The company on Friday announced that it would issue more than 161.94-million new shares, at a price of 2.1c each, to new and existing sophisticated and professional investors under its existing placement capacity.

“The A$3.4-million capital raising provides West Wits with the funding to rapidly advance the bankable feasibility study and infill drilling programme at Witwatersrand Basin, which are key steps towards the company’s goal of commencing production in mid-2021,” said MD Jac van Heerden.

“The funds also enable West Wits’ exploration team to commission airborne geophysics surveys at the highly prospective Mt Cecelia project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia, which has been fundamental to recent discoveries such as Rio Tinto’s Winu project in the region.”

Van Heerden said that the support for the capital raising was a strong endorsement of West Wits’ plans to rapidly advance the Witwatersrand Basin project and to ramp up exploration.

A recent scoping study for the Witwatersrand Basin project estimated that it could produce between 50 000 oz/y and 60 000 oz/y of gold at steady state production.