Shareholders have given an enormous show of support for Mali gold and lithium miner Firefinch, leading it to more than double a planned share purchase plan to cater for demand.

Feverish offers from existing investors saw Firefinch (ASX:FFX) receive subscriptions for $51.36 million worth of company stock, more than double the $25 million it initially sought.

It was a massive vote of confidence in the miner’s strategy, providing funds to ramp up mining and exploration at the Morila gold mine and progress the Goulamina lithium project ahead of its demerger next year into Leo Lithium.

Firefinch managing director Michael Anderson said the “incredible response” reflected the strong outlook for the company at Morila and Goulamina.

“We are humbled by the incredible response to the SPP and the overwhelming show of support from our shareholders. Some 2,500 shareholders (approximately 40% of all shareholders) applied for new shares,” he said.

“The demand reflects the strong outlook for the company and its terrific projects – Morila and Goulamina.

“We are in a strong position to continue to advance our world-class Morila Gold Project towards our goal of exceeding 100,000 ounces of production in 2022, and rapidly progress exploration and development activities at the Goulamina Lithium Project, ahead of next year’s planned demerger.

“It’s a very exciting time to be a Firefinch shareholder. I would like to personally thank our shareholders for the trust shown in your company as we execute our strategy to grow the company.”

 

The path ahead

Shareholder interest in the SPP reflects the already strong support the market has shown for Firefinch this year, validating its strategy at Morila and Goulamina.

The company was up some 271% year to date at market open today to 70c, just below its 12-month high of 73c and far above its 12-month low of 13c a share.

It already secured $47 million in a placement in June to accelerate drilling and development at Morila and provide working capital to the lithium business – which has Ganfeng on board as a 50-50 project equity partner – ahead of the demerger.

It’s also chasing a debt funding package. The additional cash raised will help fund more exploration, and the mining of satellite pits at Morila as well as preparing the all-important Morila Super Pit for the resumption of mining in 2022.

“At Morila, the funds raised will be employed to continue our aggressive exploration effort, to ramp-up mining activities at the satellite pits, improve infrastructure, continue to build the team and prepare for mining the Morila Super Pit next year,” Dr Anderson said.

“At Goulamina the funds will drive community investment, the recommencement of drilling and the acceleration of engineering and other works preparing for the Final Investment Decision at the project.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Firefinch, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.