Perth-based explorer Terra Metals has raised A$85-million in a strongly supported institutional placement to accelerate work at its platinum group metals (PGM) discovery at the Dante project in Western Australia.

The company has secured commitments from new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors to subscribe for 229 729 730 new shares at A$0.37 apiece, representing an 8.6% discount to both the last closing price of A$0.405 and the 10-day volume-weighted average price.

The placement received backing from major shareholders Golden Energy and Resources, Tribeca Investment Partners, Matthew Latimore and Martin Otway, while ASX 50-listed investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company participated as a cornerstone investor.

Proceeds will be directed towards accelerating exploration and development at the Southwest prospect within the 100%-owned Dante project, where recent drilling has defined a substantial new PGM sulphide system extending over at least 850 m of strike between Southwest SW5 and SW6.

Funds will support extensional and infill drilling, resource definition and economic studies, as well as drill testing additional large-scale magmatic platinum group elements (PGE)/copper/nickel sulphide targets identified across the broader district-scale landholding.

CEO and MD Thomas Line said the A$85-million raising marked “a defining moment” for the company, highlighting the scale and quality of investor support and the growing recognition of Southwest as an emerging globally significant PGM sulphide discovery.

“The scale and quality of support – including commitments from GEAR, Tribeca and Soul Pattinson – underscores the growing recognition that Southwest is emerging as a globally significant PGM sulphide discovery within the broader Dante project.

"This capital gives us the ability not only to aggressively advance extensional and infill drilling at Southwest toward resource definition and economic studies, but also to systematically unlock the substantial exploration upside across the wider Dante corridor. We now have the balance-sheet strength to pursue scale, accelerate discovery and position Terra as a globally relevant critical minerals platform.”

Terra believes Dante has the potential to host a large sulphide deposit containing copper, gold, PGEs, vanadium and titanium; the first of its kind in Australia.