Rigel Resource Acquisition Corp is a SPAC focused on acquiring a business in the global mining and metals sector. Rigel raised $300M in its November 2021 IPO, placing proceeds in a trust while searching for a target. Rigel has no operations, no employees beyond four officers, and generates no revenue. Rigel is sponsored by Orion Resource Partners, a specialist metals and mining investment firm with experience in project finance, direct lending, and royalties across base metals, precious metals, and battery materials. Rigel's stated acquisition focus is "green" and battery metals — copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, and precious metals — with a preference for targets at an inflection point that need capital or expertise to reach their potential. In March 2024, Rigel signed an agreement to merge with two South African gold mining companies — Blyvoor Gold Resources (an operating gold mine) and Blyvoor Gold Operations (a gold tailings retreatment operation) — with the combined entity to be renamed Aurous Resources and listed on Nasdaq. As of the filing date, the transaction had not yet closed, pending Nasdaq listing approval, South African Reserve Bank approval, and a minimum available cash threshold of $50M. The trust account has been reduced from $306M to roughly $81M through repeated shareholder redemptions, Rigel's securities were delisted from the NYSE in November 2024, and Rigel's auditors have issued a going concern qualification.