TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX: AQA) ("Aquila" or the "Company"), announced today that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering"), raising gross proceeds of $7.9 million. The Offering was over-subscribed with 36,017,725 units (the "Units") issued.
Each Unit was priced at $0.22, and consisted of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Aquila common share for $0.30 for a period of 36 months from today's closing date (the "Warrants").
Certain Company insiders, directors, and officers, including Orion Mine Finance and Ruffer LLP, participated in the Offering, and represented approximately 24% of the total placement. The subscriptions by Company insiders are "related party transactions" for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Offering was completed in reliance on available exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 provided in of Section 5.5(a) and Section 5.7 (a), respectively, of MI 61-101.
Aquila intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement to complete a Feasibility Study for the Company's zinc- and gold-rich Back Forty project, strengthen and expand its management team as it prepares for the construction phase at Back Forty and for general working capital purposes.
In connection with the Offering, the Company paid finders' fees of $375,370 and issued 1,410,775 broker warrants with the same terms as the Warrants, which represent approximately 4% of the Units issued under the Offering.
About Aquila Resources
Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX: AQA) is a development-stage company with strategic assets in the Great Lakes Region. The company's experienced management team is currently focused on advancing permitting activities for its 100%-owned gold- and zinc-rich Back Forty Project in Michigan.
Aquila's flagship Back Forty Project is a volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit located along the mineral-rich Penokean Volcanic Belt in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In its updated Preliminary Economic Assessment filed in September 2014, Back Forty demonstrated strong economics with a pre-tax NPV of $282 million ($210.8 million after-tax) and a pre-tax IRR of 38.8% (32% after-tax) based on mining 16.1M tonnes of measured, indicated, and inferred resources over the 16-year life of mine, of which 12.5M tonnes will be open-pit and 3.6M tonnes will be underground.
