Gladiator raises $35M from BlackRock-led placement to fund Yukon drilling

Copper explorer Gladiator Metals (TSXV: GLAD; US-OTC: GDTRF) has raised more than $35 million (US$24.7 million) through a private placement led by BlackRock to fund drilling at the Whitehorse project.

The Vancouver-based junior said Monday it sold a total of 7 million flow-through shares priced at $3.87 per share and 3 million non-flow-through shares at $2.65 per share under the placement.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, led the financing round, Gladiator said, though it did not provide further details on BlackRock’s participation.

Shares of Gladiator Metals rose 1.2% to $3.35 apiece on Monday afternoon in Toronto, valuing the company at $355 million. 

“Discussions over the last few weeks have resulted in a cornerstone financial commitment from experienced institutional resource investors led by BlackRock World Mining Trust,” Gladiator Metals’ CEO Jason Bontempo said in a release. The trust “has a strong track record of investing in emerging growth and natural resource companies,” he added.

Funding for drilling

The financing will bolster the company’s treasury to $50 million and fully fund its 2026-2027 exploration campaign at its main Whitehorse copper project in the Yukon.

The project, located in the Whitehorse copper belt, has a record of historical production by Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) and is now host to multiple high-grade prospects within a 35 x 5 km area. The most advanced is Cowley Park, which has had over 300 holes drilled leading to the identification of high-grade copper-molybdenum mineralization over a 700-metre strike. The prospect had reached the feasibility stage before the former mine operation closed.

According to Bontempo, the company’s goal in the short term is to focus on continued resources discovery at the Cowley as well as the Cub East prospects. “Drilling plans will now focus on increasing the current three active drill rigs to six before the end of summer,” he said.

In June 2025, the company reported an assay from drill hole CP-00616 at Cowley Park grading 2.3% copper over 16 metres from 79 metres downhole within a broader interval of 92 metres grading 0.71% copper. And Gladitor drilled 1.1% copper over 18 metres last year at the Best Chance target. 

Exploration and mining development have taken place intermittently in the area since copper mineralization was first discovered in 1897. The Whitehorse copper belt’s main production era lasted from 1967 to 1982, yielding 267.5 million lb. copper, 225,000 oz. gold and 2.84 million oz. silver from 11.1 million tonnes of ore milled.