JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A horde of banks has seemingly rushed in eagerly to grant an eventual $15.25-billion worth of revolving credit facilities to diversified mining and marketing major Glencore, as part of a refinancing exercise.

Initially launched at $14-billion, the credit facilities of the London-, Hong Kong- and Johannesburg-listed company ultimately closed substantially oversubscribed at $17-billion, after Glencore's broad group of relationship banks showed strong support.

The company, headed by CEO Ivan Glasenberg, did well to have 60 banks, embracing 34 mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners, commit to the facilities, which refinance Glencore's $8.7-billion one-year revolving credit facilities and amend and extend the $6.6-billion five-year revolving credit facility, both signed in June last year.

Investec Securities commented that in light of the over subscription and the number of participating banks, Glencore must have secured attractive rates, with the exercise allaying any concerns investors may have had about its gearing.

Even with net end-2014 debt of $31-billion and gross debt of $50-billion, Glencore had clearly found refinancing a breeze.

The new and amended facilities are for general corporate purposes, made up of a $8.45-billion 12-month revolving credit facility with a 12-month term-out option and a 12-month extension option, and a $6.8-billion five-year revolving credit facility with two 12-month extension options.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, HSBC Bank, Lloyds Bank and Rabobank served as the active bookrunners in the syndication of the facilities.

Glencore, which saw its share price rise 0.46% to R53.18 a share on the JSE on Friday, has also just announced that it is funding a R2.76-million project in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, where it mines coal, to provide 200 secondary students in the Phola community with an Infinite Family LaunchPad video mentoring facility, created from the professional renovation of shipping containers into a modern high-technology environment.

Glencore Coal South Africa CEO Clinton Ephron described the initiative as a breakthrough in education, giving pupils from previously disadvantaged communities an opportunity to be mentored by experts from across a wide range of disciplines.

Thermal coal, much of it mined in South Africa, accounts for some 17% of Glencore’s industrial group revenues.