Talvivaara plans a share issue to expand resources
ZINC miner Talvivaara plans to issue over 20m shares, equal to about 10 per cent of current shares, to finance a plant expansion, it said yesterday.
The 22.28m shares would be worth £84m based on yesterday’s share price.
The shares will be placed with new and existing institutional shareholders so the firm can boost production by 40-50 per cent to around 50,000 tonnes of nickel each year by 2012.
“This offering gives Talvivaara the financial resources to prudently invest in a significant expansion at Sotkamo,” chief executive Pekka Pera said.
Talvivaara also reiterated it was unlikely to meet its 2009 production target due to crushing problems. It gave no figures, but in December, the company cut its 2009 production target to 15,000-18,000 tonnes from 20,000 tonnes.