Great Southern Copper plc raises £2M to drill Mostaza for maiden resource
Shares priced at 1.5 pence represent about 15 per cent of enlarged capital, with London admission expected around Oct. 15.
Mara Quinlan
Great Southern Copper plc LONGSCU said on Thursday it raised £2 million in a private placing of 133,333,333 shares at 1.5 pence each to fund drilling at its Mostaza copper-silver discovery in Chile. The new shares will represent about 15 per cent of the enlarged share capital if admitted to trading, measuring the dilution alongside the push toward a first resource estimate.
The placing price is a 6 per cent discount to the Oct. 7 closing share price, the company said. Great Southern expects the new shares to be admitted to the London Stock Exchange Main Market on or around Oct. 15, a condition of the financing.
The money will support up to 5,000 metres of diamond drilling at Mostaza and the nearby Monolith target, as well as up to 2,000 metres of reverse-circulation drilling along the Mostaza Fault trend. The company said the next drilling phase will test the extent and continuity of mineralization, work needed for a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Great Southern also plans a second phase of metallurgical testing on drill core across a broader range of copper and silver grades. Another 1,000 metres of reverse-circulation drilling is planned at the Artemisa porphyry prospect, with part of the proceeds reserved for corporate costs and working capital.
Existing and new investors took part in the placing, according to the Oct. 8 announcement. Directors intend to subscribe for 4,666,667 of the new shares, contributing £70,000 within the £2 million total, and the shares will rank equally with those already in issue when admitted.
After expected admission on Oct. 15, the placing would increase Great Southern's issued shares and voting rights to 906,703,489. The company gave that total as the denominator shareholders may use to determine whether they must report a change in their interest under the Financial Conduct Authority's disclosure rules.
"The programme will focus on further drilling at Mostaza, testing the nearby Monolith target and investigating mineralisation along the Mostaza fault trend," chief executive Sam Garrett said in the announcement.
The Oct. 8 announcement places Especularita in Chile's coastal copper belt and identifies roads, power and ports as infrastructure available to the area. Great Southern says it holds an option to acquire mining rights to all of Especularita, which includes Mostaza.
The company described recent drilling at Mostaza as showing copper-silver mineralization along strike and at depth. It said initial flotation testing on high-grade samples returned encouraging recoveries.
Further work at Artemisa depends on available funding and on exploration results, the company said. Mostaza remains its principal priority as it collects drilling and metallurgical data for a first estimate.
The company expects the new shares to be admitted to the FCA's Equity Shares (Transition) category and begin trading on the London Stock Exchange Main Market at 8 a.m. London time on or around Oct. 15.
