2nd Jul 2009 07:45
For immediate release
2 July 2009
African Minerals Limited
("African Minerals" or the "Company")
Cash Placing in excess of US$100 million
African Minerals Limited (AIM:AMI), the mineral exploration and development company with significant interests in Sierra Leone, West Africa, is pleased to announce that it has raised £63.8 million (approximately US$105.3 million) by way of a cash placing (the "Placing") with institutional investors.
A total of 25,538,880 new common shares of the Company (the "New Shares") have been placed by Renaissance Capital Limited ("Renaissance") at a price of 250 pence per share.
The proceeds of the Placing are to be used to:
Undertake further drilling at the Tonkolili iron ore project to delineate further magnetite iron ore mineralisation, proving a JORC compliant resource target of 10 billion tonnes;
Undertake further drilling with the objective of delineating one billion tonnes of JORC compliant hematite iron ore in the cap overlying the magnetite deposits;
Fast track the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Tonkolili iron ore body and the port, rail and power infrastructure projects; and
Provide general working capital.
Application will be made for, and the Placing is conditional upon, admission of the New Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective on or about 15 July 2009.
Subsequent to the Placing the Company will have 213,231,321 common shares in issue.
Commenting on the successful fund raising, Frank Timis, Executive Chairman of African Minerals, said:
"We are delighted with the support that premier institutional investors in North America and the United Kingdom have given the Company. Their commitment fully endorses the quality of the Company's world class iron ore assets and our experienced executive and operational teams.
The proceeds will allow us to develop the magnetite iron ore resource towards our target of 10 billion tonnes and fast track the Tonkolili Definitive Feasibility Study, to create substantial value for our shareholders. In addition we will undertake engineering work on the infrastructure required to support our iron ore projects.
This is a very large step towards us realising the full potential of our world class iron ore deposit at Tonkolili and the future infrastructure rehabilitation and construction work will in due course provide positive benefits to the local community and the economy of Sierra Leone."
Enquiries:
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African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 1481 726833 |
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Frank Timis |
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Alan Watling |
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Canaccord Adams Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7050 6500 |
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Mike Jones |
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Robert Finlay |
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Mirabaud Securities Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7878 3360 |
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Rory Scott Pav Sanghara |
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Renaissance Capital Limited Simon Matthews John Porter |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7367 8958 |
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Pelham Public Relations Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7337 1500 |
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Charles Vivian |
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Klara Kaczmarek |
Notes:
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1. |
Prudential Group plc ("Prudential") is participating in the Placing and has subscribed for and has been allotted by the Company 2,400,000 new common shares for a total consideration of £6,000,000. On 20 October 2008 Prudential notified the Company that it had an interest in 27,700,000 common shares of the Company, representing 14.77% of the Company's then total issued share capital. The Company therefore considers Prudential to be a Substantial Shareholder under the AIM Rules and as a result is considered to be a Related Party. The directors consider, having consulted with its nominated advisor, Canaccord Adams Limited, that the terms of the transaction with Prudential are fair and reasonable insofar as shareholders are concerned. Following the Placing, Prudential will hold 14.12% of the enlarged share capital of the Company. |
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2. |
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for Placing Shares in any jurisdiction including, without limitation, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, or Japan. This announcement and the information contained herein is not intended for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, to persons in the United States, Australia, Japan or in any jurisdiction in which such publication or distribution is unlawful. Renaissance Capital Limited are acting exclusively for the Company in connection with the Placing and no-one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients or for providing advice in relation to the Placing or any matter referred to in this announcement. |
Related Shares:
AMI.L