Botswana is among four Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries set to benefit from a cash raising placement by Sable Mining for coal mining.

Aim-listed resources investment company Sable Mining Africa, says it has conditionally raised £27-million (P300 million) through the placement of 270-million new ordinary shares.

The company said in a statement this week that the funds raised would be used for its newly-implemented investment strategy, to invest in early-stage exploration and development projects, focusing on coal and uranium mining assets in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company was currently evaluating various early-stage exploration opportunities, which met its investment criteria, focusing particularly on projects in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

The shares, which were placed at 10p each, represented around 45 percent of the enlarged issued share capital of Sable, and would be admitted to trading on the Aim on December 15. Sable Mining Africa Ltd is an investing company focused on early stage exploration and development projects in the mining sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company says its primary objective is to benefit from early exposure to mining businesses or assets in underdeveloped locations which have the potential to attract substantial foreign investment and which have the potential for rapid and sustainable growth.

Sable becomes one of the many mining companies eyeing Botswana's vast mineral resources. Companies venturing into Botswana include Africa Energy, Impact Minerals and Firestone. Recently ASX-listed African Energy reported that it had undertaken a private placement to institutional and sophisticated investors to raise up to A$5-million to accelerate the exploration of its uranium projects in Zambia and Botswana.

The company would place new fully paid ordinary shares at A$0,15 a share.

African Energy said in a statement that the placement has received strong interest from potential investors, and was expected to be completed early this week.

Details of the share purchase plan would be finalised within seven days, and would be offered to all eligible shareholders on similar terms to those offered in the placement.

African Energy owns, or is earning an interest, in eight uranium projects covering about 9 000 km2 in SADC region, ranging from bankable feasibility studies at the Njame and Gwabe deposits in the Chirundu joint venture in Zambia, to tenement holdings with prospective geology and uranium anomalies defined by airborne radiometric surveys.