Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) is looking to raise $10.5 million to accelerate and expand an upcoming drilling program at its Aileron Project in the West Arunta region of Western Australia.

Canaccord Genuity and Chieftain Securities acted as joint lead managers to the placement.

Encounter, which has a market capitalisation of $104.58 million, will issue 47.7 million shares at $0.22 each to new and existing institutional, sophisticated, corporate, and professional investors.

The upcoming 20,000m aircore drill program will kick off between April and May 2024, testing multiple regional-scale carbonatite targets at Aileron. This work will build on niobium and rare earth mineralisation discovered in 2023.

A diamond drilling program is also scheduled to begin in April to test a separate anomaly at the Perce target in the east of Aileron.

“Drilling at Emily and Crean is planned to establish the extent of the shallow, high-grade niobium-REE mineralisation intersected in wide-spaced drilling last year,” Managing Director Will Robinson says.

“We are particularly excited to complete the first drilling at the large, interpreted intrusions at Green and Joyce located directly east of the Luni discovery made by WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1). And the first drillhole into the intense gravity feature identified at Perce will be fascinating.”

A heritage survey is scheduled to take place later this month to facilitate drilling at the Green and Joyce targets.

Besides drilling activities, the proceeds of the placement will be used for ground geophysics and initial metallurgical assessments of mineralisation carbonatites at Aileron, as well as copper exploration in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Encounter Resources is a mineral explorer focused primarily on copper and niobium-rare earths deposits in Australia.

Encounter says it is well-funded with a $16 million cash position anticipated upon completion of the placement, according to this morning’s announcement.