North America-focused base and precious metals exploration and development company Phoenix Copper has appointed mining finance advisory firm Medea Natural Resources as lead financial adviser to arrange up to $70-million for the construction of the Empire Mine openpit project, in Idaho, in the US.
The funding would be used to construct the openpit, heap leach, solvent extraction and electrowinning project at Empire.
The openpit has a production target of 8 000 t/y of copper and zinc, starting in 2021, Phoenix CEO Dennis Thomas reported on Monday.
“We have already been approached by a number of mining finance and trading houses, and it is our intention to fund capital expenditure predominantly with debt and other forms of project and metal offtake finance, involving minimal issues of ordinary shares. Medea, with its global reach and significant expertise in this area, will assist us in coordinating the best possible structured finance for the project, thereby optimising our cost of capital for maximum benefit to our shareholders.”
Included in the $70-million financing that Medea has to arrange is $10-million of advance mezzanine debt financing, which Thomas said would allow the company to complete the feasibility study quickly, while at the same time carry out exploration on the newly discovered Red Star high-grade lead/silver zone, as well on the underground sulphides, and on the two Idaho Cobalt Belt properties.