IronRidge Resources Limited (LON:IRR) has raised £2mln in a share placing and subscription to fund the development of its gold and lithium projects in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Chad.

The AIM-listed explorer said it had issued 20mln new shares through the placing and subscription at a price of 10p each, a 13.9% discount to its close price on Wednesday.

READ: IronRidge Resources identifies more anomalies at Dorothe in Chad

Participators in the subscription included the company’s chief executive Vincent Mascolo, substantial shareholder DGR Global and non-executive chairman Neil Herbert among others.

Around 12.65mln new share had been issued during the subscription, with the remaining 7.35mln issued in the placing.

The company also announced the appointment of a new broker, SI Capital, that arranged the placing.

“The significant participation of the Board and DGR Global in the fundraise confirms our confidence in the future of the business as we advance our exploration portfolio and transition from explorer to developer in the near future”, Mascolo said.

He added that the company was “on track to commence drilling of multiple targets across [its] suite of gold projects in Cote d'Ivoire in the near term” as well as the delivery of a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Cape Coast lithium project in Ghana in the first quarter of 2020.

In late-afternoon trading on Thursday, IronRidge shares were 2.8% lower at 11.3p.