eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Australian based mining firm Prospect Resources on Wednesday said it has raised $10 million via a private placement of 166 million shares, which will be used to accelerate development of its Arcadia Lithium Mine, located about 38 kilometers east of the capital, near the long established Acturus Mine in Zimbabwe.
A private placement is a sale of stocks, bonds, or securities directly to a private investor(s), rather than as part of a public offering.
“Prospect Resources Limited is pleased to announce the completion of an oversubscribed placement of 166 million shares at an issue price of 6 cents per share to institutional and sophisticated investors, to raise $10 million (before costs),” the company said in an update.
“The proceeds from the Placement are expected to enable Prospect to accelerate the development of the Arcadia Lithium Project and take advantage of the support offered by the new Zimbabwe Government under its Rapid Response Initiative.”
Prospect said the proceeds would also be used to investigate and possibly acquire additional lithium and cobalt projects and supplement general working capital.
The Zimbabwe government has identified the Arcadia lithium deposit as a priority project under the first 100 days Rapid Results Initiative.
In June 2017, the company completed a pre-feasibility study and is now focusing on securing off-take and funding plans for development of Arcadia towards production, anticipated in the third quarter of 2018.
Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries.
Apart from lithium, Prospect has assets in the gold sub-sector located across Zimbabwe including the Sally, Bucks Reef and Prestwood Mines in the Gwanda area of Matabeleland South as well as in the Penhalonga area of Manicaland. – New Ziana