Western Australian gold producer Black Cat Syndicate (ASX:BC8) has received firm commitments to raise $17 million via a placement to accelerate drilling at the Paulsens Gold Operation.
The company says commitments have been received from institutional and sophisticated investors, issuing over 42 million ordinary fully paid shares at $0.40 per share.
The funds raised from this placement will be applied towards positioning Paulsens and then the Coyote Gold Operation for restart. The company’s immediate focus will be on extension and discovery drilling at Paulsens where a second underground rig will accelerate drilling from February.
Targets near to installed infrastructure include the footwall Gabbro Veins, and satellite lodes in the hanging wall such as the ‘high-grade’ Apollo lode. Black Cat says this will allow these targets to be drilled simultaneously to discover drilling targeting Paulsens Repeats, and the Paulsens Extension.
Commenting on the placement, Black Cat Syndicate Managing Director Gareth Solly says: “The placement will allow us to advance our production restart objectives by significantly accelerating our resource growth activities at Paulsens. Longer term discovery targets at Paulsens Repeats and the Paulsens Extension will be drilled at the same time.
“We look forward to completing a resource update at Paulsens in early February 2023”
We have one of Australia’s highest-grade deposits at Coyote with 356,000 ounces @ 14.6g/t Au and a restart study and required additional drilling will also be undertaken. We look forward to completing a resource update at Paulsens in early February 2023 and providing ongoing updates as we progress our plans and drilling programs during 2023.”
Black Cat reports the placement will be completed in a single tranche, and notes the price of $0.40 per share represents a 11.1% discount to the last close on 16 January, as well as a 6.9% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price (VWAP).
Subject to shareholder approval in a general meeting slated for early March, the company notes its directors have applied for a further 412,500 shares to the placement, raising a further $165,000. The directors have also indicated the intention to exercise a further 997,778 options for $199,556, which will increase the investment by directors in the company to date to about $8 million.
Black Cat reports an update to the ‘high-grade’ underground resource at Paulsens which will include a reinterpretation of the current resource based on the new geological model, as well as the initial holes drilled and assayed will be completed in early February. This will be followed by additional resource upgrades at Paulsens and Coyote throughout 2023.
Black Cat Syndicate is a Western Australia-based gold exploration and production company focused on its 3 gold operations that cover a total area of about 2,215km-square.
These operations include the Coyote Gold Operation on the Western Australia side of the border with the Northern Territory, the Paulsens Gold Operation located 180km west of Paraburdoo, and the Kal East Gold Project near Kalgoorlie.
Images: Black Cat Syndicate Ltd
