DUBLIN-BASED mining and exploration company Kenmare Resources is to place 120,000,000 new ordinary shares.

The company, which operates the Moma titanium and zircon mine in Mozambique, is a member of the FTSE 250 index and has listings on the London and Irish stock exchanges.

It says the new shares will be priced at 32p, and will represent about 5 per cent of the existing issued share capital of the company.

In a trading statement yesterday, Kenmare said revenues for the first half of the year were $109 million, up from $56 million in the first half of 2011.

The company predicted a “significant improvement” in volumes in the second half of the year, with full year 2012 production forecast at 630,000 tonnes of the titanium mineral ilmenite and 50,000 tonnes of zircon.

It says the market for ilmenite remained strong in the first half of 2012, and prices have now been agreed on the majority of the company’s ilmenite production for the second half of the year.

The company says a planned “phase II” expansion to its mining operations is due to complete at the end of this year but costs have increased to $350 million.

It says the proceeds of the new ordinary share issue will be used to fund the expansion.

The balance of funds raised will be retained as contingency funding to finance payments towards a new upgraded dredge and for the next phase of expansion of its mining operations.

The company says it will make an application for the new shares to be admitted to the premium segment of the official list of the Financial Services Authority and the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange and to trading on the main market and the main securities market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange and the Irish Stock Exchange respectively. It says it expects the admission will take place at 8am on Wednesday.