Greatland Gold PLC (AIM:GGP, OTC:GRLGF) said it raised about £30mln (US$35mln) via an oversubscribed placing to fund the development of ongoing licenses.
The placing, at a price of 8.2p per ordinary share, will accelerate drilling at the Havieron deposit and grow the wider resource alongside joint venture partner Newcrest Mining Ltd.
The group will also use the funds to undergo exploration activities at the company’s 100%-owned licenses to target new Havieron-like discoveries in the Paterson region, it said in a statement.
The placing, which represents a 15.5% discount to Tuesday’s closing price, were only offered to UK 'qualified investors.'
Application will be made for the new shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange AIM market, with them expected to become effective on 31 August.
Greatland intends to pursue a cross-listing on the Australian Stock Exchange within the next year to benefit from a mining-focused exchange and to expand access to available capital.
Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) (Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF), Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF)) Limited and Sprott Capital Partners LP were joint bookrunners, with Ashanti Capital acting as co-manager.
"This placing strengthens our balance sheet and provides added flexibility for Greatland's ongoing 30% participation in the development of the potentially world-class Havieron gold-copper project,” Shaun Day, Greatland managing director, said.
“The equity raising will provide the company the opportunity to add a significant institutional presence to our share registry, reflecting the increasing maturity of our business and the value proposition of Greatland Gold.”