JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Red Rock Resources has closed the €956 687 second tranche of a transaction under which it will fund alloy producer Steelmin to complete the refurbishment and recommissioning of a ferrosilicon smelter in Jajce, Bosnia, and acquire a 30% interest in Steelmin.
The first €2.73-million tranche of the loan was paid to Steelmin last week.
To fund the loan, Red Rock borrowed $4.2-million from YA 11 PN, on behalf of a group of institutional investors, for a term of one year.
Red Rock chairperson Andrew Bell on Monday said that since the the first tranche payment was made last week, Steelmin has made progress in ordering long lead time items to meet its targeted date of production.
Steelmin plans to restart production at its ferrosilicon smelter complex in the first quarter of 2018.
The plant comprises two electric arc furnaces with a combined capacity of 48 720 t/y ferrosilicon and 9 700 t/y of microsilica. Steelmin is targeting yearly revenues on initial production levels of €36-million and earnings before tax of €7-million.