PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Centaurus Metals will raise A$25.5-million in an institutional share placement to fund growth and development at the Jaguar nickel project, in Brazil.

More than 60.7-million shares will be issued, at a price of 42c each, representing a 10.6% discount to the company’s last closing price, and an 11% discount to its five day volume weighted average share price.

The shares will be issued under Centaurus’ existing placement capacity, the company said on Monday, to a number of Australian and international institutional investors, including Canada-based resource investor Dundee Goodman Merchant Partners, which will invest A$7-million on behalf of its parent company.

“The exceptional response to this raising both in Australia and internationally reflects the quality, scale and potential of the Jaguar project as a possible Tier 1 nickel sulphide asset in the global landscape,” said MD Darren Gordon.

“Following the raise, the company will emerge with a very strong balance sheet with approximately A$30-million in cash reserves and no debt. We will be able to pursue a twin-pronged strategy of aggressive resource growth and exploration at Jaguar in parallel with development, permitting and mining studies on the already globally significant mineral resource.”

Jaguar currently holds a mineral resource of 48-million tonnes, at 1.08% nickel for 517 000 t of contained nickel metal. A scoping study is planned for completion in the fourth quarter of this year, and is expected to demonstrate strong economics given that over 70% of the high-grade mineral resource is located within 200 m of the surface and amenable to extraction via openpit mining.

A third diamond drill rig will also be reactivated in the next few weeks, with all three diamond rigs restarting double shift operations to in-fill and potentially extend the near-surface high-grade mineralisation.

Drilling will also start on a number of high quality deeper targets, and a reverse circulation rig will be mobilised to site in September to drill pre-collars for the step-out diamond drilling, while also undertaking greenfield exploration.