John Teeling might have celebrated his 62nd birthday at the start of last week, but the Clontarf-based stock market veteran shows no signs of slowing up.

Teeling, who is already involved in six listed mineral exploration and production companies, is tapping investors for £1.5 million (€1.99 million) for his latest venture, Zambezi Gold. Shares at 15 pence apiece have been issued, valuing the company at £4.5 million.

Demand for shares is said to be brisk. The price of gold is flying at the moment, just shy of $900 (€611) an ounce.

Zambezi was formed late last year from the merger of Arc Mining, which is active in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambezi Gold, which has licences in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Teeling plans to spread the funds around the company's various projects. Zambezi has also set aside £500,000 for an acquisition and £250,000 to meet the costs of a stock market listing over the next 18 months.

Teeling will ask investors to change the name to Swala Resources at the annual general meeting on January 29th.