Aureus Mining has signed a US$88mn project finance loan facility deal with South Africa’s Nedbank and Rand Merchant Bank, to aid with the development of its New Liberty Gold Project located in the Bea Mountain mining licence in Liberia
This project finance loan facility will be supported by South Africa’s Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC). It is for a term of six years.
Aureus Mining said the first tranche of this loan will be drawn before April 2014.
The gold miner has also signed a subordinated loan facility agreement for US$12mn with RMB Resources, which is for a term of six-and-a-half years. It has granted RMB Resources 11.12mn warrants, which can be exercised from the date of the first drawdown of the senior loan facility.
Aureus Mining operates licences in Cameroon and Liberia. The New Liberty Gold Project is spread over a licence area of 457 sq km, which has been estimated to contain more than 1.14mn ounces of gold reserves.
The company’s chief executive officer, David Reading, said, “The signing of the project finance loan facilities to finance New Liberty is the final key step in our strategy towards building Liberia's first commercial gold mine. We have a very compelling debt package with an overall interest rate cost of around six per cent.”
