Tactical raises up to $140M for Texas rare earths project

Tactical Resources (TSXV: RARE) said US asset manager Yorkville Advisors Global agreed to provide up to $140 million in financing – a move that will help the company advance a rare earths project in Texas after it completes a previously announced merger.The package includes $40 million in convertible debt financing and a $100 million standby equity purchase agreement, Tactical said Monday in a statement. It’s conditional on the company closing its planned combination with Plum Acquisition, which is expected by Dec. 31.Vancouver-based Tactical has rights to tailings inventory prospective for rare earth elements (REE) at the Sierra Blanca quarry, which would provide immediate potential feedstock for processing. Called Peak, its project would align with recent US efforts to boost domestic production of REE – key components in the production of high-powered magnets, fuel cells and superconductors – and help to lessen the country’s dependence on China, which accounts for an estimated 80% of global output.“This financing package validates the assets and business plan that Tactical is developing, and provides a clear path to potentially becoming the second at-scale US supplier of rare earths in the US,” Tactical CEO Ranjeet Sundher said in the statement.“Our existing tailings inventory fundamentally changes the economics and timeline of rare earth production, and we aim to move directly to processing rather than spending 10 or more years in the long-lead mine development and construction phases.”Nasdaq listingMerging with Plum will allow the resulting company to list on the Nasdaq stock market. The combination, which was announced in August 2024, has a pro-forma enterprise value of about $589 million.Under the terms of the agreement announced Monday, up to $100 million in equity financing from Yorkville will be accessible in the three years that follow the closing of the combination with Plum.Tactical is also pursuing other funding sources, including capital from unidentified strategic investors, according to Monday’s statement.Located about 113 km southeast of El Paso, Sierra Blanca produces ballast material for the Union Pacific railway. Tactical’s agreement with the quarry allows, for a fee, access to tailings material potentially enriched with REEs on the property. Tactical has an option to buy the mining lease, including the quarry operations.Maiden resourcePeak sits on the northwest side of the Sierra Blanca laccolith, which is mostly composed of tertiary rhyolite porphyry. REE minerals occur within biotite in the rhyolite units, the company says.Tactical’s plan consists of advancing a sampling and testing program to evaluate Peak’s REE potential, according to an investor presentation posted online in July. Results would pave the way for the company to conduct exploration work in preparation of a maiden mineral resource.“While many companies claim to be a rare earth supplier, we believe Tactical is only the second US company to already have existing potential feedstock at scale, and thus a much clearer potential near-term path to supplying rare earths to multiple vertical industries critical to the US economy,” Plum chairman and CEO Kanishka Roy said in the statement.“As the United States prioritizes domestic critical minerals production, Tactical is positioned to become a cornerstone of America’s rare earth supply chain into the next century.”After rising as much as 6%, Tactical shares fell 3.3% to C$1.45 Monday morning in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about C$53 million ($38 million). The stock has traded between C$0.19 and C$2.05 in the past year.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com