Core Lithium has announced a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $100 million before costs at the offer price of $0.40 per share.
The company also plans to invite existing eligible shareholders to participate in a non-underwritten share purchase plan to raise a further $20 million before costs simultaneously.
The proceeds from the fully underwritten institutional placement and the share purchase plan are expected to help Core Lithium progress its near-term growth projects and preserve balance sheet flexibility.
It will also provide the company with the ability to progress the early works of its BP33 lithium project in the Northern Territory, which is the second proposed mine at the Finniss lithium operation.
Core Lithium started early works at the BP33 lithium project in early August.
$45–$50 million will be allocated to BP33’s early works, $20–25 million towards 2024 financial year (FY24) plant optimisation works and Finniss sustaining capital, $35–$40 million towards FY24 exploration and study expenditure, and allocating up to $5 million towards general corporate purposes and working capital.
Core Lithium chief executive officer Gareth Manderson said the fully underwritten institutional placement and the share purchase plan proves that the company has successfully moved from explorer to producer.
“We are currently working to optimise ramp up at our Grants open pit mine and progress the substantial opportunity we see in the BP33 mining project. Nearby exploration is also well underway to continue growing our resources and reserves,” Manderson said.
“As we continue to ramp up, we are actively implementing improvement projects to optimise operations and enhance lithia recoveries and plant utilisation to maximise our leverage to strong lithium market conditions in the wake of continued scarce supply and strong demand for lithium.”
