Caravel Minerals Limited has announced that it has secured firm commitments for a $5 million institutional placement, issuing approximately 34.5 million new fully paid ordinary shares at an offer price of $0.145 per share. The proceeds from this placement, along with existing funds, will be utilized for several key initiatives:

•             Continued technical studies, including mine planning and metallurgical design.

•             Advancing applications for power and water access.

•             Progressing environmental regulatory approvals.

•             Ongoing stakeholder engagement, including discussions with cornerstone investors and potential partners.

•             General working capital needs.

Commenting on the placement, Caravel’s Managing Director, Don Hyma, expressed enthusiasm about the strong support received from both domestic and international institutions. He stated that this capital raising will significantly contribute to advancing the Caravel Copper Project toward development. Hyma emphasized that the positive response from investors reflects the scale and quality of the Caravel Copper Project, which is one of the few long-life copper development assets currently available. He noted that its location in a Tier-1 jurisdiction, near world-class infrastructure and services, adds to its attractiveness.

Hyma further highlighted copper’s pivotal role in the global decarbonization movement, positioning the Caravel Project favorably amid forecasts of a structural supply deficit by the end of the decade. He acknowledged the contributions of Canaccord and the introduction of Cumulus Wealth as Co-Managers, which helped achieve this successful outcome despite challenging market conditions.

The placement has garnered support from Caravel’s existing shareholders and will also welcome several new investors to the register. It will involve issuing 34,482,759 new shares, representing approximately 6.2% of the company’s issued capital. The offer price of $0.145 per share reflects a 21.6% discount to the last closing price of $0.185 per share on October 15, 2024, and a 14.3% discount to the five-day volume-weighted average price of $0.169 per share as of the same date.

This placement will be conducted in a single tranche in accordance with the company’s existing placement capacity, as outlined in ASX Listing Rule 7.1A. Settlement for the new shares is expected on Thursday, October 24, 2024, with allotment scheduled for Friday, October 25, 2024. The new shares will rank equally with Caravel’s existing fully paid ordinary shares.

Additionally, management plans to subscribe for approximately $190,000 in the placement, pending shareholder approval at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting. Notably, the placement is not underwritten, with Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Limited serving as the Lead Manager and Cumulus Wealth as Co-Manager.