Last checked at 9 Feb 2011 07:00
Ortac Resources Limited / Epic: OTC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration
9 February 2011
Ortac Resources Limited ('Ortac' or 'the Company')
£8.4 Million Raised to Advance the Development of the
Kremnica Gold Project in Slovakia
Ortac Resources Limited (AIM: OTC), the AIM listed exploration and development company focussed on precious metal projects in Europe, announces that it has raised £8,421,053 before expenses via a placing ('the Placing'), which was oversubscribed, of 561,403,533 new ordinary shares ('the Placing Shares') at a price of 1.5 pence per ordinary share. The money raised will be mainly used to advance the development of the Kremnica Gold Project ('Kremnica' or 'the Project') in Slovakia.
Anthony Balme, Ortac's Chairman, has participated in the Placing through the acquisition of 3,333,333 shares and now holds 157,373,463 shares representing 6.9% of the Company.
Background to the Fundraising
The Company's strategy is to delineate further resources into JORC categories, whilst at the same time advancing the Company's flagship asset, Kremnica, towards production. In line with this, the Company recently announced the completion of the updated JORC Code compliant resource estimate for the Project of 1.1 million ounces of gold equivalent of which over half is in the measured and indicated categories. Ortac now intends to carry out additional drilling to target areas of the Project that have been estimated but not classified and to convert further ounces into the higher confidence categories.
Simultaneously, the Company intends to advance the various studies required for the satisfactory completion of a bankable feasibility study that would lead to project finance and re-starting of mining at Kremnica.
Additionally, some funds will be made available to unlocking value in the Company's extensive portfolio of exploration license areas as well as for assessing other advanced stage projects in the region.
Ortac CEO Vassilios Carellas said, "We are delighted with the strong appetite that this Placing has received, particularly the support from some of the larger institutions in the City. This round of funding will enable the Company to further expand and upgrade the existing resource at Kremnica and unlock further value in some of our other exploration license areas."
The Placing Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of the Company. Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings in the Placing Shares will commence at 8 a.m. on 15 February 2011.
After the issue of the Placing Shares, the Company's total issued capital, with voting rights, will be 2,295,679,020 Ordinary Shares of no par value. This figure may be used by the shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in or a change to their interest in the Company.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.ortacresources.com or contact:
Vassilios Carellas | Ortac Resources Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7440 0646 |
Charles Wood | Ortac Resources Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7440 0646 |
Roland Cornish | Beaumont Cornish Limited | +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Rosalind Hill Abrahams | Beaumont Cornish Limited | +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Jeremy Stephenson | Seymour Pierce Limited | +44 (0) 20 7107 8072 |
Stewart Dickson | Seymour Pierce Limited | +44 (0) 20 7107 8335 |
Jeremy King | Optiva Securities Ltd | +44 (0) 20 3137 1904 |
Jason Robertson | Optiva Securities Ltd | +44 (0) 20 3137 1906 |
Susie Geliher | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Lottie Brocklehurst | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes:
Ortac Resources Limited is an AIM listed exploration and development company focussed on the development of precious metal projects in Europe. Its focus is on the Carpatho-Balkan Metallogenic Belt, initially the Central Slovakian Volcanic Field, where its Kremnica gold deposit forms part of a large low-sulphidation quartz-sericite-adularia epithermal-hydrothermal system hosted in Tertiary andesite volcanic flows, tuffs, lesser diorites and rhyolite dikes. The Company has produced an interim JORC compliant resource statement of 1.1 million ounces of gold equivalent and has appointed Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Pty to prepare a preliminary scoping study which is expected during the course of the year.
The Company's objective is to complete a definitive feasibility study and environmental impact assessment with a view of bringing the Kremnica Gold Project into production. The Company's strategy is to utilise its highly experienced board and management team and its solid foothold in Central Europe to consolidate additional precious metal development opportunities to build shareholder value.