Astro Resources NL (ASX:ARO) has closed the books on a $3.353 million capital raise to help explore gold and heavy mineral sands opportunities in Nevada and Western Australia.
The explorer placed slightly more than 838.3 million fully paid ordinary shares at $0.004 apiece to complete the raise.
In addition, each investor who subscribed under the offer will receive two free attaching options for every share they subscribed for.
The options have a $0.01 exercise price and are due to expire on April 21, 2022. A meeting to approve the options issue is anticipated in March 2022.
Use of funds
With the cash injection under its belt, Astro is primed to prove up its exploration portfolio in Nevada and Western Australia.
The explorer is focused on developing its Needles Gold Project in Nevada, an asset with numerous old gold workings on epithermal gold veins.
A geophysics campaign has identified a large, strong chargeability anomaly at the property that warrants further exploration.
As a result, an initial diamond drilling program to test the anomaly is underway, with the first assays from the initial two holes anticipated mid-February 2022.
In WA, Astro is prospecting for heavy mineral sands at the Governor Broome asset.
The project carries 52 million tonnes of ore at 4.6% heavy minerals (HM) in the indicated category, as well as 66 million tonnes at 4.0% HM in inferred resources.
Astro has proposed an infill drilling campaign to upgrade resources at the recently acquired Jack Track deposits from the inferred to the indicated category.
With plans for a scoping study down the track, Astro believes Governor Broome has the potential to generate strong cash flows, with only modest capital required.
Beyond its current portfolio, the explorer has plans to expand its project base.
Astro is in joint venture negotiations with a North American company over a series of epithermal gold assets in northwest Nevada.
By expending $2 million into the special joint venture company, Astro can earn up to 70% of the projects.