• Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) has announced the completion of an $8 million placement, to be backed by a $2 million Share Purchase Plan.
  • Funds will be used in part to update the Bowdens Silver Project Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates.
  • They will also support completion of the Feasibility Optimisation Study.

 

Silver Mines has kickstarted its development plans for 2024 and beyond with an oversubscribed $8 million placement which will be backed up by a $2 million share purchase plan.

The placement to institutional, professional and sophisticated investors, both new and existing, was managed by Canaccord Genuity and Jett Capital Advisors LLC. The share purchase plan (SPP) will now give eligible shareholders an opportunity to take part in the capital raising as Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) advances the largest undeveloped silver deposit in Australia and one of the largest in the world.

Funds raised via the placement and SPP will be used predominantly for:

  • Updating Bowdens’ Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates later this year. The current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) updated in March 2023, contains 396 million ounces of silver equivalent.
  • Completing the Feasibility Optimisation Study, which is expected to boost project economics and is targeted for release in the September Quarter.
  • Continuing exploration for resource growth across SVL’s NSW tenements, as well as general working capital.

Silver Mines is already well advanced in the optimisation program to update the feasibility study for Bowdens, which received the green light from the NSW Independent Planning Commission and no objections from the state’s agencies after a rigorous approvals process.

 

A growing resource

Bowdens Silver Deposit extends to a depth of around 650 metres across a strike of 1,100m, and it continues to grow.

Ongoing project exploration within and outside the current planned open cut pit design has returned more high-grade mineralisation in Bowdens’ highly prospective Southern Gold Zone and Bundarra Zone.

Highlights over the past Quarter have included 22 metres at 185g/t silver equivalent from 130m and 45 metres at 126g/t silver equivalent from only 6m.

SVL has also been undertaking potential underground mining scenarios beneath the open-pit development. The Maiden Mineral Resource for Bowdens Silver Underground totals 42.9 million ounces silver equivalent. However further development of this resource has been placed on hold in the short term to focus on the open pit Feasibility Study.

In terms of regional target generation, SVL has nearly completed processing recent seismic survey lines and started interpretation for regional target generation.

 

Clean energy vision

As well as silver, the area at the north and east of Bowdens is highly prospective for other Group 1 metals and minerals including gold, zinc and copper, which are all essential for the clean energy transition. Silver in particular faces accelerating demand due to it being essential for solar energy and EVs.

This means Bowdens aligns closely with the NSW Government’s Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy, as noted in the IPC’s approval for the open pit mine development.

The strategy outlines a vision for NSW to be a major global supplier and processor of minerals needed for a sustainable future.

 

How placement and SPP work

The placement was completed at an issue price of $0.135 per share, which is a 19.2% discount to the five day volume weighted average price for fully paid ordinary SVL shares.

Settlement of the placement is expected to be on Thursday (8 February) 2024, with the new shared expected to be issued the following day.

SPP shares will be issued at the same price as the placement shares and will be available from next Tuesday (13 February) until Tuesday, 5 March.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Silver Mines, 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.

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