Lucapa raises A$12.5mln for diamond exploration

Lucapa Diamond is planning to raise A$12.5-million to fund accelerated exploration programmes to take advantage of higher diamond prices.
The company said it had received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors to subscribe for 166,6 million fully paid new ordinary shares in the Company at an issue price of $0.075 per share.
Lucapa said the shares would be issued under its existing placement capacity, and the placement was anchored by Sydney- and Singapore-based investment fund, Tribeca Investment Partners.
“Our recent and collaborative interaction has identified several opportunities, including venturing with the Kimberley Syndicate to develop a unique provenance offering as Lucapa continues its strategy of moving downstream to capture significant retail margins,” said the company managing director Stephen Wetherall.
He said the A$12.5-million placement, coupled with the A$14-million loan repayment to be received from Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo (SML), helped them to settle interest-bearing debt ahead of plan, thereby improving profitability and strengthening the balance sheet.
“This puts Lucapa in a solid financial position where we can realise near-term value catalysts quickly by speeding up the Lulo kimberlite exploration with the dedicated bulk sampling plant, complete the drilling programme at the Brooking project and accelerate revenue and margin growth initiatives,” said Wetherall.
“Importantly, the placement has added an investor with similar downstream ambitions with regards to Merlin diamonds and significant funding capability.”

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished