Coal mining company New Hope is looking to increase its stake in Malabar Resources by committing up to A$105m ($68.4m) in an equity-raising initiative.

In a stock exchange filing, the coal miner said that it “has committed to take up to A$105 million of a minimum A$160 million institutional placement equity raising launched by Malabar Resources Limited (Malabar) earlier today (Malabar Equity Raise).”

New Hope will use its current cash reserves to fund the commitment.

The Malabar Equity Raise, which seeks a minimum of A$160m, has drawn a firm placement allocation of A$76m from New Hope, which will increase its shareholding from 15% to a projected 19.9%.

In addition to the firm placement, New Hope agreed to a conditional placement allocation of A$29m, subject to approval from Malabar shareholders.

If granted, this would further elevate New Hope's stake in Malabar to nearly 23%.

The new ordinary shares in Malabar will be issued at a price of A$1.80 each and the equity raise will dilute existing shares by approximately 17.7%.

Funds from the Malabar Equity Raise are earmarked for the acceleration of the Maxwell Mine Project, which includes the development of a 300m-long wall.

In August 2022, New Hope secured mining leases approval from the Government of Queensland in Australia for stage three of the New Acland project.