After falling 30 per cent short in their recent rights issues Beacon Minerals (ASX: BCN) directors Graham McGarry and Geoffrey Greenhill bought almost $1.6 million between them.

McGarry bought $974,560 in shares and Greenhill bought $596,204. Sarah Shipway also participated but only bought $11,354.

The split between the rights offer and the shortfall was not clear in the 3Y notice lodged with the ASX.

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Beacon Minerals’ main project is the Jaurdi gold project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The company will commission a processing plant later this month as well as commence a drilling campaign.

It plans to drill 250-300 holes for between 15 and 20km, targeted closest to known reserves and resources.

The Jaurdi Gold project mill on 28 May 2019 (Pic: Beacon Metals)

McGarry has put his money where his mouth is. He told shareholders last week: “We are very pleased with the on-going progress at the Jaurdi gold project. The onsite team carrying out the plant and associated infrastructure installation are doing a professional job.”

“The commissioning of the plant will mark a significant milestone for the Beacon team. The team has worked diligently to bring this green-fields site, that required the procurement and installation of all site infrastructure, to fruition.”

Last year’s pre-feasibility study estimated 2.5 million tonnes would be processed, delivering 126,000 tonnes of recoverable gold. It estimated a net project value of $70.5 million before tax and a payback period of only 11 months.

Beacon shares have been volatile in recent months but are currently 18 per cent higher than late April.

 

In other ASX small cap corporate news today

Remember Select Harvests (ASX: SHV), the company that announced last Friday they had made $20 million in six months from selling almonds? Paradice Investment have accumulated a 5 per cent stake in the company. It already had spent $31 million prior to last Friday but this week spent another $6 million and became substantial holders.

Paradice also bought a 5.91 per cent stake in Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) having paid $40 million since mid-May.
 
Chinese retailer Sunbridge Group (ASX: SBB) has been delisted from the ASX this morning for several alleged breaches of ASX listing rules. The company failed to lodge its annual report and blamed it on an accounting issue that couldn’t be resolved until auditors were paid.

Why? According to the company’s lawyers they were having trouble getting the money out of China. Within hours of being suspended, two directors quit, leaving Sunbridge with one director who did not reside in Australia. The one director left had failed to lodge directors’ notices for directors’ trades amounting to several hundred thousands of dollars and was implicated by Grant Thornton in misappropriation of funds from the company.
 
Aurora’s takeover bid for 8IP Emerging Companies (ASX: 8EP) took a twist. Aurora will not proceed with the bid after it conceded an alternative proposal from 8IP was better value. It has now called on 8EP shareholders to vote for it. 8IP proposed selling and distributing its assets and has called a meeting for shareholders to vote on the proposal.