The company was initially seeking to raise $34 million in capital prior to its listing with a minimum subscription of 80,000,000 shares aimed at raising $24 million.

Upon the listing, the company will have a market capitalisation of $67.4 million.

Argonaut says it has sold $4 million of its investment in Cuesta, increasing its cash holding to about $7 million.

Following the completion of the sell-down, Argonaut will continue to hold approximately 16.7 million shares in Cuesta in addition to a further 26.6 million options.

Argonaut chairman Patrick Elliot said Cuesta’s IPO combined with the sell-down put the company in a robust financial position, with its extensive exploration programs in relation to Lumwana West in Zambia and Ban Bak in Laos fully funded for the next 18 months to two years.

“In addition, we have retained a significant investment in Cuesta Coal, and remain confident in its future success as a well-managed and well-funded junior coal explorer,” Elliot said.

Cuesta’s tenements are located in Queensland’s coal bearing regions of the Surat, Bowen and Galilee basins.

The company has established operating systems to fully undertake its planned 2012 and 2013 drill programmes and intends to drill 10,000m during 2012 alone.