Black Bear Minerals has secured firm commitments for a $12.5 million placement priced at $0.55 per share to fund ongoing exploration and technical studies at the Shafter Silver Project in Texas.

The placement involves issuing 22,727,273 new shares using existing placement capacity. Canaccord Genuity acted as Sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner. Settlement of the new placement shares is scheduled for Thursday, 3 September 2026.

Net proceeds will support a Stage 1 underground drilling program targeting resource growth and definition. Funds will also be applied to resource validation and infill drilling to support the conversion of Shafter's foreign mineral resource estimate to JORC standards, alongside advancing permitting, restart engineering, and mine planning studies. A portion of the capital will provide working capital flexibility, including the option to cash-settle deferred acquisition consideration.

Executive Chair Matthew Hayes has agreed to subscribe for $500,000 in the placement, subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting scheduled for early-mid November 2026.

Black Bear acquired 100% ownership of Shafter in November 2025, taking control of approximately A$150 million in existing mine and processing infrastructure. The project currently hosts a foreign mineral resource estimate of 1.89 million tonnes grading 289g/t silver for 17.57 million ounces, prepared under Canadian NI 43-101 standards, which the company is working to convert to JORC standards.

Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lindgren commented:

“The strength of support for this raise, from both existing shareholders and a number of high-quality new institutions joining the register, reflects growing recognition of what Shafter represents, a past-producing, high-grade silver project in Texas with genuine restart optionality, alongside the substantial progress at Independence through MRE expansion, a strong Scoping Study and ongoing development work. This funding lets us move straight to the work that matters, getting underground and drilling to grow and define the Shafter resource, converting the foreign estimate to JORC, and progressing engineering studies that will underpin a restart decision. We are grateful for the confidence shown by our new and existing investors, and we look forward to delivering on it”

— Dennis Lindgren, Chief Executive Officer

The company's portfolio is anchored by Shafter and the Independence Gold Project in Nevada, providing exposure to large-scale domestic precious metals systems.

Read the full announcement: $12.5M Placement to Advance the Shafter Silver Project