Chemical firm Leaf Resources raises funds to recover from explosion
Leaf Resources expects it will lift the suspension on trading in its shares by July, eight months after its Apple Tree Creek pine chemical plant, near Bundaberg, exploded.
Leaf Resources managing director Ray Mountford
The company, which extracts pine tree chemicals for the use in cleaning products, has also raised $5.1 million through a placement of 170 million shares at 3 cents a share, a massive 62 per cent discount to the last trading price. It would be added to the $1.5 million it raised previously through the issuing of convertible notes. It raised a further $500,000 from Altor Capital.
Insurance would pay out $4.6 million to cover the damage and a replacement solvent extraction plant has been located in New Zealand was being prepared for transport. It has double the capacity of the previous extractor.
The company, founded by Ray Mountfort, has still not explained how the November explosion occurred, but is also still awaiting an assessment from Worksafe Queensland.
The explosion damaged about 15 per cent of the facility and the extractor and control room were beyond repair.
