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Gold Coast-based copper explorer CuDeco has boosted its bank balance by $39.25 million following a capital raising involving two key Chinese investors.
CuDeco, which is progressing plans to become a fully-fledged miner this year, has raised the funds in two separate deals struck at $3.45 a share.
Cornerstone investor China Oceanwide International Investments Co Ltd has picked up 5 million shares, taking its interest in CuDeco to 26.9 million shares.
The China state-owned Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering Co Ltd also has boosted its substantial holding in CuDeco by 6.37 million shares.
Sinosteel, which is CuDeco’s mineral processing componentry supplier, will hold 17.3 million shares in the company subject to the Foreign Investment Review Board approval of the latest sale.
CuDeco says the Sinosteel share issue will be included as payments that are due under the procurement agreement for the processing plant at CuDeco’s Rocklands copper project near Cloncurry.
The latest capital raising will lift CuDeco’s bank balance to about $112 million, with the company reporting cash in hand of $73.4 million at the end of December.
The funds will be applied to preliminary development works at Rocklands.
CuDeco chairman Wayne McCrae (pictured) is currently in China and is not available for further comment.
The latest capital raising comes on the heels of CuDeco abandoning a $30 million issue of shares last November to investors in Asia and North America.
At the time, Mr McCrae said the decision to withdraw was backed by adverse market conditions and the company’s healthy coffers.
CuDeco’s shares have now fallen below the latest share issue price, trading at $3.38 in late morning trade – down 13c from Tuesday’s close.
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