Southern Gold in trading halt with capital raising news pending

Southern Gold Ltd (ASX:SAU) has been granted back-to-back trading halts by the ASX with a capital raising announcement pending. The halt will remain in place until the beginning of regular trading on Thursday, September 3, or when an announcement is released to the market, whichever occurs earliest. Shares of the South Korean explorer last traded at 13.5 cents. Strategic drilling partnership Southern Gold recently executed a binding legal agreement with Ausino Drilling Services (ADS) Pty Ltd in support of the delivery of mineral exploration drilling in South Korea. This strategic partnership has a term for four years and involves issuing ADS with performance rights, which are anticipated to vest in a shorter time frame. ADS is a privately-owned contract drilling company based in Adelaide and Perth, Australia, with operations in the People’s Republic of China. The principals of ADS have extensive drilling experience in several different drilling styles including underground and surface diamond drilling capability, which is critical to Southern Gold’s strategy in South Korea.