Prairie Downs raises $5.5m in placement

Perth-based metals explorer Prairie Downs Ltd has announced plans to raise $5.5 million through a placement, with the money to be spent on the exploration and development of the company's namesake zinc project.

The full text of a company announcement is pasted below

Prairie Downs Metals Limited ('the Company") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a share placement to institutional clients of Southern Cross Equities Limited. All participants in the share placement are institutional and sophisticated investors who meet the requirements under Section 708 of the Corporations Act 2001.

The share placement will comprise of an issue of 6.0 million shares at a price of $0.91 per share to raise a total of $5.46 million (before costs of the issue). The share placement is subject to shareholder approval which will be sought at a general meeting to be held on or around 27 August 2007. The Company expects that notice of meeting materials will be dispatched to shareholders shortly. The Company will also seek approval for a share placement to professional investors completed on 29 January 2007.

The funds raised pursuant to the share placement will be applied to ongoing exploration and development of the Prairie Downs Zinc Project including:

• Financing of the future exploration programme;
• Development of an exploratory decline;
• The early purchase of a ball mill; and
• Working capital requirements.