Australia-listed uranium junior Bannerman Energy on Friday announced a placement to raise A$85-million for the continued development of its Etango-8 project, in Namibia.

The two-tranche placement comprises 25.8-million new fully paid ordinary shares to new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors at an issue price of A$3.30 each.

Upon completion of the placement, Bannerman will have about A$100-million in cash reserves.

“Proceeds from this placement will enable us to further progress our Etango-8 project, following positive outcomes from the recently announced front-end engineering design (FEED) and control budget estimates (CBE) processes, which confirmed the high quality of technical evaluation and design from the December 2022 definitive feasibility study (DFS),” commented executive chairperson Brandon Munro.

Bannerman will use the funds raised for detailed design work and early works construction, as well as to advance further works including the placement and manufacturing of selected long-lead items, product marketing and project financing activities.

These activities are all directed towards advancing Etango to a targeted positive final investment decision during the second half of the year.

“We are excited by the support that we have received from investors for both our Etango-8 development pathway and the approach the company has taken to stewarding this asset into the rapidly strengthening uranium market environment,” added Munro.

The recently completed FEED and CBE processes have refined the outcomes of the 2022 DFS, enhancing accuracy and recency to key cost estimates. As a result, the CBE preproduction capital forecast has risen by $36-million, or 11.3%, from the DFS estimate to $353.5-million. The increase is driven by design changes and impacts of inflation.

Based on a nameplate capacity of eight-million tonnes a year, the Etango project is expected to have a mine life of 15 years, producing 52.6-million pounds of uranium oxide, averaging 3.5-million pounds a year.