RE:RE:P.P. On The Way?The company has cash but they also want to ramp up the drill program. That likely means signifigant one-time expenditures (drills need to be shipped, crews need to be hired and housed, infrastructure needs to be in place) as well as accelerating the cash burn rate. This is good for investors because bigger drill program = shortened timeline for drilling = quicker buyout. But even with cash in the bank, the company needs significant liquidity. Just because they have $15m in the bank doesn't mean they can spend $15m before doing another raise.
Put simply, the company should do a raise when in a position of financial strength. They do NOT want to run low on cash, even if they could theoritically continue operating. If they get down to $5m the raise starts to look desperate and they risk needing to borrow money if there is not enough investor interest.
Regarding the timing, we MAY be just a few drill holes away from a higher SP, or we may not. Markets can be difficult to predict. Its usually much better to have cash in hand than bank on your SP being higher in the future.
As others have said the dilutive effect of doing a raise at 1.80 vs 2.50 for example is minimal. I expect the mere fact that the company will need to do one final raise is suppressing the SP, and providing a 'back door' for institutions and larger investors to invest without raising the open market price. Once that door closes, the only way in is through buying in the open market.