Adriatic Metals (LSE: ADT2; ASX: ADT) has signed agreements to raise US$28 million from two new investors - Queen's Road Capital Investment and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - following the recent release of a prefeasibility study on its flagship Vares silver project in Bosnia-Herzogovina.
The investment from Queen's Road Capital consists of a US$20 million private placement of 8.5% unsecured convertible debentures and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is acquiring US$8 million in the company's ordinary shares (5.28 million ordinary shares at a price of ?1.175 per share).
Queen's Road Capital describes itself as a financier to the global resource sector and is backed by significant investors, including Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is owned by 69 countries, the European Union and the European Investment Bank and has invested more than ?,?2.6 billion (US$3.1 billion) across 183 projects in Bosnia Herzogovina, making it one of the country's biggest foreign investors.
The funds will allow Adriatic Metals to complete the definitive feasibility study, detailed engineering work and remaining permitting processes on its Vares project, as well as explore its assets in Serbia that the company picked up earlier this year in its $10 million all-share acquisition of Tethyan Resource Corp.
The Vares brownfield project consists of the Rupice and Veovaca deposits, 12 km apart, and several satellite targets, 50 km from Sarajevo. The Veovaca deposit is a previously operating open-pit mine that produced lead, zinc and barite concentrates but ceased operations in 1988. Adriatic acquired the project out of bankruptcy in 2017 for US$760,000.
The company released results from a prefeasibility study of Vares on Oct. 15 that envisions a mine life of 14 years, including an underground operation at Rupice followed by an open-pit operation at Veovaca with a throughput rate of 800,000 tonnes per year.
The study outlines average annual life-of-mine payable production of 3.1 million oz. silver, 23,100 tonnes zinc, 16,700 tonnes lead, 2,700 tonnes copper and 17,600 oz. gold. Life of mine cash operating costs are estimated at US$77 per tonne milled.
Initial capital expenditures are pegged at US$173 million, and the operation would generate a post-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of US$1.04 billion and a post-tax internal rate of return of 113%.
Vares has probable reserves of 11.12 million tonnes grading 150 grams silver per tonne, 1.28 grams gold per tonne, 4.22% zinc, 2.67% lead, and 0.43% copper.