Metallica managing director Andrew Gillies said the company selling 64.3 million ordinary shares in MetroCoal at 3.2c per share provided his company with immediate additional funding to focus on its core activities, “at a time where raising funds remains generally difficult for junior mining companies”

Gillies will resign from being a non-executive director on MetroCoal’s board as part of the deal.

There share sale improves Metallica’s cash-in-bank position to about $2.5 million, with additional funds of $580,000 also expected from a research and development tax offset in November.

The company also recently entered into a nickel ores sales and royalty agreement with a privately owned company seeking to mine and extract nickel ore from Metallica’s Dingo Dam mining lease, part of its non-core Lucky Break nickel project directly west of Townsville.

This agreement would provide a further $650,000 in the near term.