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Arcadia Minerals (ASX:AM7) taps investors for $1.5m to drill at Bitterwasser, Namibia

ASX News, Materials
ASX:AM7      MCAP $2.223M
03 August 2023 11:05 (AEDT)

The location of the Bitterwasser project in Namibia. Source: Arcadia Minerals

Arcadia Minerals (AM7) has received firm commitments from sophisticated and professional investors to raise $1.5 million.

The fresh funds will go toward drilling at the company’s Bitterwasser project in Namibia.

The placement comprises the issuance of 15 million chess depositary interests (CDI) at 10 cents apiece.

Major shareholder Raubex Group retains a 28.75 per cent holding in Arcadia through its new injection of $431,250.

The funds will allow a four-step strategy to roll on: the company will pay for drilling at Bitterwasser, fund metallurgical testwork on lithium-hosting clays, enable an economic assessment report, and wrap up a mapping and sampling program of known pegmatite targets at its Swanson project.

“We are grateful for the continued support of existing shareholders and new investors who share our vision,” AM7 Chairman Jurie Wessels said.

“The capital raise provides the funding required to complete a pre-economic assessment [of] Bitterwasser … and explore around 200 pegmatites.”

Should the company be successful in developing the project – the economic assessment report will go a long way towards determining this – the company stands to be the first lithium brine player in Africa.

In March the company proved it could extract lithium brine from Bitterwasser in a low-cost fashion – and produce a product with low contamination concerns.

The company experimented with using an organic acid on its feedstock to recover lithium, as well as the more traditional sulphuric.

While organic recovery rates were somewhat lower, the company noted that organic acid was a cleaner process with less byproduct left over in leachate when compared to sulphuric.

Arcadia (AM7) shares last traded at 11 cents.

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