Askari Metals (ASX:AS2) raises $1,150,000 to drive maiden drilling at Nejo

Askari Metals has secured firm commitments of $1,150,000 at an issue price of $0.01 per share to fund a maiden drilling program at the Nejo Gold and Copper Project in Ethiopia and to progress broader African exploration activities, including the Uis rare metals project in Namibia.

The placement is directed at new and existing sophisticated investors, with director participation, and is intended to support ongoing exploration and the company’s balance sheet.

Highlights

• $1,150,000 placement at $0.01 per share, with 115,000,000 new fully paid ordinary shares to be issued.

• 2 free attaching options per share, subject to shareholder approval, with exercise prices of $0.015 and $0.022 and expiries in 2028.

• Director participation of $100,000 from newly appointed Non Executive Director Martin Holland and $50,000 from Non Executive Director Tim Morrison.

• Maiden 3,000m to 5,000m drilling program at Nejo initially focused on the Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2 gold targets, within a broader planned 20,000m program.

• Systematic exploration underway on the Guji Gudeya and Guliso Gold Trends with a combined strike length of more than 18km, and a dual approach at the Katta copper target.

• Exploration at the Uis Project in Namibia set to re commence, with assay results from a trenching campaign to be released and work on tin, tantalum and rubidium to restart.

• Approximately $3.2m in available cash and assets held for sale.

The placement will be completed in a single tranche under Askari’s existing placement capacity approved at a general meeting on 22 October 2025.

Participants are to receive, subject to shareholder approval, 2 free attaching options for every share subscribed, comprising 1 unlisted option with an exercise price of $0.015 expiring on 1 December 2028 and 1 listed AS2OB option with an exercise price of $0.022 expiring on 31 December 2028.

CPS Capital is the lead manager, while Minmetals Securities Co., Ltd has acted as marketing and investment advisor across Asia, including China and Hong Kong.

The use of proceeds is clearly defined with $800,000 allocated to the maiden drilling campaign at Nejo, $150,000 directed to Ethiopian infrastructure and business establishment, $120,000 applied to debt repayment and $80,000 covering offer costs, aligning exactly with the total $1,150,000 raised.

The board has also flagged director and related party participation of $150,000, equating to 15,000,000 shares and 30,000,000 free attaching options, subject to shareholder approval.

Nejo is described as an advanced stage, brownfields high grade gold and copper project on the Arabian Nubian Shield, covering a district landholding of approximately 1,200km² surrounding the 1.7Moz Tulu Kapi Gold Mine and along strike of the 3.4Moz Kurmuk Mine.

The company has digitised historical RC and diamond drilling and trenching data to design an “early” drilling plan aimed at validating previous results and expanding known zones of mineralisation.

The initial 3,000m to 5,000m program at Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2 forms part of a broader phased strategy to drill more than 20,000m, while simultaneously mobilising equipment for infill and extension trenching, geophysics and ground based mapping and sampling across the 1,200km² landholding.

Regional work is already under way, with the maiden exploration program across the Guji Gudeya and Guliso Gold Trends, which together exceed 18km of cumulative strike, incorporating soil and rock sampling, geological mapping and trenching, while the technical team remains on site for an extended period to advance the program.

The Guliso Trend hosts high priority targets at Soyoma, Dina, Chago and South Chago over a continuous strike of approximately 10km, while the Guji Gudeya Trend contains drill ready targets at Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2 over about 9km parallel to the Tulu Kapi Trend, with previous work indicating high grades of gold mineralisation near surface and limited follow up.

A dual approach is in place at the Katta Target in the northwest, where historical diamond drilling completed by the UNDP identified significant high grade shallow copper mineralisation and several outcropping copper gossans that remain untested, with the company referring to a potential VMS style of mineralisation and deposit geology.

Geophysical datasets are being compiled ahead of a detailed airborne survey intended to orient mineralised shear zones beneath cover and to join mineralised zones along the same trends.

The capital raising also supports renewed activity at the Uis Project in Namibia, where exploration is focused on expanding rare metal mineralisation in pegmatites that host high grade tin, tantalum, rubidium and lithium.

The project lies along the Cape Cross – Uis Pegmatite Belt within 2.5km of the operating Uis Tin Tantalum Lithium Mine and less than 230km by sealed road from the deep water port of Walvis Bay.

The company states that assay results from a previous trenching campaign at Uis will be released, with exploration set to re commence.

Askari Metals Executive Director Gino D’Anna emphasised the role of the new capital in maintaining exploration momentum, commenting:

“I thank our existing shareholders for their ongoing support for Askari’s vision for exploration in Africa, and welcome new investors to our register.”

Askari notes that it is building a Tier 1 gold portfolio focused in Ethiopia and that it is well funded to commence the Nejo maiden drilling program and to advance its African focused exploration strategy across Ethiopia and Namibia.

The board has signalled that expanded exploration programs, additional drilling and renewed work at Uis are planned as the company moves into 2026, with the latest placement framed as a key step in supporting these operational objectives.