Dalaroo Metals Secures A$1.75M for Bondoukou Gold and Blue Lagoon Exploration

Dalaroo Metals Locks In A$1.75 Million to Fire Up Gold and Rare Earth Exploration

Dalaroo Metals Ltd (ASX: DAL | OTCQB: DALMF) has secured firm commitments for a A$1.75 million placement, providing the company with a funded runway to accelerate exploration across two high-priority international project fronts — the Bondoukou Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire and the Blue Lagoon Rare Earth Project in Greenland. Dalaroo Metals secures A$1.75 million for Bondoukou gold and Blue Lagoon rare earth exploration, a raise that drew strong participation from new and existing sophisticated and institutional investors, with directors collectively committing A$320,000 of their own capital — a clear signal of insider conviction in the portfolio's direction.

CEO John Morgan commented: "This capital raising provides Dalaroo with a strong platform to accelerate exploration across two highly compelling growth fronts… We are pleased with the strong support received under this Placement, which reflects growing confidence in the quality of our portfolio and our ability to unlock value through systematic exploration."

The Placement at a Glance

The raise involves the issue of approximately 23,333,333 fully paid ordinary shares at A$0.075 per share, with one free attaching option for every two shares subscribed for, exercisable at A$0.10 over a 5-year term. That options kicker, furthermore, provides investors with meaningful upside leverage beyond the initial placement.

The placement is structured across two tranches:

1. Tranche 1 — 19,066,667 shares to non-related party investors, raising approximately A$1.43 million, settleable without shareholder approval. Settlement expected 18 May 2026, with trading commencing 22 May 2026.

2. Tranche 2 — 4,266,666 shares to participating directors, raising A$320,000, subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting expected on or around 25 June 2026.

Where the Money Goes: A Clear Exploration Mandate

Rather than being applied to corporate overhead, the bulk of the placement proceeds is directed squarely at advancing drill-ready and near-drill-ready targets across Dalaroo's international portfolio. The allocation, consequently, reflects a company in active exploration mode, not standing still.

Bondoukou Gold Project (Côte d'Ivoire):

• Maiden RC drilling program targeting priority zones
• Follow-up auger drilling
• Completion of the ongoing soil geochemistry program

Blue Lagoon Rare Earth Project (Greenland):

• Offshore sediment sampling
• Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys
• Expanded auger drilling
• Petrological, mineralogical, and metallurgical studies

Bongouanou Project (Côte d'Ivoire):

• Field mapping and systematic soil geochemistry (subject to permitting progression)

Working capital and project evaluation round out the use of funds, supporting ongoing corporate operations and new opportunity assessment.

The Projects Driving the Raise

Bondoukou Gold Project — Côte d'Ivoire: Drilling on the Horizon

Bondoukou is the company's most immediate near-term catalyst. Reconnaissance programs have confirmed artisanal workings extending across approximately 9.5 kilometres of strike, with rock chip sampling returning high-grade results of up to 17.95g/t Au. These are not small, isolated numbers — artisanal activity across nearly 10km of strike is a meaningful geological indicator.

Geological mapping has identified a structurally controlled gold system associated with an interpreted antiform, with the highest-grade results concentrated near the hinge zone. This structural setting is consistent with orogenic gold deposits common to the Birimian Greenstone Belt — a geological province that has produced world-class gold endowment across West Africa.

Strategically, the project sits approximately 35km from Endeavour Mining's Tanda deposit, providing a useful regional reference point for the geological prospectivity of the area.

The ongoing soil geochemistry program is being designed to sharpen drill targeting before the maiden drilling campaign commences — a campaign that the placement now funds. In this way, Dalaroo Metals secures A$1.75 million for Bondoukou gold and Blue Lagoon rare earth exploration with a clear and systematic path forward.

Blue Lagoon Rare Earth Project — Greenland: Building the Case for Basin-Scale REE Mineralisation

Blue Lagoon sits within the Gardar Alkaline Province of south-west Greenland, a geological setting known for alkaline intrusive systems associated with rare earth, zirconium, and niobium mineralisation. Dalaroo's exploration to date has confirmed broad anomalous REE, zirconium, niobium and hafnium mineralisation across the project area.

Key surface sampling results include:

Fine-fraction enrichment observed in sampling supports the potential for natural concentration of heavy mineral-bearing sediments — a meaningful characteristic for sediment-hosted systems where mineral sorting and accumulation can create higher-grade zones.

The next phase of work — funded by this placement — will focus on offshore sediment sampling and deeper auger drilling to assess basin-scale sediment accumulation, continuity, and potential concentration zones.

Understanding Sediment-Hosted Rare Earth Mineralisation — Why It Matters

What Is Sediment-Hosted Rare Earth Mineralisation?

Sediment-hosted rare earth mineralisation refers to the natural accumulation of rare earth-bearing minerals within sedimentary deposits — often lake beds, coastal sediments, or river systems — where geological and hydrological processes concentrate heavy minerals over time.

Why Does It Matter to Investors?

Unlike hard-rock rare earth deposits, sediment-hosted systems may offer advantages in terms of lower-cost extraction pathways due to softer material and potentially simpler processing. Early-stage indicators such as fine-fraction enrichment and anomalous multi-element results (REE, Zr, Nb, Hf) are considered positive geological signals that a viable system may be present.

The next phase of work at Blue Lagoon is specifically designed to test whether the system scales up at depth and offshore — a critical step in understanding whether this is a project of commercial significance.

Key Technical Terms

• TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxide): A measure of the combined concentration of rare earth elements expressed as oxide equivalents — the standard metric used to assess rare earth project quality.
• ZrO₂ (Zirconium Oxide): The oxide form of zirconium, a critical mineral used in ceramics, nuclear applications, and specialty alloys.
• GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar): A geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface, useful for mapping sediment thickness and basin structure.
• Auger Drilling: A shallow, low-cost drilling method used to collect soil and sediment samples for geochemical analysis.
• RC Drilling (Reverse Circulation): A common exploration drilling method that returns rock chips to the surface for sampling and analysis, used to test for mineralisation at depth.
• VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price): The average price of a share weighted by trading volume, used as a benchmark for placement pricing.

Director Skin in the Game

One notable feature of this placement is meaningful director co-investment. Three directors are participating for a combined A$320,000 — subject to shareholder approval at the General Meeting.

Director participation at this level is typically interpreted as a positive signal — those with the deepest knowledge of the company's assets and pipeline are choosing to put personal capital to work at the same terms as external investors.

Key Milestones and Timeline

Beyond the immediate settlement timeline, the funded exploration programs — particularly the maiden drilling at Bondoukou and the offshore sampling campaign at Blue Lagoon — represent the next set of material catalysts for the company. Drilling results, in particular, tend to be high-attention events for junior explorers.

Investment Thesis: Two Fronts, One Funded Strategy

Dalaroo now enters the next phase of exploration with a strengthened balance sheet and a clear work programme. The investment case rests on several converging factors:

• Dual commodity exposure: Gold in Côte d'Ivoire and rare earth/critical minerals in Greenland provides Dalaroo with diversification across two commodities that have attracted sustained investor interest — gold as a store of value and inflation hedge, rare earths as inputs to technology and clean energy supply chains.

• Birimian Greenstone Belt credibility: Bondoukou sits within one of West Africa's most prolific gold-hosting geological terranes. The 9.5km artisanal working corridor and high-grade rock chip results (up to 17.95g/t Au) represent a meaningful early-stage dataset warranting systematic drill testing.

• Maiden drilling as a near-term catalyst: The upcoming RC drilling campaign at Bondoukou is the company's most proximate value-inflection event. Drill results have the potential to materially re-rate the project's perceived value, either confirming or refining the current geological model.

• Blue Lagoon's multi-element profile: TREO of up to 0.81% and ZrO₂ of up to 4.42% from surface sampling, alongside anomalous niobium and hafnium, points to a system with meaningful multi-element potential that warrants the planned offshore and deeper investigation.

• Insider alignment: With directors collectively committing A$320,000 to the raise, shareholder and management interests are closely aligned.

Why Investors Should Keep Watching Dalaroo Metals

Dalaroo is at a pivotal juncture — transitioning from early-stage reconnaissance into active drill testing at its gold project while simultaneously building the geological framework needed to evaluate the scale of its Greenland rare earth opportunity. The placement provides the funding to execute on both fronts concurrently.

For investors interested in junior explorers with:

• Active near-term drilling catalysts
• Exposure to gold in a proven West African geological province
• An emerging rare earth and critical minerals story in Greenland
• Demonstrated insider conviction through director co-investment

Dalaroo's next few months are worth monitoring closely. In summary, Dalaroo Metals secures A$1.75 million for Bondoukou gold and Blue Lagoon rare earth exploration, positioning itself to generate material newsflow across both project fronts in the months ahead.

Dalaroo Metals has secured A$1.75 million to fund a maiden drilling campaign at its Bondoukou Gold Project and advance offshore rare earth exploration at Blue Lagoon in Greenland. With high-grade rock chip results of up to 17.95g/t Au already in hand, strong director participation, and two funded exploration programmes entering their most decisive phases, the company is positioned to generate material newsflow in the months ahead.

Ready to Follow Dalaroo Metals' Next Exploration Chapter?

With a funded maiden drilling campaign at Bondoukou and an advancing rare earth programme at Blue Lagoon, Dalaroo Metals (ASX: DAL) is entering one of its most active exploration periods to date. To learn more about the company's projects, portfolio strategy, and upcoming catalysts, visit the official Dalaroo Metals website at www.dalaroometals.com.au.