Ausgold Ltd (ASX:AUC) has boosted funding for its 3.04 million-ounce Katanning gold project in Western Australia, raising $38 million through a two-tranche placement involving institutional and sophisticated investors.
The capital raising means that the project – which is set to progress through a definitive feasibility study (DFS) in the second quarter of 2024 – is now funded through to final investment decision (FID).
Under the terms of the placement, shares were priced at A$0.03 per share, representing a discount of 7.68 percent to the 20-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).
Interest from international institutional investors was strong, such as Jupiter Asset Management – already an investor in Ausgold – which increased its holdings to 12.7 percent, and Dundee Corporation – also an investor – retaining a 10.9 percent holding through the institutional placement.
Ausgold executive chairman John Dorward said that funding support for the Katanning Gold Project underscored investors’ confidence in its value.
“I am enormously excited about Ausgold’s growth potential, leveraging the existing three-million-ounce resource base at the Katanning Gold Project and the Company’s large landholding in one of Australia’s great, untapped greenstone belts,” he said.
“Subject to shareholder approval, I am pleased to participate in this placement, which will see the company strongly positioned through to a Final Investment Decision.
“Ausgold now has the capital to properly pursue its complementary goals of production and exploration-led growth.”
Ausgold has been trading at 3.3 cents.