Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Many Peaks Minerals has announced an equity raise of A$5.2m ($3.4m) from a select group of high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors.

This capital injection will be earmarked to expedite exploration activities at the company’s gold projects in north-west Côte d’Ivoire.

The company secured firm commitments for a two-tranche placement of 23,636,364 new shares at A$0.22 each.

This price mirrors Many Peaks' last closing price and offers a 1% discount to the 15-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) as of 3 June 2024.

Managed by Blackwood Capital, the placement saw an oversubscription, leading to scaled-back applications to meet the A$5.2m target.

The placement was exclusively offered to institutional and sophisticated investors including long-term backers and new investors, who have shown interest in the company due to its recent acquisition of permits covering 1,275km² in Côte d’Ivoire.

The first tranche will see the issuance of around A$3m worth of shares under the company's 25% placement capacity.

The second tranche, pending shareholder approval at an upcoming general meeting, will involve issuing shares valued at around A$2.1m.

Funds from the new shares will be allocated to expedite exploration in Côte d’Ivoire, cover the offer's costs and support working capital, along with corporate and administrative expenses.

As part of the agreement with Blackwood, Many Peaks will pay a 4% placement fee, plus applicable goods and services tax (GST) on the funds raised.

Additionally, 5.2 million options will be issued, exercisable at A$0.33 each by 30 June 2027.

In March this year, Many Peaks reached an agreement with Turaco Gold to acquire an 89% stake in CDI Holdings (Guernsey).

This will trigger Turaco’s drag-along right in its joint venture with Predictive Discovery, allowing Many Peaks to buy the remaining 11% stake and gain complete ownership of CDI Holdings.