ASX-listed West Wits Mining has announced that it has secured firm commitments to raise A$17.5-million before costs through a share placement to institutional, sophisticated and professional investors.

The placement will involve the issue of 437.5-million new fully paid ordinary shares at a price of A$0.04 a share.

The proceeds from the placement, together with the company’s existing cash and facilities, will fund mine development, operating and financing requirements, and general working capital to accelerate gold production at the Qala Shallows project in Gauteng.

“This successful A$17.5-million placement represents another pivotal milestone for West Wits. The strong support from our investors allows us to accelerate development of the Qala Shallows project into production, with Stage 1 designed as a transformational step that positions the company as a long-life, sustainable gold producer in one of the world’s historic and prolific gold regions.

“Together with our recently secured funding facilities, West Wits is firmly placed to deliver on its growth strategy and unlock the full potential of the Witwatersrand Basin project (WBP),” West Wits chairperson Michael Quinert said on September 15.

In addition to the placement, the company has recently secured a R875-million loan facility from the Industrial Development Corporation and Absa, as well as a $12.5-million tranche of funding from Nebari, which together with the placement strengthen the company’s balance sheet and position it to deliver near-term gold production.

The funds raised will specifically be applied to capital expenditure and contingency costs for developing the Qala Shallows project, operating expenditure, financing costs and general working capital and corporate costs.

Stage 1 of the WBP – the Qala Shallows project – is based on a definitive feasibility study (DFS) that includes a declared ore reserve of 4.6-million tonnes at 2.60 g/t for 383 934 oz of gold.

The project is expected to have a life of about 17 years, producing a total of 944 000 oz of gold, with steady-state production of 70 000 oz/y over 12 years. The DFS covers about 60% of the area assessed in the earlier scoping study.

Qala Shallows is the first of five project stages planned for the WBP, with the remaining stages progressing through their own DFS processes.

In October 2022, West Wits secured a toll-treating agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater to process ore from Stage 1, Qala Shallows. Under the plan, the company aims to build a stockpile of up to 30 000 t and deliver ore to Sibanye-Stillwater at a rate of 15 000 t to 20 000 t a month, gradually increasing to a steady-state production of 65 000 t a month, corresponding to an annual gold output of 70 000 oz within three years.

The placement will be conducted in a single tranche under the company’s existing capacity and will rank equally with existing shares on issue. The settlement of the placement shares is expected on September 18, with quotation of the new shares on the ASX anticipated on September 19.