Rubirosa in $12m public raising to fund US processing plant

West Perth-based mining company Rubirosa Ltd aims to raise $12 million through the sale of shares to build, commission and commence operation of a mineral processing plant in Southern Oregon, USA.

The offer is for 40 million shares at 20c each to raise $8 million, along with over-subscriptions of 20 million shares at 20c, which could raise an additional $4 million. Excluding oversubscriptions, the company will have over 160 million shares on the market when the offer is finalised.

The company, which plans to rename itself Industrial Minerals Corporation Ltd, aims to commence production and processing of minerals from the Southern Oregon Mineral Sands Project within the coming 15 months. Exploration data from the site has indicated the presence of mineral deposits such as chromite, garnet, zircon, ilmenite, magnetite, kyanite and staurolite.

Rubirosa was incorporated in Western Australia in 2004, with the company completing a Pre IPO Capital Raising offering 10 million Shares for subscription at 16 cents per share to raise $1.6 million in June 2006.

Rubirosa is chaired by Jeremy Shervington, who also serves as a director of Australian Zircon NL, Emerald Oil & Gas NL, Biron Apparel Ltd and Prairie Downs Metals Ltd. He is joined on the board by UK-based accountant Alan Coulthard, who is a Senior Team Leader with American Express International, and Adam Rankine-Wilson, the executive chairman of corporate advisors Capital Investment Partners Pty Ltd. CIP executive director Alec Pismiris is company secretary.

Ernst and Young are serving as auditors to the deal, with CIP being the company's corporate advisors. The offer is not underwritten.

The public offer opening date is August 10, with the offer closing on September 15.