Adelaide, Nov 9, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - A placement to institutional investors has raised A$11 million for Terramin Australia Limited (ASX: TZN) as the emerging zinc producer looks to accelerate work on its flagship projects in Algeria and South Australia.
The Company announced today it had placed 6.7 million ordinary shares at A$1.64 per share in a capital raising arranged by, and made to domestic and international institutional clients of, Austock Corporate Finance Limited.
Settlement will occur on 14 November 2006 and the new shares will rank equally with existing shares.
On completion of the placement, Terramin will have 83,927,008 ordinary shares on issue. Participants in the placement represent a mix of current and new institutional investors from Australia and offshore which has enabled Terramin to broaden its institutional shareholder base.
Proceeds raised will be used for working capital, and in particular to fund:
- The rapid advancement of the infill diamond drilling and pre-feasibility program underway at the Oued Amizour zinc project in Algeria.
- Key mine infrastructure including the electricity substation for the Angas zinc project, south of Adelaide, and due to commence production late next year.
In Algeria, drilling of the +50 million tonne Tala Hamza zinc deposit within the Company's 65%-owned Oued Amizour zinc project is accelerating to allow an estimation of a JORC resource(s) early in 2007.
"The data from 40 diamond drill holes drilled up until 1994 by ORGM (the Algerian Government exploration agency) and which defined the deposit, is reported to be of high standard so JORC compliance should be achieved soon," Terramin's Managing Director, Dr Kevin Moriarty, said today.
"Under a drilling program to confirm the ORGM data, the third hole is currently near completion, the first hole which had to be abandoned after entering high grade mineralisation, will be redrilled, and the second hole, TH002, intersected 180 metres of mineralisation from 321 metre depth," Dr Moriarty said.
"The TH002 mineralised core is on the way to Australia for assaying.
"The drill program will then continue to close up the spacing to 40-50 metres with infill holes between the 40 ORGM holes to enable estimation of reserves.
"The accelerated program will employ a new third heavy duty rig to concurrently test the deposit's extension southwards where mineralisation has been intersected over several kilometres."
TH003 is currently at 364 metres.
Terramin has assessed Oued Amizour's potential at a start-up 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) increasing to 400,000 tpa of zinc concentrates for smelter customers in nearby Europe, Spain and Sardinia.
The Company has budgeted to spend up to US$6.5 million for the feasibility programme, leading to a possible decision to mine by 2008.
For additional important detail on the Oued Amizour zinc project, please refer to the company's Third Quarter Activities Report released on 1 November 2006.
Contact
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
| ||
|
