A GOLD mining company set up by North-East entrepreneur Karl Watkin yesterday announced plans to raise £30m by a shares placing.

China Goldmines, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in February last year, intends to place more than 25 million shares at 120p each.

The company, which has its registered offices in Newcastle, said the funds will be used to secure the transfer of its gold mines and for their development.

China Goldmines is a gold resources company that focuses on the discovery and development of gold projects in the Hunan Province of China.

In April, the plc announced it had paid £12m for eight mines in China. Earlier this summer, it said it was on target to find up to ten times more gold in China than first anticipated.

Shares in the company have risen from 83p in February to a high of 194p at the end of July. They closed at 127p last night.

China Goldmines will seek approval for the proposal at an extraordinary general meeting on October 22. Newcastle law firm Ward Hadaway has advised the firm on the placing.