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Arizona Sonoran Copper Company has announced a strategic private placement valued at C$19.9m ($13.83m) with Hudbay Minerals.
Under this agreement, Hudbay will subscribe for 11,852,064 common shares of Arizona Sonoran at C$1.68 per share.
Hudbay currently holds 2,870,800 shares, representing a 2.12% interest in Arizona Sonoran prior to the private placement.
Post-closing of the placement, Hudbay will own approximately 9.99% of the common shares of Arizona Sonoran.
The funds raised from this private placement will be directed towards drilling, exploration, technical studies and further development of the Cactus copper project in Arizona.
Arizona Sonoran president and CEO George Ogilvie said: “We are pleased and appreciative to welcome this further endorsement of our project and the go-forward plan by the team at Hudbay. It is the company’s objective to develop Cactus to be a significant producer of copper cathodes for direct use by industry in the state of Arizona and the larger US supply chain.
“We welcome Hudbay, a mid-tier base metal producer with decades of base metal successes in the Americas and a strong existing footprint in Arizona, as a larger and increasingly engaged shareholder, able to lend its experience and expertise as we advance and develop Cactus.”
The Cactus Mine property is located approximately 3 miles (4.8km) north-west of the city of Casa Grande, in Pinal County, Arizona.
The property lies at the historic Sacaton Mine and the total site area is approximately 5,720 acres.
Hudbay president and CEO Peter Kukielski said: “Cactus is an exciting copper development project in Arizona. We see the US as a tier-1 mining jurisdiction and this investment increases our exposure to another high-quality development project in the region as we continue to advance our Copper World project.”
The closing of the private placement is expected to occur on or about 30 January 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.
The issue price represents a 15% premium to the five-day volume weighted average price of Arizona Sonoran's common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of close of trading on 7 January 2025.
In addition to the initial subscription, Hudbay has agreed to purchase additional common shares to maintain its 9.99% interest in Arizona Sonoran if pre-emptive rights held by other existing shareholders are exercised in relation to the private placement.
Hudbay and Arizona Sonoran will also enter into an investor rights agreement as part of the private placement.
This agreement will grant Hudbay certain customary rights and obligations, provided it maintains specific ownership thresholds in Arizona Sonoran.
