ASX-listed South Australian gold explorer Barton Gold Holdings will have a $3.5 million injection of capital following the successful completion of its placement on Friday and trading of the newly issued shares.

Barton Gold was a new entry on InDaily’s South Australian Business Index of the state’s top 100 companies last year, making its debut at #99.

Commenting on the share issue, Barton Gold managing director Alex Scanlon said the proceeds, together with those from a new retail share purchase plan, “will further boost Barton’s already strong treasury position, and will be used to accelerate definition of potential Stage 1 Resources”.

“Barton Gold aims to become the state’s largest independent gold producer,” he said.

Initially, the company will look to leverage its fully permitted Tarcoola Project mining lease and mill to restart operations, generate cash and fund expansion at its nearby Tunkillia Project.

The explorer holds around 5100 square kilometres of tenements and gold rights in the region, with its Tarcoola Project centred on the site of South Australia’s gold rush of the late 1890s.

The Perseverance open pit mine is located within this project and opened in 2016. It sits around a historical high-grade mine shaft, and ore produced here in 2018 had an average grade of approximately 3.8g/t Au.

Barton Gold has identified a high-grade extension of the open pit, Perseverance West and plans to conduct a seismic survey and drilling operations to unlock the potential of the mine.

This expansion at the Tunkillia Project will see the construction of a second mill to service its large-scale, open-pit operations.

In April, the company announced a significant mineral resources upgrade for the Tunkillia Project’s 223 Deposit, including an increase of approximately 45 per cent on the mine’s tonnage, taking its projected output to around 38.6 tonnes.

For comparison, Australia’s gold production in 2022-23 was 305 tonnes.

Barton Gold’s capital raising, on an invitation-only basis, sought to raise $3 million (before costs) at a price of $0.25 from institutional and sophisticated investors.

However, strong demand resulted in the explorer accepting another $500,000 in oversubscriptions.

“The placement reflects a strong endorsement, and increasing international awareness, of Barton’s unique opportunity to develop large-scale regional gold production on a staged, lower-risk and lower-cost methodology,” Scanlon said.

The Placement issue price of $0.25 per share represented a 5.66 per cent discount on the previously traded price and a 10.3 per cent discount on the 10-day VWAP.

Barton Gold intends to raise an additional $1 million tomorrow via a share purchase plan to its current shareholders at the same terms.

Early bird tickets for the South Australian Business Index lunch close on June 30.

Use the code SABIEB23 to purchase a single ticket for $178.62 (saving $19.70) or a table of 10 at $168.18 per person (saving $18.55pp).

Purchase early bird tickets.