Westward Gold raises $8.2 million for Nevada exploration
Westward Gold Inc. [WG-CSE, WGLIF-OTCQB, IM50-FSE] said it has closed an $8.2 million non-brokered private placement financing with participation from strategic investors Crescat Captial LLC and Concept Capital Management.
The financing consisted of 33.12 million units priced at 25 cents per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one half of a common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share for 40 cents for 24 months after closing.
Westward Gold shares moved lower Thursday, easing 2.38% or $0.005 to 20.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 39.5 cents and $0.07.
Westward is a mineral exploration company focused on developing the Toiyabe Hills project located in the Cortez Hills area of Ladner County, Nevada, and the Coyote and Rossi Projects located along the Carlin Trend in Elko County Nevada.
“Toiyabe Hills is a critical part of the well-endowed Cortez gold district of north-central Nevada – yet, prior to Westward’s arrival, it had been historically poorly explored and misunderstood,’’ said Dr. Quinton Hennigh, an internationally renowned economic geologist and technical advisor to Crescat Capital. “Westward now holds a commanding land position across much of the Toiyabe Range,’’ Hennigh said.
Crescat Capital and Concept Capital Management participated in the offering for combined proceeds of $2.8 million. Crescat subscribed for 7.2 million units for gross proceeds of $1.8 million. This investment, combined with Crescat’s prior holdings, represents a post offering ownership interest of 12.6% (21.5% on a partially diluted basis). Concept Capital subscribed for four million units for gross proceeds of $1.0 million, representing a post offering ownership of 9.6% (17% on a partially diluted basis).
Net proceeds will be used primarily for continued drilling at Westward’s Toiyabe Hills project, in addition to further trenching, detailed geological mapping, rock chip and soil sampling programs and geophysical surveys. Proceeds will also be used for increasing cash bonding in relation to Westward’s existing plan of operations with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to allow for expanded ground disturbances.
Certain insiders of the company acquired units in the offering for an aggregate total of 8.16 million units and gross proceeds of $2.04 million (including $1.8 million invested by Crescat).
Westward recently announced drill results for the second core hole completed at the SSD Target at Toiyabe Hilles. The two holes (T2601 and T2602) were drilled to depths of 123 and 116 metres respectively. They were designed to characterize the host rocks, hydrothermal alteration, and structure associated with gold mineralization at SSD, verify the continuity of these features from their surface expression downward into the third dimension, and build upon data gleaned from nearby trenching to further determine controls on gold mineralization and apply these controls as a vector for upcoming drilling and target development.
T2602 intersected 34.9 metres of 2.91 g/t gold, including 4.1 metres of 16.15 g/t gold in silty limestone of the Wenban Formation. The company said both holes have verified the presence of a lamprophyre-filled corridor around the greater SSD target area and support the likelihood of a robust Carlin-type gold system on the property.