The placement at 15c per share, representing a 9.1% discount to the last traded price and a 3.6% premium to the 15-day VWAP of shares on February 12, has been strongly supported by existing and new shareholders.
It will result in the introduction of a number of prominent Australian institutional investors to Trek Metals’ (ASX:TKM) share register, including Terra Capital, which cornerstoned the raise.
Demand was well in excess of the funds sought and the company implemented significant scale-backs.
Directors demonstrated their confidence in the company and its gold and manganese assets by subscribing for a total of $1.45m in shares, subject to shareholder approval.
Proceeds will enable Trek to ramp up exploration at the Kuro manganese discovery, including a major RC and diamond drilling program scheduled to begin in April.
The drilling will test below recently discovered high-grade outcropping manganese, where rock chips returned grades of up to 60.1% Mn.
Grades above 60% manganese are considered exceptional globally and are typically associated with premium direct shipping ore. While drilling is needed to determine thickness and continuity, the surface results have elevated Kuro as one of the more intriguing emerging manganese plays in WA.
The program is designed to target extensive gravity and geophysical features interpreted to represent subsurface mineralisation, while exploration across gold, base metals and rare earths targets continues within the broader Christmas Creek project.
“This is an important capital raising for Trek that will put the Company on a very strong footing as we embark on what is shaping up to be our most exciting field season to date at Christmas Creek, with RC and diamond drilling set to begin in April at the Kuro Manganese Prospect,” CEO Derek Marshall said.
“With a significantly strengthened balance sheet, Trek will be able to launch a multi-rig drilling program that will run for much of the year, enabling us to fully evaluate the exciting high-grade manganese discovery we made late last year and advance it rapidly towards a maiden Mineral Resource.”
The funds will also allow Trek to undertake metallurgical testwork on the manganese mineralisation and continue gold exploration across the broader Christmas Creek project.
