Perth-listed European base metals developer, Adriatic Metals, has tapped the market and completed a two-tranche institutional placement for $25m to expedite an aggressive program of exploration and development through to a BFS at its exciting, Vareš, multi-metals project in Bosnia.
The placement was well supported by new and existing investors, including cornerstone shareholder, Sandfire Resources, Adriatic said.
In addition, the company is also seeking a secondary listing of its shares on the Standard Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange during the current December quarter.
Adriatic Managing Director and co-founder, Paul Cronin said: “The placement leaves us in a very strong financial position and will allow the company to progress work on the Vareš Project up to a construction decision, including the completion of a BFS, without additional funding.”
“In pursuing the LSE listing, we hope to foster the interest we have received to date from investors in the United Kingdom and Europe and facilitate the participation of new investors in what is shaping up to be a world-class project.”
The company recently released a maiden mineral resource for the high-grade Rupice deposit that totalled an impressive 9.4 million tonnes grading 5.1% zinc, 3.3% lead, 1.8 g/t gold, 183 g/t silver, 0.6% copper and 31% barite.
It also updated the nearby Veovača mineral resource, now recording 7.4 million tonnes grading 1.4% zinc, 0.9% lead, 0.1 g/t gold, 41 g/t silver and 13% barite.
The preliminary metallurgical results from the project were also particularly encouraging, throwing up some excellent recoveries and concentrate grades, Adriatic said.
The Veovača prospect is a historical, zinc-lead-barite-silver mine and Rupice is a high-grade zinc polymetallic deposit, within the highly prospective Vareš mining district, effectively ignored over the last 25 years as the country rebuilt after conflicts in the 1990s.
A mothballed processing plant is already located on-site and the recent met work indicates that the plant will be suitable for processing ore streams from both deposits further down the track.
The addition of the precious metals, silver and gold, from the emerging Rupice deposit is a significant bonus for Adriatic, as it aspires to maximise net smelter revenues from a future operation at Vareš.
Based on the initial results of the metallurgical work, it seems feasible that a marketable metal concentrate may well be economically produced from the project.
Adriatic’s strategic objectives for Vareš appear to be running to plan and the broader market will soon get an idea of the potential metrics of this remarkable project in the company’s upcoming scoping study, due in 2020.
All eyes will be on the results of the scoping study when it comes out, with a positive outcome likely to de-risk future mining studies, permitting, off-take agreements and project development financing.
It has been a spectacular ride for Adriatic since it finalised the acquisition of the Vareš project in 2017 and then listed on the back of the asset early last year.
Originally listed at 20c, the company completed a 55c capital raising of $10.8m last November, reaching a 52-week high of $1.23 last July and is now sitting at $1.08 per share this week.
The company has been very active on the ground, with drilling ongoing and attractive ground geophysical survey interpretations across the project, indicating that it still has so much more to offer.
At this point, Adriatic is looking to convert its current exploration concessions into exploitation permits for mine production by mid-2020, pending the completion of several KPIs to the regulatory authorities in Bosnia.
This week’s $25m top up to the coffers has the company well-placed to take the Vareš project quickly towards an advanced development stage, particularly with its existing high-grade resources and undoubted blue-sky exploration potential in the region.
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