Hercules Metals raising $30 million in bought deal financing
Hercules Metals Corp. [BIG-TSXV, BADEF-OTCQB, COX-FSE] is raising $30 million from a bought deal private placement of common shares and will use the net proceeds for exploration and development of its 100%-owned Hercules property in western Idaho.
Under the agreement, a syndicate of underwriters has agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 34.5 million common shares of the company at a price of 87 cens per share. The company has granted the option to purchase up to an additional 5.2 million common shares at the offering price, potentially adding up to $4.5 million to the gross proceeds, That option can be exercise in whole or in part at any time up to 48 hours prior to closing of the offering.
Hercules shares on Friday rose 3.2% or $0.03 to 97 cents, and trade in a 52-week range of $1.62 and 52 cents.
Hercules is an exploration company with a focus on developing America’s newest porphyry copper district in Idaho. The Hercules project, located northwest of Cambridge, hosts the newly discovered Leviathan porphyry copper system, one of the most important new discoveries in Idaho to date. The company said it is well positioned for growth through continued drilling, supported by a strategic investment from Barrick Mining Corp. [ABX-TSX, B-NYSE].
Barrick, as a pre-existing shareholder, has a participation right to maintain its pro-rata percentage ownership interest in the company under an investor rights agreement dated November, 2023 between the company and Barrick.
The Hercules Project is part of a larger 73-kilometre copper belt known as the Olympus Belt, which came under Hercules’ control through a strategic option agreement with Barrick Mining in July, 2025. Under the agreement, Hercules gained the right to earn a 100% interest in over 74,000 acres of unpatented mining claims [the Olympus claims] surrounding the company’s Hercules property and its flagship Leviathan porphyry discovery. The option gave Hercules the right to increase its original land position to over 100,000 acres. It said the Olympus Claim package covers numerous porphyry targets along trend from the Leviathan system, enabling Hercules to deploy its proprietary strategy of specialized mapping and deep-penetrating geophysics to identify porphyry targets for drill testing.
Under the agreement, Hercules pledged to make $8.0 million worth of staged payments, either through the issuance of shares of cash (at its election) over three years to Barrick or its designee. On exercise of the agreement, Hercules pledged to grant Barrick a net smelter return royalty of 1.0% on the Olympus Claims, which can be bought back and reduced to 0.25% for a one-time lump sum payment of US$7.5 million. Hercules said it would not issue any shares to Barrick or its designee that would result in the gold mining giant owning more than 19.9% of Hercules’ issued and outstanding shares.
In a press release on September 30, 2026, Hercules said a 200-metre step-out drill hole has extended mineralization west of the Southern Flats discovery hole. The Southern Flats zone represents the second copper porphyry centre discovered at the Hercules Project since 2023 when the Leviathan porphyry system was initially discovered.