Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 18, Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL), an Australian company supported by investor Robert Friedland, announced plans to raise A$46 million through a share placement. The funds will support pre-construction work at its flagship Syerston scandium project in New South Wales.

A drill site at the Sunrise cobalt-nickel-scandium project in Australia, 450 km west of Sydney.

The company intends to issue over 27 million new shares at A$4.25 each, representing a 2.2 per cent premium to the previous closing price, together with an equal number of unlisted two-year options. The placement will proceed in two tranches.

Following the announcement, Sunrise shares closed 11.8 per cent higher on Monday at A$4.65, lifting the Melbourne-based company’s market capitalisation to A$574.4 million.

The Syerston project, located approximately 450 kilometres west of Sydney, hosts the world’s largest and highest-grade primary scandium resource. Measured and indicated resources total nearly 46 million tonnes grading 414 parts per million scandium, containing more than 19,000 tonnes of the metal.

Scandium is recognised as a critical mineral by Australia, Canada, and the United States due to its essential role in advanced alloys used in aerospace, automotive, and electronics applications.

A recently updated ore reserve of 2 million tonnes at 644 ppm scandium reflects an 87 per cent increase in contained metal to over 1,300 tonnes. The reserve supports an expected annual production of around 60 tonnes of scandium oxide over a 32-year mine life.

Sunrise Managing Director Sam Riggall stated: “This raising and the potential proceeds from the future exercise of options, combined with the letter of conditional funding support from US EXIM Bank for up to $67 million, gives us excellent line of sight to a comprehensive financing package for the Syerston project.”

In September, the US Export-Import Bank issued a letter indicating interest in providing financing of up to US$67 million for project development. The following month, Lockheed Martin signed an agreement to purchase approximately 25 per cent of Syerston’s future scandium oxide output under the Australia-US critical minerals cooperation framework.

Construction and commissioning of the scandium facility is estimated to take up to two years once final investment approval is granted.

Sunrise Energy Metals is also advancing a separate nickel-cobalt project at the same New South Wales location. Known as the Sunrise project, it contains one of the largest cobalt resources outside the Democratic Republic of Congo, with an estimated 170,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.