Bathurst Resources is seeking to raise $55 million through a share placement to fund the acquisition and development of coal tenements in New Zealand.
The West Perth-based miner said it would issue 52.4 million shares at $1.05 per share, representing around 8.5 per cent of its current issued capital.
The funds will be used for the development of the Brookdale assets next to Bathurst's operating Cascade mine and assets acquired in March through the purchase of Galilee Energy subsidiary Eastern Resources Group.
Bathurst on Tuesday said it had entered into an agreement with Robert Griffiths and his associated entity, Brookdale Mining NZ, to acquire the Brookdale assets for $US12 million ($A10.99 million) in cash, 15 million Bathurst shares and a royalty.
The Brookdale assets are also adjacent to Bathurst's Escarpment block, where it hopes to begin work on an open cut coal mine by September or October.
The acquisition completes Bathursts consolidation of its South Buller operation.
Bathurst managing director Hamish Bohannan said the company believed the acquisition added good value to the South Buller project.
"At the mid-point of Bathurst's Exploration Target of 20Mt, the purchase price equates to approximately A$1.40/t," Mr Bohannan said.
"When combined with the potential operational synergies from merging Brookdale with our own operations, Bathurst is confident of the upside available to its shareholders from the acquisition."
Bathurst's shares on the Australian stock exchange were in a trading halt, last trading at $1.17.
