Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia (Era) has signed a A$100-million credit facility with parent company Rio Tinto to allow for the rehabilitation of the Ranger project area, in the Northern Territory.
The ASX-listed Era told shareholders that at the end of December last year, the company had A$433-million in total cash resources and rehabilitation provisions of A$509-million.
Under current assumptions, Era expected this to be sufficient capital to fully fund the rehabilitation programme at the Ranger project, which was required to be completed by 2026.
However, the miner noted that should those assumptions not be realised, and in the absence of any other successful development or asset sales, Era would draw down the Rio facility.
The maturity date of the credit facility was December 2027, and no interest would be payable on the funds made available under the credit facility agreement. However, a termination fee was payable equal to the six-month Bank Bill Swap Rate on the termination date, plus 9% on any loan amounts drawn.
Era in October of last year failed to gain approval for the extension of the current Ranger Authority, which allowed mining and processing activities to continue until January 2021, and allowed for access for rehabilitation activities until January 2026.