Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper miner Hillgrove Resources on Monday announced the refinancing of its debt facilities, along with an equity raising and the appointment of a new MD.
The ASX-listed company said the refinancing package would provide amortisation of debt repayments to align with the most recent life-of-mine plan for the Kanmantoo operation, in South Australia, while additional equity would provide the ability to accelerate an exploration programme of nearby targets in order to extend the mine life.
The refinancing package covered a $14-million pre-export facility loan, a A$20-million performance bond facility and associated commodity hedging facilities of around 25 000 t of copper for the Kanmantoo operation. The package also covered discretionary hedging facilities that allowed for up to 30 000 t of copper and 10 000 oz of gold hedging.
Meanwhile, Hillgrove also announced that the company would raise about A$10-million under a fully underwritten pro-rata nonrenounceable rights issue. Some 40.3-million new fully paid ordinary shares would be issued to shareholders, on a 3-for-11 basis, at a price of 25c each.
The offer price represented a 25.4% discount to Hillgrove’s closing price on May 22, and a 26.5% discount to the company’s five-day volume-weighted average price.
Furthermore, Hillgrove also appointed Steven McClare as the new CEO and MD, after Greg Hall announced he would be stepping down on May 26.
McClare joined Hillgrove in 2012 to oversee operations at Kanmantoo, and was previously the deputy GM and head of mining operations for gold miner Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley operations.