TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals said on Monday it raised $1-billion in debt through five-year term and revolving facilities with a group of banks.

The TSX- and LSE-listed company said it would use the money to fund an expansion at its Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia, where output is set to rise from 231 000 t/y in 2010 to around 400 000 t/y by the end of 2014.

The group of banks that arranged the facility included Standard Chartered, Standard Bank of South Africa, BNP Paribas, Citibank and African Export-Import Bank.

First Quantum said the five-year facility featured flexible draw-down provisions, and included provisions that it expected to satisfy during the first quarter of this year.

The company suffered a three-day illegal strike at Kansanshi at the start of this month.

On January 5, First Quantum announced it reached a $1.25-billion settlement with Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) over a dispute regarding assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the government had stripped from the Canadian miner and sold to another company that, in turn sold them to ENRC.

Shares in First Quantum closed 5.6% lower on the TSX at C$21.74 apiece.
 

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