(Sharecast News) - Mkango Resources closed a private placing on Thursday, raising £0.75m in gross proceeds to support HyProMag's first commercial sales, among other objectives.
The AIM-traded firm said the placing included a £150,000 investment by its chief executive officer William Dawes.
It said the funds raised would be used for a number of purposes, including the acquisition of additional equipment to support HyProMag's transition to its first commercial sales of recycled NdFeB at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, targeted for the second half of the year.
They would also be allocated towards ordering long lead time equipment in Germany, which would unlock additional grant funding.
Mkango said it was actively engaged in discussions with potential strategic investors, project finance providers, grant funding bodies, and other sources to secure financing for recycling scale-up opportunities and further technology roll-out.
The company recently underwent a significant cost-cutting exercise and operational streamlining, focusing primarily on recycling, leading to a substantial reduction in ongoing capital requirements for the business.
In tandem with those developments, Mkango said it had initiated a review of strategic options for its advanced-stage Songwe Hill Rare Earth Project in Malawi and Pulawy Rare Earth Separation Project in Poland.
The placing involved the issue of 15 million shares at a price of 5p each.
Additionally, 600,000 warrants were issued to Jub Capital Management, with each warrant exercisable for three years at a price of 5p apiece.
Both the warrants and the underlying shares would be subject to a statutory hold period in Canada, expiring on 12 August.
At 1413 BST, shares in Mkango Resources were down 7.85% at 6.22p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Mkango Res (MKA)