20th Sep 2013 07:00
20 September 2013
Weatherly International Plc
("Weatherly" or "the Company")
Tschudi Update
Weatherly International Plc (AIM:WTI) is pleased to announce the successful execution of the loan documentation with Orion Mine Finance Fund I "Orion Mine Finance"), formerly RK Mine Finance Fund II for the Company's flagship Tschudi project in Namibia.
Highlights
· The Weatherly Board and Orion have approved and executed the required documentation, with Orion Mine Finance to provide a loan facility to meet the full funding requirement of Tschudi.
· Orion Mine Finance will provide the Company with a US$91 million loan facility (the "Loan") which will fully fund to production the 17,000 tonne per annum Tschudi SX-EW copper project. Drawdown of the loan is subject to conditions precedent usual in a transaction of this nature
· The Loan has been amended from the original Term Sheet signed in December 2012 to provide Weatherly with a more favourable repayment timetable.
Rod Webster CEO of Weatherly commented:
"We are pleased with the outcome of our negotiations with Orion Mine Finance which have been successfully completed. We now look forward to commencing work on the development of the project."
Tschudi Project
Orion Mine Finance and Weatherly have successfully completed work to ensure that all major contracts, with contractors involved with the development of Tschudi, meet the lender's requirements and the parties have executed the required loan documentation.
Orion Mine Finance is to provide a loan facility to the Company of US$91.0m. The full facility comprises a secured loan of US$80 million, a project cost overrun facility of a further US$8 million and US$3.0 million to assume the existing Louis Dreyfus ("LD") loan.
The Loan repayment will be covered from cash flow from Tschudi with no anticipated demands on cash flow from Weatherly's Central Operations. The term of the Loan has been extended, from the previous term sheet signed in December 2012, to a more favourable term of six and a half years; this increased flexibility has come at a cost of a 1% increase in the interest rate payable.
About Orion Mine Finance
Orion Mine Finance provides flexible financing solutions to mining companies in the precious and base metals sectors for the purposes of developing, constructing, expanding or acquiring mining projects. Orion Mine Finance has approximately $1.14 billion under management, dedicated exclusively to the mine finance business. Orion Mine Finance Fund I, formerly known as the RK Mine Finance Fund II LP, was launched in 2012 and is one of the world's leading mining sector-focused investment funds.
Orion Mine Finance operates across the global metals industry with offices in New York, Denver, Sydney and Bermuda. Investors in Orion Mine Finance include college endowments, foundations, family offices, pensions and other institutional investors. For additional information about Orion Mine Finance, please visit www.orionminefinance.com.
The key elements of the Orion Mine Finance Loan are as follows:
Project Loan amount US$80m
Interest rate Libor+ 7% (with a minimum Libor of 2%)
Project Overrun facility US$8m
Interest rate Libor + 9% (with a minimum Libor of 2%)
Duration of loan 6.5 years (repayment period of 4.5 years)
Assumption of LD loan US$3.0m
Interest rate Libor +3%
The former LD loan has been rescheduled to expire at the end of December 2014
In addition to the Loan, Orion Mine Finance will purchase, on an exclusive basis, 100% of the Project's copper cathode production based on LME/Comex market prices for the life of the mine.
About Weatherly
Weatherly is an AIM listed, copper focused mining company, the principal assets of which are located in Namibia. It currently has two producing copper mines (Otjihase and Matchless - the Central Operations), and full funding is in place for the development of the Tschudi Copper Project. These assets will enable Weatherly to achieve its medium term strategy of establishing a copper mining business capable of sustaining approximately 25,000tpa of copper at an average industry cost of production. The Company also has a 25% stake in an AIM listed company, China Africa Resources Plc (CAR), which is currently focused on the development of the lead/zinc project at Berg Aukas in Northern Namibia.
For further information please contact:
Weatherly International Plc +44 (0) 20 7917 2989
Rod Webster, Chief Executive Officer
Canaccord Genuity Limited +44 (0) 20 7523 8000
Andrew Chubb / Christopher Fincken
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