Australian Potash raises A$5m for Lake Wells

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Potash developer Australian Potash will raise A$5-million to advance work on its Lake Wells sulphate of potash (SOP) project, in Western Australia.

The company on Monday said that a bookbuild had been completed for the placement of some 30-million shares, at 10c each, to sophisticated and professional investors, to raise an initial A$3-million.

Australian Potash was hoping to raise a further A$2-million through a share purchase plan, allowing eligible shareholders to subscribe for up to A$15 000 worth of new shares, also priced at 10c a share.

Executive chairperson Matt Shackleton told shareholders that the funds raised would allow the company to aggressively progress the study phase of the Lake Well SOP project.

“We have defined the largest indicated SOP resource estimated in Australia to date, developed early stage relationships in the largest market for SOP through memorandums of understanding, and completed a scoping study with very strong economics. The scoping study confirmed a conventional, proven abstraction method to produce a high-quality SOP product in the bottom of the global cost curve.”

Shackleton said that Australian Potash’s key focus is on positioning the company to deliver a strong feasibility study in the first half of 2018, that confirms the potential for a high returning project, and positions Lake Wells as a superior SOP project.

In addition, funding would also be used to start exploration at the Yamarna gold project, which runs contiguously north and along strike from fellow-listed Gold Road Resource’s Gruyere project.