(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals announced raising £3m before expenses on Monday to support expanding its upcoming drilling programme.
The AIM-traded firm said it raised funds through an oversubscribed placing of 75 million new shares at 4p each, with both new and existing shareholders participating in the capital placement.
It said the newly acquired funds would primarily support the expansion of its forthcoming phase one reverse circulation (RC) drill programme, which was set to start later in the year.
That would follow its 1,500-metre diamond core programme that began on 21 September.
Empire Metals detailed the programme on 13 September, aiming for an intensive drilling campaign focusing on the high-density gravity core, especially the densely populated zones identified within the magnetics anomaly.
The primary objective of the drilling was to confirm the magnitude of the vast, titanium-rich mineral system and to gain deeper insights into crucial aspects such as grade, mineralogy, thickness, and the extent of mineralised beds.
Empire said the project was also intended to better understand the controls on high-grade titanium dioxide mineralisation.
Owing to the successful capital placement, Empire Metals said it was now plotting a second phase of reverse circulation drilling, slated for the early months of next year.
That, it said, would further elaborate on the targets identified during the first phase.
In addition to that, the additional capital would facilitate the onset of mineralogical and metallurgical studies, shedding light on the most cost-effective processing methods.
"We have received exceptional results from our exploration efforts at Pitfield to date, and today's fundraising will ensure that we can continue to push ahead, unimpeded, to a point where we can begin to establish the potential value of this giant, titanium-enriched mineral system," said managing director Shaun Bunn.
"We have received significant support from existing and new investors in this oversubscribed placing, a sign, I believe, that the market is beginning to grasp the potential global significance of our discovery at Pitfield.
"I would like to thank our shareholders, both new and old, and I look forward to reporting on the drilling now underway at Pitfield over the coming weeks."
At 1237 BST, shares in Empire Metals were down 1.75% at 4.27p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Empire Metals (EEE)