Atlas Iron raises $86m

Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan has described the results of the iron ore miner’s capital raising as an immense vote of confidence in the business, despite achieving just less than half of its $180 million target.

Atlas received applications for about $86 million from existing shareholders, contractors and new investors under its 5 cents-a-share capital raising, which was extended by three days.

The company did not release details on the raising’s breakdown, but it has been previously reported that $30 million had been offered to Atlas’s contractors, $50 million to the general public, and $100 million to existing shareholders.

“This is an outstanding result for Atlas shareholders, for the 700 people who rely on Atlas for work and for the state and federal governments that use our royalties and taxes to provide essential services,” Mr Flanagan said.

“This raising will strengthen our balance sheet considerably, giving us a measure of further protection against iron ore price volatility and enable the company to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”

Atlas has restarted mining at its three Pilbara iron ore operations, after suspending operations in April in response to plunging iron ore prices, and is targeting a previously-stated year-end production target of 14 million to 15 million tonnes per annum.

Hartleys managed the placement.

Atlas will resume trading on the ASX next Monday.