Shares slid nearly 19% as Tertiary Minerals resumed trading on AIM after a nine-day suspension, the price cratering the moment investors digested yet another heavily diluted fundraise from a company that has made a habit of issuing paper to stay alive.

  • A Billion-Plus New Shares for Just £1 Million Tells You Everything About the Price Tag. Tertiary placed 1.67 billion new shares at 0.06 pence each with institutions and wealthy individuals, raising £1 million before expenses.

That price was a 14% discount to the five-day average volume-weighted price before the suspension.

After the deal closes, Tertiary will have roughly 8.82 billion shares outstanding, with the new stock accounting for about 19% of the enlarged total. In plain terms, every existing shareholder's slice of the pie just shrank by a fifth — and the market reacted by marking the stock down to 0.07p, still above the placing price but well below the prior 0.08p close.

  • This Is the Second £1 Million Raise in Four Months, Exposing a Cash-Burn Problem. Back in June, Tertiary raised roughly £985,000 by issuing 1.97 billion shares at 0.05p.

That placing was described as covering drilling through to results and a year-end mineral resource estimate, yet the company is already back for more money — suggesting its spending plans have expanded. For a firm with a market cap hovering around £3–4 million and no revenue from mining, repeat dilution is the only funding mechanism, and it chips away at whatever value exploration success might eventually create.

  • The Money Goes Toward Deeper Drilling in Zambia — a High-Risk, Pre-Revenue Bet. Proceeds will fund drilling below the oxide zone at the Mushima North silver-copper project to test whether mineralisation continues at depth, along with metallurgical testing and environmental surveys.

Management is targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate before the end of 2026 , but market observers now suspect that timeline could slip into early 2027 given the expanded drilling scope.

  • Shareholders Still Have to Approve — and More Dilution Lurks in the Fine Print. The placing is conditional on a vote at a general meeting expected around 27 October.

Broker SP Angel also receives 83 million warrants at the 0.06p placing price, which if exercised would raise another £50,000 and further dilute holders. Until the vote, uncertainty will overhang the stock — and approval would lock in the dilution at a price below where shares trade today.