completion of this test-work; and
- Drill testing high grade gold soil anomalies at the company’s Merolia gold project.
Analysis
The placement was both underwritten and oversubscribed, which is a testament to the current gold projects White Cliff is advancing.
These funds will also allow White Cliff to commit to a drill program at the Ironstone prospect within the Merolia gold project before the year’s end.
With activity planned at both Aucu and Merolia, news flow is expected to continue, keeping the company and investors leveraged to exploration upside.
Assay results for a number of holes from Aucu are pending and drilling is currently ongoing at the project.