Aspiring miner Adriatic Metals has sealed a US$245 million finance package to fund the construction of its flagship Vares silver project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deal signals a major step in the advancement of the project which is still subject to delivery of a definitive feasibility study.
Adriatic confirmed it has signed a term sheet with Orion Resource Partners for a US$142.5 million debt financing package comprising a US$120 million senior secured debt and a US$22.5 million copper stream, which Orion proposes with Eastern Mining. The finance is subject to due diligence and documentation which is expected to be completed in the final quarter of 2021.
In addition, the London-based multi-listed Adriatic plans an equity raising of up to about US$102 million which will consist of US$52 million through an accelerated bookbuild process and a US$50 million conditional equity subscription by Orion.
The equity raise will be priced at A$2.80 per share, representing a discount of about 10 per cent to the 10-day weighted average price on the ASX.
Orion is a global alternative investment management firm offering customising financial solutions and specialising in base and precious metals.
Adriatic Managing Director Paul Cronin said: “We are delighted to welcome Orion as a new partner in the Vares silver project and we thank Sandfire for their support of the company since its IPO in 2018. The announcement of the proposed project finance package is a significant milestone, demonstrating the extent of support globally for new investments in mining in the Balkans, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular. This outcome is a positive reflection of the team we have built at Adriatic in its short history, who over the past 12 months have delivered several critical outcomes that have culminated in the success we have today.”
Adriatic has been granted an all-important mining permit for Rupice, the underground deposit which underpins the Vares project, putting it on course to begin the main construction stage at Vares later this year.
Adriatic aims to deliver the Vares DFS soon. It previously said an “exceptional” pre-feasibility study unveiled in 2020 pointed to an average EBITDA of US$251 million per annum for the first five years of forecast metal concentrate production, and an initial 14-year mine life.
Concurrent with the DFS, Adriatic says it intends cranking up exploration across its large mineral concession package, including a drilling program at Rupice.
Latest stated probable ore reserves for Vares’ Rupice underground and Veovaca open-pit deposits stand at 11.12 million tonnes at average grades of 149.6 grams per tonne silver, 1.28 g/t gold, 4.22 per cent zinc, 2.67 per cent lead and 0.43 per cent copper.
Adriatic, the only publicly listed development-stage mining company in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is also keen to advance the Raska zinc-silver project in neighbouring Serbia which it acquired last year with the takeover of Tethyan Resource Corp.
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