Aston Minerals raises $29.3m to accelerate exploration at Edleston project

Aston Minerals (ASX: ASO) has received firm commitments from international investors to raise a total $29.3 million (before costs) for the accelerated exploration of prospects within its Edleston nickel and gold project in Canada.

The company will raise an initial $21.55 million through the issue of approximately 105 million shares at $0.20 each under Canada’s flow-through share regime, which provides tax incentives to Canadian investors for eligible mining expenditures.

The exercise will be facilitated by Canadian flow-through share dealer and fund manager Peartree Securities Inc.

The remaining $7.75 million will be raised in a simultaneous placement of 53 million shares to Australian sophisticated and professional investors at $0.145 per share.

Canaccord Genuity (Australia) has been appointed lead manager, while Red Cloud Securities Inc, Tectonic Advisory Partners and Tamesis Partners LLP will act as Canadian, US and European advisors respectively.

Aston executive chairman Tolga Kumova has subscribed for $2.5 million under the Australian placement while corporate director Rob Jewson has subscribed for $250,000.

Both commitments are subject to shareholder approval.

Resource definition drilling

Total proceeds from the capital raising will be used to complete resource definition drilling across a 1 kilometre strike of the Bardwell nickel-cobalt prospect; reconnaissance and resource definition drilling across a 6.5km strike of the Boomerang nickel-cobalt target; and drilling extensions to the Edleston Main, Sirola and other regional gold prospects.

Mr Kumova said the increased funding would allow Aston to boost the scale of its drilling programs and utilise four diamond rigs across all prospects.

“We will be phasing into having three rigs operating at Bardwell and a fourth rig alternating between additional prospects within the Boomerang target and gold prospects,” he said.

“Even though Aston has conducted extensive exploration in a relatively short period across Edleston’s nickel and gold prospects, we are only really just scratching the surface in terms of the potential strike length to be tested.”

Strong potential

The Edleston project sits along the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, within the western extension of Canada’s Cadillac-Larder fault zone along which a number of major gold deposits and mines are located.

A total of 180 million ounces of gold has been produced from the region since the first discovery in the early 1900s.

Mr Kumova said Edleston had strong potential to become a major nickel-cobalt producer.

“After evaluating the scale of mineralisation across the entire Boomerang target and the prevalence of extensive nickel sulphides across countless core racks from each drill hole, it is abundantly clear the magnitude of the discovery which is rapidly unfolding,” he said.

“Aston is now in a strong financial position to deliver on its objectives to define a potentially globally significant nickel-cobalt sulphide deposit within a tier one mining jurisdiction.”

He said value catalysts over the next six months would include ongoing exploration results from nickel and gold drilling; an exploration target for nickel mineralisation; and maiden mineral resource estimates at Edleston Main and Bardwell.