PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Ironbark Zinc has received preliminary approval for up to $657-million in funding from financier US EXIM Bank for the development of its Citronen project, in Greenland.
The preliminary approval follows an initial due diligence period.
“We are delighted to announce this US EXIM preliminary project letter, which marks a genuine turning point in the life of the Citronen project, with proper recognition of the scale and quality of the asset from the capital markets, for arguably the first time,” said Ironbark MD Michael Jardine.
“We could not ask for a better prospective cornerstone than US EXIM - they will be an excellent partner for Ironbark and its stakeholders as we move forward into what will be another busy 12 months.
“The interest from a top-tier financial institution further validates Citronen’s status as a tier 1 zinc project and is a testament to the strong fundamentals offered by Citronen, as the company moves closer to becoming a strategic zinc producer.”
Funding by US EXIM is subject to further due diligence and EXIM board approval.
Ironbark in July this year released a review of the mine plan for Citronen, which would see delivery of an additional 90 000 t of zinc metal over the first six years of production. The review confirmed a 3.3-million-tonne-a-year operation as the optimum scale of the project, with the initial mine life confirmed at 14 years.