Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd on Monday said that it has raised £1.2 million via a placing of 60.8 million shares in order to fund its gold mine projects.

The South Korea-focused gold development company raised the money through SI Capital Ltd, a Godalming, England-based stockbroker.

The funds will be used for proof-of-concept production at its Kochang gold and silver mine in South Korea, to expand the in-country team, and for general working capital.

Bluebird is focused on restoring both the Kochang and Gubong mines to production. Ahead of restoring Gubong, which is the larger of the two, it intends to undertake ‘relatively inexpensive’ proof of production at Kochang.

It told investors on Monday it was expecting a temporary mountain use permit imminently, and was ordering and securing critical machinery to progress development.

In further news, Bluebird has appointed SI Capital as its broker with immediate effect.

‘We are delighted to have raised £1.2 million to fund the proof-of-concept mining at the Kochang gold and silver mine and to prepare operations at Gubong. The next 12 months are going to be extremely busy once we receive the temporary mountain use permit, which will allow operations to commence on the ground and head towards production,’ said Chief Executive Officer Colin Patterson.

‘We also look forward to news from the Philippines, where we recently secured a joint venture with a local Philippine company with decades of experience in mining, to advance our high grade Batangas gold project. The joint venture agreement means we have a free carry on the project to mine construction, allows us to focus on South Korea.’

Bluebird shares were trading 7.0% lower at 2.00 pence each in London on Monday at noon. The company has a total market cap of £12.9 million.

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