JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Negotiations between South Africa-focused Resource Generation (Resgen) and a club of potential financiers regarding project finance for the Boikarabelo mine development are continuing.
The ASX- and JSE-listed coal company on Monday said the process to reach an agreed term sheet had been protracted owing to several factors, including the variable nature of the envisaged loan structure and maintaining deliverable outcomes within prevailing debt and coal markets.
Resgen in February revealed that it was in negotiations with FirstRand Bank, acting through its Rand Merchant Bank division; HSBC Bank - Johannesburg Branch; the Industrial Development Corporation; Noble Resources International; and Export Finance & Insurance Corporation regarding a financing facility for the construction of the $480-million Boikarabelo mine.
The 745-million-tonne project, in Limpopo, would include a $200-million coal handling and preparation plant, which would be the largest capital item.
Resgen reiterated on Monday that it expected the project financing, if concluded, to provide all required remaining funding for the mine’s construction and that the company did not envisage that it would need to raise further equity.
Further, in addition to the above-mentioned negotiations, the company continued to explore alternative funding arrangements.