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The placement was managed by Petra Capital and priced at 26c per share, a 7% discount.
Ascend, which has more than US$1.2 billion under management, has put in A$7.7 million through its Virtue Investments fund.
While Virtue owns more than 5% of Widgie it will have first right of refusal in relation to future debt financing.
Widgie managing director Steve Norregaard said the placement garnered strong support from other new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors.
Near-term developments
The company is advancing two near-term mining operations within its Mt Edwards project in Western Australia, both its nickel ambitions, and an emerging lithium direct shipping opportunity, and will use the funds for exploration and evaluation.
In recent weeks Widgie has filed the paperwork for its planned Faraday DSO mine. The high-grade deposit was discovered just six months ago, and already has a resource of 481,000 tonnes grading 0.59% in the southern starter pit area, where it hopes to start mining in December.
Widgie has also made a new nickel discovery south of its Gillet deposit. Gillett is now open to the north and south, and there is a 1km-long largely untested corridor towards the Widgie Townsite target further to the north.
Widgie has 168,000t of contained nickel in resources at Mt Edwards, with 71,800t across the three deposits that comprise it Widgie South sub-project.
A scoping study on Widgie South is underway, and it is expected to follow the Armstrong redevelopment as its second production centre
The Mt Edwards tenure has a precious metals endowment that is yet to be fully studied.
Widgie shares have traded at 22-67c over the past year, and last traded at 29.5c capitalising it at about $74 million.
The company started the quarter with A$4.7 million in cash.
