PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner West Wits Mining has received a written expression of interest from US-based shareholder Wingfield Partners for a debt facility to assist in the financing of the Qala Shallows project, in South Africa.
Wingfield has expressed formal interest and provided indicative terms for a $10-million debt facility on behalf of a consortium of Texas-based investors.
“I am thrilled to receive these indicative terms from Wingfield, our largest and strongly supportive shareholder. The Wingfield team has always appreciated the significant value opportunity represented by Qala Shallows and the broader Witwatersrand Basin project,” said West Wits chairperson Michael Quinert.
“Wingfield’s unwavering belief and its standing as a canny investor has combined to provide West Wits with the opportunity to raise its profile now substantially with key players within the Houston investment community.”
West Wits told shareholders on Monday that the formal interest from Wingfield further advanced the process of funding the entire development plan for Qala Shallows, which is expected to produce 55 000 oz/y at steady-state, over a ten-year period, with the mine to average 43 000 oz/y over its near 16-year mine life.
A 2022 revised definitive feasibility study estimates peak funding of $63-million over a three-year period.
The proposed funding from Wingfield will be done in conjunction with funding contemplated from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), which could provide up to A$26-million, or nearly 50% of the total funding requirements over the three-year build phase.
Wingfield will work with the IDC due diligence process to expedite completion and progress binding terms.