Rupert announces $45 million bought deal financing
Rupert Resources Ltd. [RUP-TSXV] has announced details of a $45 million bought deal equity financing and concurrent private placement. The company said net proceeds of the offering and private placement will be used for continuing exploration expenditures, technical and environmental studies on the company’s properties in Finland.
Rupert said it has struck a deal with a syndicate of underwriters which has agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 10 million common shares for $4.50 , each, a move that is expected to generate gross proceeds of $45 million. The underwriters have been granted the option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the offering to cover overallotments, if any, on the same terms. That option can be exercised at the offering price for 30 days from and including the closing date of the offering, which is expected to occur on March 27, 2025.
The company said it will also offer in a concurrent private placement up to 7.25 million common shares at the offering price on substantially the same terms as the offering for gross proceeds of up to $32.6 million.
Rupert shares were active on the news, easing almost 10% or 49.5 cents to $4.46. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $5.08 and $3.28.
Rupert’s Finland properties are adjacent to the Kittila gold mining operations of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. [AEM-TSX, AEM-NYSE], which holds a 9.9% stake in the junior.
Rupert recently announced the results of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its 100%-owned Ikkari gold project in northern Finland.
Highlights of the PFS include a probable mineral reserve of 52 million tonnes at 2.1 g/t or 3.5 million ounces. The company said that represents a 85% mineral resource to mineral reserve conversion.
The PFS envisages a 20-year life of mine, consisting of an open pit operation for the first 10 years with average annual production of 227,000 ounces annually, transitioning to an underground operation in years 10 to 20.
Ikkari is part of the Rupert Lapland Project, which also includes the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits, plus concessions, which are located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Pahtavaara operated between 1996 and 2014, producing almost 450,000 ounces of gold, and still contains an inferred resource of 474,000 ounces, according to a NI 43-101 technical report released in April, 2018.
Ikkari is located 30 kilometres from the town of Sodankyla and is accessible via a 30-kilometre tarmac road as well as 5.0 kilometres of forestry gravel roads.
The deposit was discovered using systematic exploration that initially focused on geochemical sampling of bedrock/till interface through glacial till deposits of 5.0 metres to 40 metres thickness. No outcrop is present, and topography is dominated by low-lying swamp areas.