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Vital Metals (ASX:VML) raises $45m for Canadian rare earths project work

ASX News, Materials
ASX:VML      MCAP $29.47M
01 August 2022 14:03 (AEST)

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Rare earths producer Vital Metals (VML) has raised $45 million via a targeted share placement.

The money was raised through the issue of 1.12 billion new fully paid ordinary shares to institutional, sophisticated and professional investors at four cents per share.

Lionhead Resources invested $30 million and will now nominate two directors to Vital’s board and become Vital’s largest shareholder, with a 14.1 per cent holding.

Under the terms of the investment deal with Lionhead, as long as Lionhead holds a 10 per cent interest in Vital, it has the right to appoint two nominees to the board, and if it has a five per cent holding, it has the right to appoint one nominee to the board.

Vital will use the money to finalise the construction, commissioning and ramp-up of its Saskatoon Plant and accelerate the development of the Tardiff deposit.

“This placement allows us to finalise construction and commissioning and enter the operational phase of our Saskatoon plant with a robust balance sheet and working capital that can sustain our production well into the future, even amid ongoing global economic and geopolitical uncertainty,” Managing Director Geoff Atkins commented.

“We have a clear vision of the goal we want our company to achieve — to become the world’s first producer of commercial quantities of both light and heavy rare earths.

“Placement funds will allow us to accelerate mining studies and permitting works for Tardiff so that we can realise greater value from this project for our shareholders.”

Shares in Vital Metals were down 2.33 per cent and were trading at 4.2 cents at 1:57 pm AEST.

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