Wia Gold has received firm commitments from new and existing shareholders, including institutional and sophisticated investors, for an A$30 million placement of 200 million new fully paid ordinary shares at A$0.15 per share.
The funds will accelerate drilling in Namibia to increase the mineral resource estimate, initiate scoping study work, advance the project towards definite feasibility study completion, drill at Côte d’Ivoire, and working capital and corporate costs.
Wia Gold executive chairman Josef El-Raghy said the progress made at the Kokoseb gold discovery over the past year has been exceptional and has been recognised by existing and new shareholders as a new gold district within Namibia, a highly regarded jurisdiction by the global mining industry.
El-Raghy said the placement is an essential step in the transition of Wia into Namibia’s leading gold exploration company, and it also accelerates the development of Kokoseb into Namibia’s next gold mine.
Wia Gold directors subscribed for A$1.1m of the placement, subject to shareholder approval.
The A$0.15 issue price of the placement represents a 3.2% discount to Wia’s last traded price on ASX of A$0.155 and a 1.1% discount to the 15-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) on ASX of A$0.1568 (over the period up to and including 31 October 2024).
The shares issued under the placement will rank equally with Wia’s existing shares on issue.
The issue of 192,633,333 shares of the placement will occur under Wia’s existing ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A placement capacity (76,864,896 shares under LR7.1, and 115,768,437 shares under LR7.1A).
Settlement of the placement is expected to occur on 12 November 2024, with allotment on or around 13 November 2024.
The purchase and issue of 7,366,667 shares of the placement is subject to shareholder approval (being the subscription of Josef El-Raghy and Mark Arnesen, both Directors of Wia), which is planned to be sought at the next available General Meeting.
Following the completion of the placement, Wia will have 1,357,684,369 shares in issue. Petra Capital Pty Limited acted as the lead manager and bookrunner for the placement. Tamesis Partners LLP and Argonaut Securities Pty Ltd acted as co-lead managers for the placement.
