Pilbara's placement oversubscribed

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium developer Pilbara Minerals has successfully raised A$80-million in a share placement to help fund the construction of its Pilgangoora lithium/tantalum project, in Western Australia.

The company on Monday said that it had received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors to raise A$53-million through the share placement, with the shares priced at 35c each.

Combined with the A$27-million raised from offtake partner Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium, the company has now raised a total of A$80-million.

MD and CEO Ken Brinsden told shareholders that the response from investors had been exceptional, with the company electing to increase the placement from the targeted A$77-million, announced earlier this month.

“The institutional placement closed on Friday with bids into the book well above the expected target, a remarkable result considering the current volatile conditions in the resources sector.”

The share placement will consist of two tranches, the first of which will comprise 189.9-million shares to be issued under the company’s placement capacity. The second tranche of about 38.7-million shares will be subject to shareholder approval.

Brinsden said that the recent successful completion of the $100-million bond issue, and the landmark A$80-million equity raising signalled the green light for full scale construction to begin at Pilgangoora.

“The completion of the funding package clears the way for the Pilbara Minerals board to make a final investment decision, which is now expected to be imminent, and with all major environmental and regulatory approvals in place, we can get on with the job of building an important new resource project in Western Australia.”

Meanwhile, a share purchase plan is also expected to raise a further A$15-million, with shareholders able to subscribe for up to A$15 000 of new shares, priced at 35c each.