Maravi

Equinox Minerals secures US$80m loan facility

Equinox Minerals secures US$80m loan facility
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Saturday October 04, 2008 [04:00]

EQUINOX Minerals Limited has announced that it has secured a new US$80 million loan facility. It has also announced that insurers have agreed to pay for fire that damaged a 20-MVA transformer at its Lumwana mine plant in Solwezi.

According to a statement, Equinox Minerals was currently quantifying the losses suffered from a fire at the processing plant at its Lumwana copper project, after the project's insurance syndicate agreed to accept indemnity for the accident which simultaneously damaged the adjacent 11 kilovolts substation.

The statement also announced that Equinox Minerals Limited last Thursday signed a new $80-million loan facility which had been underwritten by Standard Bank Plc and Standard Chartered Bank and would be provided by certain members of the existing Lumwana banking syndicate.

The facility was structured on similar terms to the commercial tranche of the existing US$583. 8 million project finance debt facilities, and would enable the company to meet additional working capital requirements that resulted from the delayed start-up.
Equinox stated that the establishment of the new loan facility was seen as a better option to drawing down on its existing US $45 million contingent funding facility, as it would ensure that the company maintained appropriate levels of liquidity, while limiting shareholder dilution.

The Lumwana mine is expected to produce an average of 169 000 tonnes per year of copper metal contained in concentrates for the first six years of its 37-year life-of-mine. The commissioning of the mine was delayed from last July to this December after fire gutted one of the key transformers.

Labels: EQUINOX, MINING

posted by MrK @ 11:33 AM