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Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited
("Chaarat" or "the Company")
Update on funds raised to advance the Tulkubash Heap Leach Project
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands (28th February 2018)
On 18 December 2017, Chaarat (AIM:CGH) announced that the Board had decided to conduct a private placing to raise up to US$20 million through a mixture of equity at a price of 25 pence per new Chaarat ordinary share ("Share") and short term Senior Secured Convertible Loan Notes (the "Notes") with a conversion price of 33 pence per share (the "Issue").
As previously announced, the Company has to date received settlement funds totalling US$11,362,250, of which US$6,412,250 represents 19,141,044 Shares issued to date, and US$4,950,000 represents Notes issued to date in that amount.
In addition to those funds, the directors and management of the Company have together provided expressions of interest totalling US$3,637,750 in respect of Shares and Notes. This means that as at today, the Company has received US$15,000,000 in committed funds or funding commitments in respect of the Issue.
The Company is awaiting final responses from certain potential investors who have previously expressed interest in the Issue. Further Shares and/or Notes may be issued in the near future, and in any case by no later than 30 March 2018, for a total value not exceeding US$5m (which would bring the total value of the Issue to $20m) if further interest in the Issue materialises.
The Company expects to publish its Feasibility Study on the Tulkubash oxide resource in April. Detailed engineering is already well underway and is being undertaken in parallel with the Feasibility Study. Following completion of this Study, the Company will be evaluating various financing scenarios that will enable construction to begin during the summer of 2018 with the objective of initial gold production in early 2020.
The Company's recently completed resource update, as announced on 31st January 2018, has served to further validate the Company's belief in the upside exploration potential of the Tulkubash oxide zone. Any contemplated financing, expected to occur in Q2 2018, will include a significant allocation for exploration drilling to add to the oxide resource, with an anticipated budget at least equal to that of 2017 and possibly significantly higher.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Enquiries:
Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited + 44 (0) 20 7499 2612
Martin Andersson - Chairman info@chaarat.com
Linda Naylor - FD/Company Secretary
Numis Securities Limited +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
John Prior, Paul Gillam (NOMAD)
James Black (Corporate Broking)
BMO Capital Markets Limited +44 (0) 20 7236 1010
Jeffrey Couch, Neil Haycock,
Thomas Rider (Joint Broker)
Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Tim Blythe
Camilla Horsfall
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About Chaarat Gold
Chaarat Gold is an exploration and development company operating in the Kyrgyz Republic with a large, high grade resource - the Chaarat Gold Project. The Company's key objective is to become a long term, low-cost gold producer.
Chaarat aims to create value for its shareholders, employees and communities in the Kyrgyz Republic by building relationships based on trust and operating to the best environmental, social and employment standards.
Further information is available at www.chaarat.com