Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (LON:BMV) has raised £436,500 to fund the next stage of its mine re-opening project in South Korea.
A placing of 19.4mln shares at 2.25p was heavily backed by management, with the senior executives putting up £186,500 of the amount raised.
Blue has submitted applications to re-open both Gubong and Kochang mines and still expects first gold to be poured by the end of 2019.
The money raised will be used for pre-construction and detailed design work.
Production to rise
Once gold production commences, Bluebird plans to increase production to 100,000 oz of gold per year over a five-year period.
Land access has been agreed at Kochang, which Bluebird said underlined the local approval for the reopening of the mine.
Refurbishment work at the adit concerned is expected to begin next month.
The company is expecting to receive feedback from its application for the 'permit to develop' the Gubong mine around 23 March 2019.