Latitude raises $6.7m to fuel Murchison gold drilling push

ASX-listed Latitude Consolidated has successfully shaken the tin for about $6.7 million in a strongly supported capital raise as the gold explorer looks to build on very encouraging review of a ton of historical drilling and exploration data stemming from its recently acquired Murchison gold project in the fertile Murchison Goldfields in WA.

The outcome of the recently completed independent technical review by leading geological consulting firm, CSA Global led to a significant increase in the mineral resource estimate for Murchison to more than one million ounces of gold.

Perth-based Latitude, which has tapped the equity market as the gold price bursts through the US$1,900 an ounce mark again, says it will issue about 99.2 million new Latitude shares to a high-grade cast of existing shareholders and institutional and sophisticated investors.

Latitude’s issued equity capital structure will expand to a total of about 880 million shares once the block of new stock hits its register, which is expected to happen next week.

Latitude Consolidated Chief Executive Officer, Tim Davidson said: “The proceeds (from the share placement) ensure the company is well funded over the coming 12 months to unlock the enormous value we have identified at the Murchison gold project.”

Funds raised will largely go towards the current 10,000m drilling campaign and a mine scoping study on the former Silver Lake Resources-owned Murchison asset.

Murchison hosts an updated indicated, inferred and measured resource of 13.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.6 grams per tonne gold for 1.11 million ounces of contained gold.

The project takes in the Turnberry open pit deposit and the high-grade underground Andy Well mine.

The latter still boasts a resource of 1.8 million tonnes at an eye-catching 8.6 g/t gold for 505,000 ounces of contained gold.

Turnberry now speaks for 610,000 ounces of the overall Murchison project’s contained ounces position following the CSA review, from an indicated and inferred resource of 11.3 million tonnes grading an average 1.7 g/t gold.

Mineralisation occurs over a strike length of 1.5km and remains open to the north, south and at depth, according to Latitude.

Interestingly, Turnberry failed to get a mining guernsey when former owner Doray Minerals produced 330,000 ounces of gold at nearby Andy Well from rich dirt averaging an envious grade of 8 g/t from 2013 to 2017.

Latitude hopes to receive the first set of assays from its initial drilling at Murchison early next month, while the results from drilling along the 5.5km-long Turnberry-St Anne’s auriferous corridor are anticipated in the following month.

Having picked up the 343-square-kilometre Murchison project for just $8 million earlier this year and quickly established an in-ground gold resource position of more than one million ounces, the $65 million market-cap junior – with the valuation including the latest capital raise shares – seems to be in a hurry to join a band of Australian gold players that have recently turned previously unloved assets into company makers.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au