Vanadium miner Atlantic Ltd will issue new shares to raise $25 million to help accelerate the ramp-up of its Windimurra mine in Western Australia.

Shares in Atlantic were down three cents, or 2.5 per cent, at $1.17 at 1316 AEDT compared to gains in the broader market of about one per cent.

“While the early phase of commissioning has been slower than we would have liked, delaying first revenues, management believes that the funds raised in this placement will enable the plant to achieve full production capacity in line with the original schedule,” managing director Michael Minosora said in a statement.

The Perth-based company on Wednesday said it would issue 20.83 million shares at $1.20 per share to institutional investors and existing major shareholders.

Proceeds from the capital raising will be used for improvements and modifications at Windimurra in the state’s Mid West region, which have the potential to accelerate the mine’s 18-month ramp-up to full capacity.

Some funds will also be used for general corporate purposes.

Atlantic acquired Windimurra in 2010 and in recent months has mined and stockpiled about 240,000 tonnes of vanadium-bearing ore for processing, the company said last month.

Vanadium is used to strengthen steel.