Mamba Exploration has secured a $6.0 million placement, attracted a $500,000 investment from New Murchison Gold and added former Westgold founder Peter Cook as a strategic adviser. The funding will support drilling at Meeka East and a staged earn-in over the early-stage Poison Hills project, where selective rock chips returned high silver, gold, copper and lead grades.
- $6.0 million placement at $0.038 a share
- New Murchison Gold commits $500,000
- Poison Hills earn-in could reach 80%
- Peter Cook joins as Strategic Adviser
- 6,000m Meeka East RC program planned
Mamba Secures Funding for Murchison Exploration
Mamba Exploration Limited (ASX:M24) has raised $6.0 million before costs at $0.038 a share, giving the Murchison-focused explorer funding to accelerate work across Meeka East, Copper Hills and its newly added Poison Hills project.
The placement will issue approximately 157.9 million shares in two tranches. The price is a 15.6% discount to Mamba's $0.045 closing price on 29 September, but a 9.7% premium to its 15-day volume-weighted average price. Directors are seeking approval to subscribe for $165,000 of the placement at the company's November annual meeting.
The capital raise follows Mamba's report of 165 historical copper intersections across 47 holes at Copper Hills and Lady Alma. Those results include intervals such as 26.0 metres at 1.0% copper and 13.4 metres at 1.3% copper, although the historical data does not establish a mineral resource. A 6,000-metre reverse-circulation program at Meeka East is described as imminent, while drill targeting at Copper Hills is underway.
Regional Producer Takes a Strategic Stake
New Murchison Gold Limited (ASX:NMG), a regional gold explorer, developer and ore producer, has committed $500,000 to the placement on the same terms as other participants. Mamba and New Murchison also intend to negotiate a technical services arrangement that could provide access to a Meekatharra-based team, regional data, infrastructure and logistical support.
That arrangement is not yet binding: the companies have agreed only to negotiate in good faith, with no specific terms settled and no certainty that an agreement will be reached. The strategic investment therefore carries more immediate weight than the proposed operational collaboration.
Mamba has also appointed Peter Cook as Strategic Adviser. Cook founded Westgold Resources Limited (ASX:WGX) and Metals X Limited (ASX:MLX), and joins existing Technical Adviser Peter Schwann, a former Westgold director. Cook will receive six million unquoted options exercisable at $0.06 for three years, subject to six-month vesting and his continued engagement.
Poison Hills Adds High-Grade Surface Signals
Under a binding earn-in agreement, Mamba can earn up to an 80% interest in the Poison Hills exploration licence, about 80 kilometres south-east of Meekatharra and adjacent to Solstice Minerals' (ASX:SLS) Nanadie Project. The project is early stage and considered prospective for silver, gold, copper and lead.
Four of 13 rock-chip samples from the Scorcher Vein returned more than 500 grams per tonne silver. The strongest sample assayed 2,906g/t silver, 2.63g/t gold, 0.63% copper and 0.73% lead, while another returned 1,423g/t silver, 1.26g/t gold, 0.34% copper and 0.99% lead. The company says the vein has been exposed over roughly 90 metres and is 1 to 2 metres wide where observed.
Those numbers are attention-grabbing, but they are surface samples selected where visible or possible mineralisation was present. Mamba expressly cautions that rock chips are not necessarily representative of in-situ grades, and the sampling is irregular and unsuitable for estimating a mineral resource. The proposed next steps are heritage clearance, soil sampling and RC drilling of the Scorcher Vein.
Earn-In Costs and Upcoming Approvals
Mamba must sole-fund heritage costs and at least $250,000 of exploration expenditure, including RC drilling, to earn an initial 51% interest within 18 months. It can then spend a further minimum $250,000 within the following 18 months to lift its interest to 80%. If it reaches that second stage, total consideration is set at $100,000 cash and $300,000 in Mamba shares, alongside the minimum exploration commitments.
The placement's first tranche, worth about $4.2 million, is being issued under existing placement capacity. The remaining $1.8 million, including the director participation, requires shareholder approval, as do 25 million options for corporate adviser Yelverton exercisable at $0.06 for three years. The lead managers will receive a 6% fee plus GST on funds raised, adding to the cost of the transaction.
Bottom Line?
Mamba now has money, regional backing and several near-term drilling targets, but the investment case still turns on whether selective Poison Hills samples and historical Meeka East results translate into repeatable mineralisation under the drill bit.
Questions in the middle?
- Will shareholder approval unlock the second placement tranche, director participation and adviser options?
- Can the proposed New Murchison technical arrangement become binding and reduce the practical cost of regional exploration?
- Will RC drilling at Meeka East and Poison Hills confirm mineralised widths and continuity beyond the most selective surface and historical results?