Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ, TSX: PPTA) has entered into an agreement with National Bank of Canada and BMO Capital Markets to purchase, on behalf of themselves and a syndicate of underwriters, approximately 22.73 million common shares of the company for $13.20 per share for $300 million.
Separately, Paulson & Co. has agreed to purchase an additional $100 million in Perpetua common shares under a private placement, bringing to total financing to $400 million.
Perpetua said it intends to use the proceeds for the development of the company’s Stibnite project in Idaho that is being fast-tracked by the Trump administration, in conjunction with the application for up to $2 billion in project financing submitted to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) in May.
Also in May, Perpetua obtained final federal approval last federal permit required to progress the project towards construction.
Combined with the EXIM debt financing and royalty financing the company believes that the net proceeds from the offering and the private placement will provide it with sufficient capital to fund the project construction costs of $2.2 billion, along with additional funds for cost overruns and exploration activities.
The Stibnite project, with its recently secured record of decision from the US Forest Service, is uniquely positioned to supply the critical mineral antimony, which is essential to national security and energy technology, the company said.
Stibnite holds an estimated 148-million-pound antimony reserve — the only identified antimony reserve in the US and one of the largest reserves outside of Chinese control. Once in production, it could meet about 35% of US antimony demand during its initial six years of production, according to the 2023 USGS commodity summary.
The company said expects the remaining state permits required to commence construction to be issued by the relevant agencies in summer 2025.
Perpetua Resources was flat at Wednesday’s market close in New York, but was down 9.8% in after-hours trading. The company has a $1.1 billion market capitalization.
