Empire Metals Limited / LON : EEE / Sector: Natural Resources
28 April 2022
Empire Metals Limited ('Empire' or the 'Company')
Placing to Raise £1.7M to Accelerate Exploration at the Company's Eclipse and Gindalbie Projects
Empire Metals Limited is pleased to announce that it has raised £1.7 million before expenses by way of an oversubscribed placing of 85,000,000 new ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company (the 'Placing Shares'), with new and existing shareholders in the Company, at a price of 2 pence per Placing Share (the 'Placing').
The net proceeds of the Placing will be primarily used to to accelerate the drill programmes initially scheduled for Q3 and Q4 at Eclipse and Gindalbie. The Company will also undertake further drilling at the Homeward Bound target at Gindalbie, where Empire's initial drill programme intercepted bonanza grade gold (refer RNS 30 March 2022). Empire is now fully funded for the expanded drilling campaigns targeting the high-grade discoveries at Eclipse and Gindalbie and for further regional exploration activities across the recently acquired copper-gold projects at Pitfield, Stavely and Walton.
Mr Shaun Bunn, Managing Director and Mr Gregory Kuenzel, Finance Director have each subscribed for 1,000,000 Placing Shares. Following this purchase, Mr Bunn's total beneficial ownership interest in the Company is 1,000,000 ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company ('Ordinary Shares') representing 0.23% of the Company's issued share capital and Mr Kuenzel's total beneficial ownership interest in the Company is 2,597,467 Ordinary Shares representing 0.61% of the Company's issued share capital.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "The support that we have received from new and existing shareholders is an endorsement of our confidence in the potential for significant high-grade gold resource development at our Eclipse and Gindalbie Gold Projects. We look forward to updating the market on our progress in due course. "
Application for Admission
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company. Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 4 May 2022. As a result of the issue of the Placing Shares as described above, the issued share capital of the Company now consists of 427,323,618 ordinary shares of no-par value.
Warrants
The Company has agreed to issue warrants over a total of 1,600,000 ordinary shares in the Company exercisable at 3p per share for a period of two years from date of grant to Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker).
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.
NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF TRANSACTIONS BY PERSONS DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERSONS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM
1. |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated |
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a) |
Name: |
Shaun Bunn |
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2. |
Reason for the notification |
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a) |
Position/status: |
Managing Director |
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b) |
Initial notification/Amendment: |
Initial notification |
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3. |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor |
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a) |
Name: |
Empire Metals Limited |
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b) |
LEI: |
2138002IOR7OCZZPB279 |
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4. |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted |
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a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: |
Ordinary shares of no par value VGG9688A1003 |
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b) |
Nature of the transaction: |
Placing of options over ordinary shares |
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c) |
Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) |
Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price:
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Single transactions as in 4 c) above
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e) |
Date of the transaction: |
2022-04-28 09:00 hrs UTC |
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f) |
Place of the transaction: |
Outside a trading venue |
1. |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated |
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a) |
Name: |
Gregory Kuenzel |
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2. |
Reason for the notification |
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a) |
Position/status: |
Finance Director |
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b) |
Initial notification/Amendment: |
Initial notification |
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3. |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor |
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a) |
Name: |
Empire Metals Limited |
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b) |
LEI: |
2138002IOR7OCZZPB279 |
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4. |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted |
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a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: |
Ordinary shares of no par value VGG9688A1003 |
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b) |
Nature of the transaction: |
Placing of options over ordinary shares |
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c) |
Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) |
Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price:
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Single transactions as in 4 c) above
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e) |
Date of the transaction: |
2022-04-28 09:00 hrs UTC |
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f) |
Place of the transaction: |
Outside a trading venue |
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or contact:
Empire Metals Ltd Shaun Bunn / Greg Kuenzel |
Tel: 020 7907 9327 |
S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Broker) Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl |
Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Damon Heath |
Tel: 020 7186 9950 |
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Susie Geliher / Ana Ribeiro / Selina Lovell |
Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development company with a project portfolio comprising gold interests in Australia and Austria.
The Company's strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at different stages in the development curve. Its initial focus has been on the high-grade Eclipse and Gindalbie Gold Projects in Western Australia. The Company expanded its exploration licence area in April 2022 from 9.5km2 to 1,728km2 with the acquisition of the Pitfield Copper-Gold Project and the Walton Copper-Gold Project in Western Australia, and the Stavely Copper-Gold Project in the Stavely Arc region of Victoria.
Empire also holds a portfolio of three precious metals projects located an historically high-grade gold production region comprising the Rotgulden, Schonberg and Walchen prospects in central-southern Austria.
The Board continues to evaluate opportunities through which to realise the value of its wider portfolio and reviews further assets which meet the Company's investment criteria.