Tharisa signs $130m debt facility

THARISA, a South African chrome and platinum group metals miner, announced on Wednesday it had signed a $130m debt facility which it would use to prepay an existing term loan and revolving credit facility.Michael Jones, Tharisa’s CFO, said the new debt facility, which is with South African commercial lenders Absa and Standard Bank, was “an important milestone” as the firm’s Tharisa mine moves to underground mining from its current open pit.“This transaction reduces our overall cost of capital, extends our debt maturities, and enhances financial flexibility allowing us to better navigate changing market conditions and continue investing in our strategic priorities,” he added.The facility comprises a four-year term loan of $80m, with an option to increase by $20m, and a revolving R900m (about $50m) credit facility. Proceeds of the loan would also be put to general corporate and working capital purposes including investing in the sustainability of the Tharisa mine, the company said.Tharisa recently unveiled plans to bring forward $547m in investment in underground development over the next decade at the North West platinum/chrome mine, implying peak funding of $173m. On an annual basis, the outlay is between $70m and $90m, comparable with the firm’s stay-in-business capital budget.Tharisa said it last recorded a net cash position of $68.6m, up from the $43.1m reported in the firm’s annual results ended June 30.The post Tharisa signs $130m debt facility appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com