LONDON (Alliance News) - Altyn PLC on Tuesday said it has agreed a loan and is in talks to secure more funding in order to increase production at its Sekisovskoye gold mine in Kazakhstan.
Shares in Altyn were up 36% at 0.75 pence on Tuesday afternoon.
In its half year report, released in August, Altyn said its long term plan is to increase production from its mine by targeting ore bodies in a more defined way, pushing up the grade and also increasing the volume of ore that is mined.
It said it had been "working hard" to secure the necessary funding but had been unable to continue with its previous providers. Since then, Altyn has continued to seek new investors but has not succeeded.
"After conducting detailed and lengthy due diligence and exploring a number of possibilities either, the timing, terms of the repayments or other factors resulted in the funds ultimately not being taken up," said Altyn.
However, Kazakh Bank JSC has agreed to provide a KZT350 million unsecured loan to the miner, equivalent to around USD950,000. Altyn is also in talks with the bank for a "larger amount of funding", the exact value of which was not disclosed.
Moreover, major Altyn shreholder African Resources Ltd has also committed to provide another KZT400 million unsecured loan to Altyn to be used to buy underground mining machinery.
"The company is pleased with African Resources Ltd's continued support for the company with the aim of boosting production further," said Altyn.
Altyngold (ALTN)