Beowulf Mining (AIM:BEM) said the £3.7m strategic investment from Bacchus Capital & Affiliates, part of a wider £4.3m financing, will lapse at its 30 September long-stop date after the Swedish Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) opened a review of the deal.
The mineral exploration and development company, which operates iron ore and graphite projects across Sweden and Finland, said Bacchus has told it the review's extended timeline means it cannot commit to a new deadline for completion.
Bacchus said the review could push its decision-making timeline out by up to three months, and as much as six if the investment is treated as a special case.
The financing was designed to end an existential funding overhang and pay for a pre-feasibility study at the Kallak iron ore project, following a 1,072-metre infill drilling campaign completed in August to upgrade the resource to higher-confidence categories.
Convertible note holder Alumni Capital has agreed to extend its own settlement agreement long-stop date to 31 December, in exchange for a £30,000 fee added to its loan principal, and has consented to interim funding arrangements.
Beowulf said directors and non-Bacchus subscribers have indicated support for roughly £110,000 of interim funding, likely structured as a convertible loan note priced at the 3p financing price with an attached three-year warrant at a 4.5p strike, which the board believes will cover costs into the end of 2026.
The company has also cut costs through further salary deferrals and reductions, and is asking service-provider creditors to extend payment terms.
Bacchus said it remains willing to re-engage on the investment if Swedish approval is eventually granted, though it gave no guarantee the deal or its terms would be repeated.
"We remain committed to supporting the review in every way we can and are hopeful that, once concluded, we will be able to re-engage with all parties involved," said chief executive Ed Bowie.
Beowulf expects the ISP outcome roughly the middle of December.