Western Mines Group (ASX:WMG) has completed a $2.74 million placement led by Lowell Resources Funds (ASX:LRT), which is now the company’s largest shareholder at 10.6%.
The placement comprises $1.71 million in cash and a $1 million equity swap with Lowell. Under the arrangement, Western Mines received 499,002 Lowell units valued at $2.004 per unit, making it a top 10 holder in Lowell.
Lowell subscribed for 12.27 million shares at $0.163 per share, with 6.13 million shares issued for cash and the remainder under the equity swap. The equity swap shares are subject to a 12-month escrow period.
Professional investors and existing top 20 shareholders, including previous largest shareholder Equentia Natural Resources, subscribed for the remaining 4.35 million shares. Western Mines’ Non-Executive Director Francesco Cannavo also intends to participate for 200,000 shares, subject to shareholder approval.
Chairman Rex Turkington says the company welcomes Lowell as the new largest shareholder and appreciates ongoing support from existing investors.
“We see this as a strong endorsement of our Mulga Tank Project and the exploration work to date,” Turkington says.
“[Lowell’s]John Forwood and his team have a great track record of picking early-stage resource winners and we hope to contribute and benefit from that.”
Western Mines says it intends to use the proceeds to advance exploration at the Mulga Tank Nickel-Cobalt-Copper-Platinum Group Elements Project.
Workstreams include an upcoming seismic survey, further reverse circulation and diamond drilling, geochemical assays, and the completion of an initial Scoping Study.
Located on the Minigwal Greenstone Belt, the Mulga Tank Project hosts a mineral resource estimate of 1,968 million tonnes (Mt) at 0.27% nickel (Ni), containing over 5.3Mt Ni. Western Mines announced the resource in April 2025, describing it as the largest nickel sulphide deposit in Australia.
The company anticipates issuing placement shares on or around 5 August 2026.
Western Mines Group is a mineral explorer holding gold and nickel sulphide deposits across a portfolio of projects located on Western Australia’s major mineral belts.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Western Mines Group
