West Wits chairperson Michael Quinert
ASX-listed West Wits Mining, which owns the Witwatersrand Basin project (WBP), in South Africa, is in discussions with various potential capital providers for investments ranging from $15-million to $30-million in debt and equity.
In an address at the company’s annual general meeting on November 23, chairperson Michael Quinert stressed that funding was critical to any mining project.
South African fund the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in July expressed an interest in providing loans of $15.9-million to West Wits.
Further, in October, the company’s largest shareholder Wingfield Partners expressed formal interest and indicative terms to provide a further debt facility of $10-million to West Wits.
“This reiteration of support from Wingfield, a prominent Houston-based investor group, is a crucial step forward. Combined with the IDC’s expression of interest, these funding commitments bring our total indicated loan facilities to approximately $26-million, covering around 50% of the total funding requirements for the three-year build-up phase of the WBP,” Quinert said.
He added that the company’s strategy was to investigate and tap into a variety of funding sources over the WBP’s development phase.
Quinert told shareholders the company was poised for success.
“We thank our shareholders for their continued support and look forward to an exciting 2024. We are now on the cusp of developing South Africa’s newest gold mine in one of the most favourable gold price environments in recent history,” he said.