Friedland-backed Sunrise raises another $21.5M for scandium project

[Ben Graham]

Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL), the Australian scandium miner backed by Robert Friedland, has raised another A$32.5 million ($21.5 million) to fund pre-construction of its flagship Syerston project in New South Wales.

In a press release on Tuesday, the company said it has received investor commitment to buy 5 million shares at A$6.50 per share. The issue price represents a small discount to the stock’s closing price of A$6.65 in Sydney last week.

This represents the third placement that Sunrise announced over the past month. On November 17, it raised A$46 million through issuing new shares priced at A$4.25 apiece, followed by another A$18.86 million by issuing shares at A$4.90 each.

Together with its April financing round, Sunrise has now raised approximately A$105 million to accelerate work on its Syerston scandium project. Of that amount, A$59 million remains subject to approval at a shareholders’ meeting next month.

In addition to private placements, the scandium developer formerly known as Clean TeQ may also gain access to a US$67 million loan, as announced by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) in September.

“The additional funds raised over the past two months, combined with potential proceeds from the exercise of options and export credit agency funding support, allow us to commit to pre-construction activities and target on-site construction by mid-2026,” stated Sam Riggall, Sunrise’s managing director and CEO.

Shares of Sunrise rallied to start the week, closing Tuesday’s session at A$7.38 apiece with a market capitalization of A$977.8 million ($649.3 million).

High-grade scandium deposit

Located about 450 km west of Sydney, the Syerston project represents one of the world’s largest and highest-grade deposits of scandium. A recent resource update showed it has nearly 46 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 414 parts per million scandium.

Friedland-backed Sunrise Energy doubles scandium resource in Australia

Categorized as a critical mineral by many Western nations, scandium is a vital building block for semiconductors that power mobile communications, aerospace and automotive applications. The US accounts for about 90% of overall demand, but rival China controls most of the supply.

Amid trade uncertainties, the US is looking establishing alternative supply sources through allied nations like Canada and Australia and developing future domestic sources. In October, defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced its intention to buy about a quarter of Syerston’s annual scandium output as part of the new Australia-US critical minerals pact.

According to Sunrise’s estimates, the Syerston project is capable of producing approximately 60 tonnes of scandium a year over a 32-year mine life, based on the latest ore reserve update.