London-listed miner Kennedy Ventures to raise £2m towards lithium project
Kennedy Ventures is raising £2m to help fund the miner's potential lithium project in Africa.
The Aim-listed firm will issue 66.7m shares at 3p each, nearly 40 per cent below its closing price on Tuesday.
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The cash will be used by its 75 per cent owned subsidiary, Aftan, to upgrade and expand the existing Tantalite mine, and open up another mineral deposit which could produce lithium concentrate in the second quarter of 2017.
Kennedy would then become the "first and only" London-listed firm with actual production of the so-called "white gold", and wants to eventually produce the higher value lithium carbonate.
Demand for lithium is expected to surge in the coming years, due to its usage in the batteries which power most electric cars.
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Majestic Wine founder and cricket boss Giles Clarke, who chairs the firm, told City PM there wouldn't be another fundraising round anytime soon. Kennedy expects to be fund future work through its cash flow, which it believes will turn positive in the near future.
The company's shares closed down 34.21 per cent to 3.12p per share.