Abasca Resources files Loki graphite PEA report and seeks C$2.25M
The company priced up to nine million flow-through shares at C$0.25, with proceeds earmarked for its 2026 Loki exploration program.
Mara Quinlan
Abasca Resources Inc. CVEABA said on Wednesday it filed on SEDAR+ a technical report for the Loki graphite preliminary economic assessment and proposed a C$2.25 million non-brokered flow-through share placement. The money would fund its 2026 Loki exploration program; its Aug. 19 study estimated US$216 million in initial construction capital.
Abasca shares rose 11.11 per cent to C$0.10 on the TSX Venture Exchange at 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, according to the CVEABA quote page.
The newly filed report has the Aug. 19 effective date of Abasca's earlier assessment, which estimated an after-tax net present value of US$130 million and a 16.7 per cent internal rate of return at an eight per cent discount rate. The modeled graphite price is US$1,450 per tonne, a study assumption rather than a live market quote.
The Sept. 23 placement calls for up to nine million flow-through shares at C$0.25 each, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The CVEABA quote page, stamped 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, shows a C$0.09 Sept. 22 previous close, making the offer price a 178 per cent premium.
Under the Sept. 23 proposal, full subscription would add nine million shares. That equals about 6.8 per cent of the 132.19 million shares outstanding shown by CVEABA at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, before any other share changes.
The resource estimate released July 14, effective April 23, put Loki's indicated resource at 6.99 million tonnes grading 8.27 per cent graphitic carbon. It added 15.83 million inferred tonnes at 6.93 per cent, using a 2.30 per cent cut-off within a conceptual pit.
Abasca owns Loki within its Key Lake South project in northern Saskatchewan. The Aug. 19 PEA modeled a 19-year open-pit operation processing 2,750 tonnes of ore a day.
The Aug. 19 study projected 66,500 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually at an average 95 per cent grade, with after-tax payback 4.7 years after commercial production starts. Sustaining and closure capital totalled US$91 million in the study, taking projected capital to US$307 million.
"There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized," Abasca said in its Sept. 23 release.
The PEA includes inferred resources that are too speculative to be classified as mineral reserves. Abasca said in August it would gather data for a feasibility study, update its environmental impact assessment and seek permits before advancing the project.
An Aug. 28 exploration update said infill drilling at Loki was meant to supply samples for a pilot plant that would test the graphite flotation process. The company said the concentrate would then undergo testing for battery-grade anode material; it gave no date for those results.
The Sept. 23 release sets no closing date or lead investor for the placement and describes no warrants. It allows cash finder fees of up to six per cent, and completion requires TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Abasca's six-month reporting period ends Oct. 31, with interim financial statements due within 60 days under the semiannual schedule it announced Aug. 28.
