PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Bardoc Gold will raise up to A$11.3-million through a share placement and rights issue to advance its Australian gold strategy.

Some 175-million shares, at a price of 4c each, will be placed to strategic investors, raising an initial A$7-million.

Bardoc will also undertake a one-for-ten non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer to raise a further A$4.3-million, also at an issue price of 4c a share.

The junior company on Thursday noted that the placement is underpinned by a new international strategic investor group associated with Tony Leibowitz, who was one of the founding directors of lithium miner Pilbara Minerals.

“We are delighted with the support we have received from existing shareholders and also pleased to welcome a group of international high-net worth investors associated with Leibowitz, who is also participating in the placement and has agreed to join the Bardoc board as nonexecutive chairperson,” said Bardoc MD John Young, who was also a founding director of Pilbara Minerals.

“This is essentially the same corporate team and investor group that got Pilbara Minerals off the ground in 2014, at a time when risk capital for junior explorers was extremely hard to come by. Thanks to their support, we were able to implement a clear growth strategy at the time in the lithium space and back that up with a sustained drilling programme that ultimately delivered in spades for shareholders.

“We are intending to apply a similar philosophy at Bardoc by pursuing a multi-pronged exploration and growth strategy aimed at rapidly growing our existing 2.6-million-ounce resource base while simultaneously pursuing sensible and value-accretive acquisitions and merger and acquisition opportunities,” said Young.

Proceeds from the raising will go towards exploratory drilling across newly identified exploration targets at the Bardoc gold project, as well as to progress development studies and look for acquisition or merger opportunities in the North Kalgoorlie region.

“In order to be successful as an Australian gold developer, we are aiming to build a resource inventory of scale and relevance as quickly as we can, to give ourselves the best opportunity of creating a sustainable gold business that will appeal to global investors,” Young said.