Cobre Ltd (ASX:CBE) has completed a share placement to raise $7 million (before costs) with commitments from sophisticated and both international and domestic institutional investors to support the acquisition of Kalahari Metals Ltd, which owns the Ngami Project in Botswana.
The equity raise consists of a two-tranche placement, the first tranche being A$5.5 million and the second expected to include Metal Tiger PLC (AIM:MTR, OTC:MRTTF, ASX:MTR) and related parties to raise a further A$1.5 million.
As Cobre’s largest shareholder, Metal Tiger intends to maintain its pro rata 21% shareholding in the company via its involvement in the second tranche, which is subject to shareholder approval.
Funds will support rapid exploration
“The Cobre team is pleased to have secured the funds required to continue to rapidly progress exploration on KML’s tenement package in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana following on from the successful results of the first three diamond holes announced over the past 10 days,” Cobre executive chair and managing director Martin Holland said.
“The announcement of the third drill hole further illustrates the strike length of intersected copper mineralisation in this exciting target which remains open-ended.
“The footprint of mineralisation, which now extends over more than 3 kilometres, is very much in-line with known deposits in the Kalahari Copper Belt."
Read: Cobre hits more visual copper at Ngami in Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana
Interest “a vote of confidence”
“I would like to extend a vote of thanks for the support from existing and new shareholders into this placement which we see as a vote of confidence in the strategy the board is developing to fast-track exploration with the aim to unlock this new potential discovery in Botswana,” Holland continued.
“In addition, a shout out to Mitchells drilling and our in-country technical and operation team, the alignment between us all is what it takes to find new discoveries in Africa.”
Mitchells Services is Cobre’s drilling service provider in Botswana. The drilling company has subscribed for A$431,650 (US$300,000) worth of shares in Cobre, to be off-set against drilling services delivered.
Combined with its existing cash reserves, Cobre believes it is well capitalised to undertake “significant” exploration in Botswana with more than A$9 million in cash and about A$2 million in listed equities.