Ascot Resources (TSX: AOT | OTCQX: AOTVF) has rallied on an impressive scale, with plans to raise at least C$40M to get its Premier Gold Project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle back on track, after shutting it down just months into its first gold pour.
Ascot’s financing will consist of a new US$11.25M loan with the company’s main creditors and a minimum US$25M private placement of shares priced at C$0.16 that can raise to US$35M depending on demand.
This funding package, said Ascot chief executive Derek White, will enable the company to undertake mine development activities necessary to advance the Premier Northern Lights and Big Missouri deposits located 25km from Stewart, BC.
The announcement follows the revelation in September that the two deposits had not been advancing on schedule, leading to insufficient ore feeds to the Premier mill and missed production targets. As a result, it decided to place the Premier project on care and maintenance until further development is completed, which is estimated to take 3-6 months.
At the time, the company had C$15M in cash, which was enough to keep the company ticking for the winter season, but additional funding was required to complete the necessary mine development work and restart operations.
Ascot intends to use the proceeds from the equity and debt financing to advance the mine development of the PNL mine by completing around 2,400m of mine development and advance this development to enable the company to access and mine the Prew zone phase 1, including the required second egress to the mine.
In addition, funds will be used to restart the mill and re-start the BM mine from its current state of temporary care and maintenance. The goal of the company is to restart mill operations in Q2 2025 and restart the BM mine so that the mill can be sustainably fed with ore from both mines.
