28th Jun 2017 15:15
28 June 2017
Wolf Minerals Limited
Bridge Facility with Resource Capital Funds Increased to £40 Million
Specialty metals producer, Wolf Minerals (ASX: WLF, AIM: WLFE) (Wolf or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on the Company's financing arrangements to support its short term working capital, whilst additional funding sources are identified for long term self-sustainable operations at the Drakelands open pit mine (Drakelands).
Highlights
· Existing Bridge Facility increased from £30 million to £40 million.
· Funds will be used to support operation of the Drakelands mine as Wolf works towards commercial production and design performance.
The Company is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with Resource Capital Fund VI L.P. (RCF VI) to amend the existing bridge facility in place with RCF VI (as announced on 24 October 2016) (the Bridge Facility) pursuant to which RCF VI has agreed to provide the Company with an additional £10 million, with the potential for this to be increased to £15 million at the discretion of RCF VI.
Wolf has continued to experience reliability and performance issues with the ramp up of the processing plant and progress towards steady state production has been further delayed. In addition tungsten prices remain challenging and lower than anticipated despite a constrained supply of tungsten concentrate globally. Consequently the implementation of an operational turnaround plan, primarily focusing on building an operating platform which can support further volume increases and optimise performance, is underway.
The additional proceeds under the Bridge Facility will provide funds for the advancement of the operational turnaround plan and will enable the Company to continue to progress discussions with third parties as part of its previously announced strategic review of the financial alternatives available in the current tungsten price environment (refer Wolf Quarterly Report dated 28 April 2017).
Wolf Interim Managing Director, Richard Lucas, commented:
"The Company has identified additional resources and expertise to drive improvements in operating performance and build a long term sustainable business. Despite the low-price environment for tungsten and commodities in general, the continued support of RCF VI is testament to their confidence in Drakelands and the Wolf management team."
Bridge Facility
The funding is being provided on effectively the same terms as the Bridge Facility announced on 24 October 2016, including that it will be fully secured.
The Company anticipates making an initial drawdown request under the Bridge Facility for £3 million following the completion of certain administrative conditions precedent later this month.
As previously announced, if certain conditions precedent are satisfied (including shareholder approval), the Bridge Facility will mandatorily switch to a subordinated convertible loan in October 2017, or a subordinated loan if those conditions are not satisfied. As soon as reasonably practicable, the Company will seek shareholder approval to enable the issue of the convertible note and subsequent conversion into ordinary shares in accordance with the convertible loan terms under the Bridge Facility. The convertible loan is also conditional upon, amongst other things, RCF VI obtaining FIRB approval.
As part of the amendment to the Bridge Facility amount, the minimum conversion price of the subordinated convertible loan has been reduced from A$0.13 per share to the lesser of A$0.07 per share, and the price of any subsequent equity issued as part of any broader recapitalisation transaction.
All other terms of the Bridge Facility, the potential subordinated convertible loan and the potential subordinated loan are as described in the Company's announcement of 24 October 2016.
Related Party Transaction
RCF VI is deemed to be a Related Party as defined in the AIM Rules as it is considered to be an associate of Resource Capital Fund V L.P. (RCF V) and RCF V Annex Fund (Annex Fund). RCF V, Annex Fund and RCF VI currently hold 609,704,057 shares, which equates to a relevant interest of approximately 56.1%[1]. As a result, entering into the Bridge Facility is deemed to be a related party transaction under the AIM Rules.
The Company's Board of Directors (excluding Mr Chris Corbett, who is employee of an entity which is an associate of RCF VI and RCF V) consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned.
ENDS
Numis Securities: John Prior/James Black/Paul Gillam | +44(0)20 7260 1000 |
Newgate: Adam Lloyd / Ed Treadwell | +44 (0) 20 7653 9850 |
Wolf Minerals Limited: Richard Lucas | +61 (0) 8 6143 2070 |
About Wolf Minerals
Wolf Minerals is a dual listed ("ASX: WLF", "AIM: WLFE") specialty metals company. Wolf Minerals has recently completed the development of a large tungsten resource at its Drakelands Mine, located at Hemerdon, in southwest England.
[1] Total Fully Paid Outstanding Shares 1,086,311,234 per Appendix 3B, 16 June 2017
Related Shares:
Wolf Minerals